Noise Reduction + Adjustment Brush = Smooth Skin

A combination of the amazing new Noise Reduction feature in an Adjustment Brush would be the ideal solution for Skin Smoothing.

areohbee wrote:
I confess (due no doubt to my complete lack of appreciation for the Adobe development process), I thought they might slip lum-NR into the brush before releasing Lr3. Oh well - de-sharpening brush works pretty good too.
The "de-sharpening" brush is de-sharpening from -1 to -50 and actually blurring from -51 to -100. Combined with -clarity, I find it very effective on skin.

Similar Messages

Nikon D70s + Process 2010 + Luminance Noise Reduction + Adjustment Brush = blurry picture

Please let me know if you have experienced the following and if it is a known bug:
I'm processing a very noisy Nikon D70s raw photograph with Lightroom 3: In the develop mode, I applied the 2010 process under Camera Calibration, and then set the Luminance Noise Reduction to 98 in the detail panel. At this point, the resulting improvement over the original is dramatic and the details are rather crisp given the original condition of the photo.
However, the moment I apply a local adjustment to the photo, bluriness is introduced to the photo; the bluriness affects the entire photo and not only the areas impacted by the local adjustment. This undesired effect appears with the adjustment brush and gradient and the only parameter that the local adjustment applies is an increase in the exposure by 0.01, which should normally not produce much of a visible effect.
I exported the photo to a jpeg and found the undesired effect in the jpeg file.
I believe this issue has a relation with the RAW file coming from a Nikon D70s as I performed a Sync of all the settings on RAW photos originating from a Canon 30D, and from a Canon XSi and did not see any of the undesired effect.
These steps appear to be reproduceable on any of the Nikon D70s RAW photos that I have in my catalog.
Please share some feedback.
Thanks,
Bruno

The NEF and xmp files are now available at http://drop.io/LR3BugAdjBrushNoise8736
In the current development settings, I added an adjustment brush to the ceiling with an exposure adjustment of +0.01 simply to demonstrate the issue. As soon as the adjustment is applied, bluriness can be seen and is most apparent in the faces but can also be seen on the wooden floor and everywhere else.
I also noticed that by setting the mask to show (O), ditthering can be seen in the mask even though it was applied with feather, flow and density all set to 100%.
Let me know what you think.
Bruno

Noise reduction quick brush - no controls ?

Hi,
After the upgrade to Aperture 3.1, if I apply the Noise Reduction quick brush, I can't see any controls or sliders in the adjustment brick. Does anyone else face this problem ?
I have no idea what should be in there, as I haven't used it before. Only tried the regular NR brick.
It doesn't seem to do anything to the image, even high ISO ones (I thought it might be linked to the RAW fine tuning brick, but it isn't).
Could someone please shed some light on what this tool does, or if you have faced the same issue ?
Thank you
Viren

I'm just agreeing with the OP. The NR Brick works as expected. The NR Quick Brush has no effect whatsoever, and, oddly, it shows up as a separate Brick from the regular NR Brick.
Let's go to the screenshots, all taken at the same exact spot on a 24 MP image shot raw at ISO 800 f/2.8. All details at 1600%
As shot:
/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/126/12613196-1.jpg
After noise reduction applied to entire image via the NR Brick w. default settings:
/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/126/12613196-2.jpg
Without the regular NR Brick, but with NR Quick Brush applied to this area, default settings, strength at 100%:
/___sbsstatic___/migration-images/126/12613196-3.jpg
QED. The NR Quick Brush does nothing. An ugly bug.

Noise reduction / adjust amplitude not available for mono tracks.

Hi,
If there is a better group or forum for the following questions, please let me know.
I am presently performing the sound editing and mix for a feature using version 3.0.1 of Soundtrack Pro. Though I am mixing using the surround feature, I have chosen to only use the center channel for dialog, and the front right and left speakers for everything else.
Furthermore, the picture editor (who is in a different state) sent me mono dialog tracks (he first sent me location and ADR on the same stereo track, which I could not separate for elimination or proper levels) and stereo tracks for the effects and score. The two problems I am running into are:
1. I am unable to access the noise reduction tools for any of the mono tracks. The individual stereo tracks allow me to do this. What appears to be going on? Is there a workaround?
2. Similarly, I am unable to access "adjust amplitude" under the same circumstances. Again, the stereo tracks are fine.
Any assistance would be much appreciated!
Kind Regards,
Andre

No, although ACR v4.1 does apply some baseline noise reduction to many raw files, I do not think that it applies any default NR to TIF files. Lightroom v1.1 does not apply any noise-reduction to TIF or JPG files by default, at least as far as I've noticed, so I believe this will likely carry over to ACR v4.1 as well. Of course you *can* turn the NR sliders up from zero and then it will! In any case, you'd be advised to test that theory yourself just to make sure, before designing a workflow around that assumption...

Noise reduction only on shadows

Would be great if we had noise reduction adjustable only on shadows in camera raw & LR ?

Yes. But it would be better if we had an easy way to select only shadows, so we could then apply any changes to them (noise reduction, color, tone, ... ).
Ditto for highlights, and all the dark blue stuff, and all the ... stuff.
Nik software supports this via U-points, and I hope Adobe invents a similiar auto-masking technology that blows U-points out of the water .
Cheers,
Rob

Adjustment brush with exposure setting cancels noise reduction

Hello,
I just noticed the following problem:
1) Camera Raw 6.5; Bridge CS5 (4.0.5.11); Mac OS X 10.6.8; Mac Pro 3,1; Dual Quad-Core Xeon; 8GB RAM.
2) Start with a noisy raw file (mine is from a Canon 5D II).
3) Apply Noise Reduction (Luminance:30; Lum Detail:75; Lum Contrast:0; Color:25; Color Detail:50).
4) Go to Adjustment Brush and set a non-zero Exposure value.
5) Apply brush to image and notice the Noise Reduction effects disappear (noise returns).
6) Click Clear All button to clear Adjustment Brush and Noise Reduction works again.
This seems to only happen with Adjustment Brushes with a non-zero Exposure value (applying brightness or other settings don't seem to produce the problem).
Anyone else seeing this?
Thanks!

Richard (and others),
Yes, very good idea to check that. The problem does indeed get applied to the full sized, opened image as well as to the display previews. After working with this more, I now notice that I was wrong to say that the entire noise reduction is cancelled - rather it "changes", sometimes subtly, sometimes more dramatically depending on what the noise reduction settings are set to. Further, how dramatic the "changes" appear depend greatly on the preview zoom (the changes are more subtle at 100%, but it can look like the noise reduction is completely turned off at 50% and 66%).
Now I realize that the noise reduction does not ordinarily display at all preview sizes (especially smaller ones), but this is different. At preview sizes where it does normally get applied, applying an adjustment brush with any non-zero exposure value (even just +0.05) can have the appearance that the NR is completely turned off for the whole image. Simply nudging the exposure value back to zero brings all the noise reduction back.
Also, to be clearer and avoid confusion for others, the change in noise I'm seeing is not localized to just the brushed spot. Obviously if one increases exposure, you'd expect to potentially see more noise. Instead, what I'm seeing happens to the entire image, even if I simply paint a single small brush dot, say in a far corner. Having the image change globally in response to painting a small spot with the adjustment brush cannot be a correct result. Further, this does not happen with any of the other adjustment brush settings like brightness, contrast or saturation. There must be something unique about the exposure setting that perhaps introduces a new step into the processing pipeline, and this step is affecting the entire image.
In any case, the problem only seems to be an issue in somewhat extreme cases and is less noticeable at 100% (and the finally opened image). It's more just annoying when previews are generated for viewing in Bridge, for example.
I suppose one alternative might be to rob a bank and go buy one of those new 1D X's. Then maybe I wouldn't have to worry about noise anymore.
Thanks for the responses!

RAW files very smoothed - not caused by noise reduction

Hi there. My Adobe RAW-converting software has just developed a really odd problem. I was editing files and all of a sudden all the RAW files have some kind of smoothing effect. It's like the noise reduction is up full (it's at the default settings), but even worse. This happens in both ACR and Lightroom.
I can see the blurring effect in Lightroom and ACR if I zoom in to 100%, but not otherwise. I trashed the preferences for Photoshop and ACR and I also re-downloaded Camera Raw 5.6 and reinstalled it. Nothing seems to help. I did not change any settings for this to happen; it just happened sponteneously as I was editing. Any ideas? Thanks!

By the way, here are two screen shots showing what the file looks like at full size in LR, followed by how it looks when opened into Photoshop.

LR6 Soften Skin adjustment brush issue

Anyone having problems with the Soften Skin adjustment brush in LR6 for very backlit photos? Mine is showing as very dark since upgrading my catalogue from LR5 and I can't get it to blend in with the skin tones now. Thank you!

Hi,
EDIT and delete my post to replace it with this:
I JUST FOUND THE ANSWER!
See this post:
http://forums.adobe.com/message/1465984#1465984
Don says: "In Develop press K for Adjustment Brush (or click the Brush Icon). The it appears in the drop down menu next to Effect: that defaults to Exposure and has a small set of up and down arrows to the right of it. Soften Skin is last after a divider. It also appears (????) there for Graduated Filter (M). "
In my case, I was looking in the wrong place for the preset. It is not in the list of presets in the left column. Instead, it is in the Effects dropdown right in the Adjustment Brush palette.
John

Reinstalling The Skin Soften Adjustment Brush in Lightroom 3.5

Last week I accidentally deleted the "Skin Soften" adjustment brush in Lightroom 3.3. I upgraded to Lightroom 3.5 hoping it would reinstall the adjustment brush, but no such luck. I am having trouble locating information and understanding how to reinstall this brush. If anyone could help me do this, it would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Go to Preferences, Presets Tab, and click "Restore Local Adjustment Presets".
Beat

Can not find the Skin Soften option with the adjustment brush 2.0

When I first installed 2.0 I had an option for skin softening with the adjustment brush. Now it's gone. Does everyone using Lightroom 2.0 have skin soften with the adjustment brush?

In Develop press K for Adjustment Brush (or click the Brush Icon). The it appears in the drop down menu next to Effect: that defaults to Exposure and has a small set of up and down arrows to the right of it. Soften Skin is last after a divider. It also appears (????) there for Graduated Filter (M).
Don
Don Ricklin, MacBook 2Ghz Duo 2 Core running 10.5.4 & Win XP, Pentax K-10D & *ist D
See LR Links list at http://donricklin.blogspot.com for related sites.

Hi! I have a problem with the adjustment brush some are not there anymore like soften skin, how i can fix that?

Hi! I have a problem with the adjustment brush some are not there anymore like soften skin, how i can fix that?

Hi dear,
it's funny, real funny.
I think the programmes have diffrent sound system from the normal calls system.
All you need to do is to turn the sound up from the bottom in the phone side in the time you're making or recieving the call.
you'll hear the sound.
I hope that would help.
All the best

Noise reduction function built into built into graduated filter and adjustments brush!

Really useful functionality, but maybe the tool name shout be "Noise reduction" rather than "noise" for the graduated filter and adjustments brush. If I understand it correctly, the way all the sliders work now is that that movement to the left decreases the function of the slider, and to the right increases the function - if that is the case, then by labelling the slider "noise" would suggest that moving to the right is increasing the noise when in fact it is the reverse!

The explanation is that "noise reduction" doesn't fit the available space in all languages.

LR3: lack of processing feedback after applying noise reduction

Now with the bigger RAW files (7D's 18Mpix) Lightroom is becoming really slow.
On several ocassions after applying some noise reduction, and waiting for some 20-30sec for a visible result, I moved the slider back and forth in the wrong assumption that nothing happens, but in fact I was disrupting an ongoing operation. The problem in LR3 is that it does not show any of its tooltips with an information that a noise reducing operation is in progress.
I hope that the team would improve this in the next version 3.01, we need at least the tooltip to appear.
Thomas

i absolutely agree!
Now, in LR3 you can move the sliders very smoothly - but nothing happens for seconds.
Same happens with the local adjustment brush. You click on the picture and start to paint but nothing happens. After a few seconds the pin appears and MAYBE the first click for the mask is set. After that you can paint further.
Another thing is, that it takes longer for a RAW to be loaded. Sometimes i see the "Loading"-Hint for 10 Seconds or more. If i need to scan fast thru hundreds of pictures to clone away some things or make a face a little bit brighter, these loading times feels like ages.
Both is very annoying and was better in LR2.
BTW: I think LR3 has a serious memory leak because i can see LR3 slowing down over time. After developing about 20 pictures everything slows down, sometimes to a point where i think LR3 has frozen (no CPU usages, just standing still for 30 seconds or more). When i quit and restart LR3, everything is quick until the next slow down.
(older iMac 24", white model, 3GB RAM that can be used) - you may see this at a later point if you have 8GB or more RAM of course.

Noise Reduction Mask

There is no masking tool for noise reduction like there is for sharpening (only the other way round, so it masks out sharper transition) either in Lightroom 3 or Lightroom 4. I cannot hazard a guess why not and wonder whether such a thing could be included in the final version?

+1!
The inverse of the Sharpening Mask! Hold down ALT while adjusting the Luminance and Color sliders to view in real time. Would be awesome.
In the interim I've found the following workflow helpful when applying global NR...
1) Get rid of color noise first - easily done, get it out of the way for when you evaluate detail
2) Crank Luminance NR, crank NR Detail, zero out NR Contrast
3) View at 3:1, nice and tight, find a section that has smooth and detailed areas
4) Move the Detail slider back and forth and pay attention to the blur on the fine detail. Too high and you'll get the detail back but noise as well. Too low and will be blurred into obscurity. Look for the best balance
5) Do the same thing with NR Contrast. Up and down and watch for changes. Frankly this control is so subtle I find it insignificant. Probably aren't looking for right things.
6) Settled on those zero out the Luminance NR and start to raise until you are satisfied with the overall noise levels, knowing that your detail will be protected from above. Work your sharpening to compensate for any softening (and use the mask so noise in flatter areas isn't exaggerated).
Now we can add the local NR brush to fine tune further and add or reduce that global application selectively.

Wrong Mouse Pointer for Adjustment Brush with Image on External Drive

Adjustment brush guide "circles" is not visible when hovering over the image. It is only visible when you are to the side of the image in the gray space. This only happens when I am using Lightroom from my external drive. It does not happen from the local copy.

After some research, the brush preset I created happened to have the same settings as "skin smooth +" in Lightroom, which is the one it kept switching to. Perhaps that was the problem...

Noise Reduction + Adjustment Brush = Smooth Skin

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