Lightroom Classic's AI Denoise: A Photographer's New Best Friend

Adobe Lightroom Classic continues to evolve, offering photographers powerful tools to enhance their workflow and image quality. In this deep dive, we will explore the latest updates, focusing on the game-changing AI-powered Denoise feature, the updated masking system, and subtle yet impactful interface changes. Discover how these enhancements can revolutionize your photo editing process and elevate your images to new heights.

The Importance of Noise Reduction in Photography

In the realm of Photography, noise, often appearing as graininess or unwanted artifacts, can be a significant hurdle to achieving pristine image quality. High ISO settings, long exposures, and low-light conditions frequently introduce noise, detracting from the Clarity and detail of a photograph. Traditional noise reduction techniques often involve trade-offs, sacrificing sharpness and fine details in the process. However, with the advent of AI-powered Denoise, a new era of noise reduction has dawned, promising to minimize noise while preserving the integrity and beauty of the original image. As the presenter indicates, AI integration is paramount in photo editing these days.

This is an area where Lightroom has caught up to Topaz. The results are stellar, according to initial reactions. It may be time to ditch Topaz and use Lightroom alone. That said, the presenter conducts a comparison towards the end of this piece, so keep reading!

Adobe Lightroom is available at Adobe's website as part of the Creative Cloud suite, Adobe.com and you can download a free trial.

To fully get to grips with image noise reduction we must first understand what image noise actually is. Image noise can be categorised as Luminance Noise and Colour Noise. We will be discussing both in this article.

Luminance Noise

Luminance Noise presents as granular texture, often in the mid-tones of an image. In extreme cases it can be distracting, and impact the image negatively. Thankfully, Adobe Lightroom's AI Denoise function handles luminance noise extremely well, providing a one-click solution to removing it.

Colour Noise

Colour Noise presents as artefacts of random colour casts in parts of the image that should be a singular tone. Again, Adobe Lightroom's AI Denoise function handles colour noise efficiently, using its machine learning model to remove it effectively.

RAW Image Denoising Benefits

It's important to consider what format you're using when denoising images. Denoising a RAW format image offers superior results, due to the greater amount of data held within the image format. If you are using a lossy format such as JPEG, then consider using RAW images for best denoising performance.

Key Considerations for RAW Denoising

• Shoot in RAW to maximize data for noise reduction.
• Understand the types of noise (luminance, color) and how they affect your images.
• Adjust the AI Denoise amount carefully to balance noise reduction and detail preservation.

How to Access and Use the New Denoise Feature

Finding the AI Denoise tool in Lightroom Classic is straightforward. Navigate to the Detail tab, where you'll find the familiar Noise Reduction panel. The new Denoise button sits prominently at the top. For those who prefer the older method, the manual noise reduction controls are still accessible via a small arrow.

Follow these steps to reduce noise using the new AI function:

1. Select your Image: Open the Develop Module and select the RAW image. The presenter suggests using RAW images for testing purposes.
2. Locate the Denoise Button: Navigate to the Detail Tab in the right-HAND panel, and then to the Noise Reduction section.
3. Click Denoise: A new window will popup offering you a preview of the denoising process .
4. Adjust Amount: The amount slider allows you to dictate how aggressively the denoising function operates . For ISO numbers between 50 and 80, the presenter recommends using an amount of between 60-80 to maintain as much detail as possible .
5. Enhance: Press enhance to apply the denoising process .

Navigating the Enhance Preview Dialog

When the dialog box appears you have several tools at your disposal to help with the process:

• A cross is available to zoom into the image.
• A minus is available to zoom out .
• Clicking the image provides a before/after perspective .

With these tools available, you should find dialling in your denoising workflow easy.

Important Tip: Denosie functionality is GPU intensive . It might be best to use a machine with a dedicated graphics card, and make sure that the drivers are up to date.

AI Denoise: Before and After Comparisons

To truly appreciate the capabilities of AI Denoise, comparing before and after images is essential. The presenter showcases several examples, demonstrating its effectiveness on various image types and ISO levels. In one example, an image shot at ISO 3200 exhibits noticeable graininess. After applying AI Denoise, the noise is drastically reduced, revealing cleaner details and improved overall image quality.

The results are genuinely impressive, rivaling, if not surpassing, traditional noise reduction methods. Even high-ISO images, shot at 8000, show a remarkable transformation with the Denoise feature. The color noise that plagues high-ISO images is significantly diminished, resulting in cleaner, more usable images. It's good to remember that you can zoom into images with the zoom tool before denoising.

For testing you can press 'Crtl+C' or 'Cmd+C' to copy an image, which will result in a side-by-side comparison .

Key Considerations for AI Denoising

• Use the side-by-side mode to ensure results are not too soft
• The AI works in a smart way to remove luminance noise and chromatic noise with one slider
• AI Noise reduction works most effectively on faces and skin
• It is possible to preserve a good amount of detail with the slider cranked up to 70
• It is possible to save settings into a stack

Adobe Lightroom Denoise AI vs Topaz Denoise AI: Features

The presenter then provides a useful side-by-side comparison of Lightroom Classic's AI Denoise with Topaz Denoise AI, a dedicated noise reduction software. While both perform admirably, there are subtle differences to note. Lightroom's AI Denoise maintains slightly more sharpness and detail, particularly in textured areas.

Topaz Denoise AI, on the other hand, can sometimes introduce a slightly smoother, almost artificial look. Preference ultimately depends on individual aesthetic choices.

The following Chart summarizes key information for both:

Unlocking Hidden Tricks

Lightroom Classic offers a wealth of Hidden tricks and shortcuts that can significantly enhance your workflow. The presenter shares several valuable tips. One such tip involves adding keywords automatically to images, which can be performed in Edit > Preferences > File Handling.

This will speed up the workflow process, and improve image selection times at a later date. It's a useful trick to automatically add keywards. These can then be used as part of a searching strategy in Lightroom.

Also worth noting is that for masking tool presets it isn't possible to denoise the picture and apply super resolution at the same time .