Gotcha!

[Tim Harding]

Nikon D7100 300mm w/ 1.4x TC
1/1600 f/7.1 450 ISO

Shot hand-held on low light with non-VR lens, so I had to boost the SS and ISO. Image is a little noisier than I would like so I'm looking for some suggestions to improve the outputbecause I really like the comp.

All C&C welcome.

[Randall Farhy]

Tim, do you have Lightroom? One of the easier ways that I've found to reduce noise on a bg is to use the Brush tool in LR5 (I believe it was available in 4 as well). Brush in the area to be applied, then set the amount within the brush tool menu. I prefer to set hardness to 100 and use a feathered edge. An alternate method is PS> layer> Noise Reduction (plugin or PS)>layer mask then brush out the area you don't want it to be applied.

[Tim Harding]

Thanks Randall. I do have LR and PS. I use Topaz DeNoise on the BG, but I'm hesitant to use it on the bird because of the loss of sharpness that results.

[Randall Farhy]

Ahh ok you were referencing noise on the bird here-sometimes with a white subject, a light desaturation brush application will reduce the effects of color noise- but only slightly. Also, you could try reducing just the color noise in LR as that doesn't seem to soften the image as much as Luminance does-beyond that I'm hoping someone else will chime in because I'd like to know if there are alternate methods as well. I'm also seeing a bit of a magenta cast on this one-perhaps a WB adjustment?

[Tim Harding]

Tweaking both the Luminance and colour NR seemed to do the trick. I also slightly adjusted the tint on the WB. Thanks for your input - much appreciated!

[Sandy Witvoet]

Hi Tim... Great work on the RP! I like most everything here! Bird with a great reflection, action and splash.
Likely my monitor, but did like the BG color a bit more in the OP.
WELL DONE!

[Diane Miller]

Gorgeous shot!! The only way to evaluate noise or NR results is at 100%. I use Smart Image, Nik Dfine and Topaz DeNoise -- I'll just try them and see which one is best. I may need to reduce the opacity of a layer or do some masking. There are parameters that can be adjusted in each, too, but I'm no expert in that.

Pevention is the best cure, for noise. ISO 450 shouldn't be bad if the exposure was with some plus compensation. Keep the exposure as high as possible without blowing out highlights beyond good recovery. You can reduce exposure with good results but increasing it will bring out noise.