Adding noise or grain

[johnwolf]

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I'd appreciate your suggestions for adding noise or grain to color images. Photoshop's noise and grain seem too uniform to me. I like Nik Silver Efex, but that's for BW. Any thoughts on a similar plug-in for color, or a PS technique? Thanks.

 

John

[stunsworth]

I use Alien Skin Exposure. As well as doing b&w conversions it can also simulate various colour films - I tend to use the Astia and Kodachrome 25 simulations.

 

However if you wish you can define your own presets which just included the grain simulation. Exposure allows you to select the film size whose grain you want to simutate and has various sliders to control grain in shadows, midtones and highlights independantly.

 

There's a 30 day trial available at Alien Skin Software, LLC

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[johnwolf]

Thanks, Steve. I'll give the trial a shot. -- John

[MV8]

If I apply noise to my images I always do it to an Overlay layer with 50% gray - desaturate the noise and even blur a bit, you can even scale it up or down to make the noise smaller or bigger. There is a lot of flexibility if it's on it's own layer, and can really achieve almost any look you want by applying different filters to your noise layer.

 

manny

[miami91]

I use Alien Skin Exposure. As well as doing b&w conversions it can also simulate various colour films - I tend to use the Astia and Kodachrome 25 simulations.

 

However if you wish you can define your own presets which just included the grain simulation. Exposure allows you to select the film size whose grain you want to simutate and has various sliders to control grain in shadows, midtones and highlights independantly.

 

There's a 30 day trial available at Alien Skin Software, LLC

 

 

I'd second this suggestion. Also, since you like Nik plug-ins, you can also download a trial of Color Efex Pro. If/when I want to avoid Photoshop and stick to working in Aperture, I exclusively use the various Nik plugins. But Alien Skin does make excellent products.

 

Jeff.

[plasticman]

I haven't used the Silver Efex plug-in, but I was looking at the features on their website today, and it occurred to me that you could apply the effect to a desaturated duplicate image layer, and then apply this as a blend using Luminance or possibly Overlay (or Hard Light/Soft Light etc) mode to an underlying color layer, and tweak the harshness of the effect with the opacity slider.

 

Maybe someone who has the plug-in could test whether this would work?

[Jamie Roberts]

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I haven't used the Silver Efex plug-in, but I was looking at the features on their website today, and it occurred to me that you could apply the effect to a desaturated duplicate image layer, and then apply this as a blend using Luminance or possibly Overlay (or Hard Light/Soft Light etc) mode to an underlying color layer, and tweak the harshness of the effect with the opacity slider.

 

Maybe someone who has the plug-in could test whether this would work?

 

Mani--all the layer modes and actions work, and what you've described is a standard sharpening and color correction trick (used with Image.... Apply Image...as you know). With the Nik (or Alien Skin) plugins this also works brilliantly for affecting micro contrast instantly and also works for highlight and shadow transitions (which is where I use it a lot).

[MV8]

Mani--all the layer modes and actions work, and what you've described is a standard sharpening and color correction trick (used with Image.... Apply Image...as you know). With the Nik (or Alien Skin) plugins this also works brilliantly for affecting micro contrast instantly and also works for highlight and shadow transitions (which is where I use it a lot).

 

Jamie,

What I described is a technique for applying noise on a layer for color or B&W images that allows you to manipulate the noise with different filter to get a desired look. Yes, an overlay layer can be use for a sharpening and many other things, but that's not what I'm referring to. Plug-in such as Nik and Alien Skin offer good quick solutions but for a price. This is simply a technique thru photoshop with great results.

[Jamie Roberts]

Jamie,

What I described is a technique for applying noise on a layer for color or B&W images that allows you to manipulate the noise with different filter to get a desired look. Yes, an overlay layer can be use for a sharpening and many other things, but that's not what I'm referring to. Plug-in such as Nik and Alien Skin offer good quick solutions but for a price. This is simply a technique thru photoshop with great results.

 

Hey Manny--you're right of course, and you can even apply a "film-grain" filter and blur it etc... etc...

 

But I was actually responding to MANI (plasticman) in my reply--sorry

 

He's right about doing more than just manipulating noise with a monochrome layer from something like Nik Silver Efex Pro, and then setting the layer to luminosity, overlay, soft light or whatever...

 

This technique, while costing some $$, is also a lot more flexible than an overlay layer, and you can get effects that go considerably beyond just noise manipulation (but do include them too).

[MV8]

LOL, it's all good. thanks for that and the info.

 

Manny

[plasticman]

LOL, it's all good. thanks for that and the info.

 

Manny

 

Too Many Mani/Mannys!!!