Shooting in low-light conditions or using high ISO settings (e.g., indoor events or night photography) often introduces digital noise—grainy artifacts that degrade image quality. While modern cameras handle high ISOs better than ever, extreme settings (e.g., ISO 6400+) still produce noticeable noise. Lightroom’s powerful noise-reduction tools can salvage these images, but achieving optimal results requires balancing noise removal with detail preservation. Here’s how to navigate this trade-off effectively
1. Open the Detail Panel
To remove noise in your image, start by navigating to the Detail Panel located in the Develop Module – this is where we will make all the noise reduction adjustments.
In the Detail Panel, you will see:
- A preview box that is zoomed into 1:1 over an area of your photo.
- The Denoise Button (the new A.I. Noise Reduction Option).
- A Manual Noise Reduction option dropdown that includes several sliders to fix Luminance Noise and Color Noise.
Note: this panel also handles image sharpening – follow the link for more detail on how to use the sharpening sliders in Lightroom
2. Zoom In
When making noise reduction adjustments, make sure you are zoomed in at 100%, as you will be able to see the noise and changes you are making much better. Then zoom out after you make the changes to ensure that your subject hasn’t lost too much detail, and use the sliders to fine-tune your results.
3-A. Use the Denoise Button (AI Option)
Lightroom’s addition of an AI-enhanced Denoise button is a remarkable new feature that reduces image noise quite effectively.
To preview the new AI noise reduction capabilities, simply click the Denoise button and review the results.
Here’s a before and after example image using the Denoise Button:
- The image on the left was captured at an ISO of 2000 and is shown without the Denoise enhancements.
- The image on the right shows what the image will look like using the Denoise enhancements.
As you can see, the Denoise AI adjustments are pretty amazing!
One important thing to note before using the Denoise Button on EVERY image you have ever taken is that each time you activate it, Lightroom will create an entirely new raw file (DNG), including the new enhancements.
In addition, these files will be MUCH LARGER than the original files (3x the size in the case of this particular image). As a result, you may want to consider ONLY using the Denoise button on images that REALLY need the noise reduction or are specific favorites.
If the denoise button isn’t reducing noise as effectively as you’d like, you can manually adjust both luminance and color noise reduction settings to make further improvements to your photo. I will discuss how to do that in the next step:
3-B. Adjust Luminance & Color Noise Reduction Sliders (Manual Option)
Whether for file size or to further optimize the existing AI adjustments, you can certainly choose to make manual adjustments to reduce image noise.
To get started, click the Manual Noise Reduction Dropdown at the bottom of the Detail Panel to access the additional sliders.
Let’s start by examining Luminance Noise, which appears as speckles or grain in your image when shooting in low-light conditions or using high ISO settings. Some photographers like to use this type of grain for creative effect, but too much can be distracting and lower the quality of the image.
To minimize Luminance Noise in your photo:
- Start by slowly moving the Luminance Slider to the right. Be careful not to push it too far, as it can make your subject begin to look OVERLY SMOOTH. I rarely move this slider above the mid-20s.
- The Detail Slider (just below the Luminance slider) is used to bring back some of the details that may have been lost due to the noise reduction process and keep your image from blurring. Moving it to the right will bring back some of those details. I typically move this slider somewhere above 50.
- The Contrast slider helps to preserve some of the contrast that is also removed by the Luminance slider. Moving this up a bit will bring back some of this lost contrast. Generally, I move this somewhere in the 10’s.
Color noise is the other type of noise found in high-ISO images. It appears as random speckles or pixels of color throughout the photo but is generally most often noticeable in the shadow areas.
This type of noise is created by the camera’s image sensor amplifying the signal to capture enough light in low-light conditions, resulting in a weaker signal-to-noise ratio. As a result, the image may appear grainy, and the colors may be distorted or mottled, especially in areas of uniform color.
The good news is that Lightroom can remove these random color flecks from your image quite easily.
To reduce Color Noise in your photo:
- Start with the Color Slider. You will not need to slide it very far as it works quickly to reduce image color. Often moving it somewhere in the 10-25 area will be perfect.
- The Detail Slider (just below the Color Slider) works very similarly to how it worked in the Luminance section. The difference is that this slider starts in the middle. Slide it to the right to preserve detail and to the left to blur it. Typically, I move this slider a little bit to the right.
- The Smoothness Slider will determine how much smoothing goes on in the image as the noise reduction is applied. Slide it to the right to increase the smoothness in your image and to the left to remove some of the smoothness that has been applied. Generally, I will move this slider a little to the left.
1. Open the Detail Panel
To remove noise in your image, start by navigating to the Detail Panel located in the Develop Module – this is where we will make all the noise reduction adjustments.
In the Detail Panel, you will see:
- A preview box that is zoomed into 1:1 over an area of your photo.
- The Denoise Button (the new A.I. Noise Reduction Option).
- A Manual Noise Reduction option dropdown that includes several sliders to fix Luminance Noise and Color Noise.
Note: this panel also handles image sharpening – follow the link for more detail on how to use the sharpening sliders in Lightroom
2. Zoom In
When making noise reduction adjustments, make sure you are zoomed in at 100%, as you will be able to see the noise and changes you are making much better. Then zoom out after you make the changes to ensure that your subject hasn’t lost too much detail, and use the sliders to fine-tune your results.
3-A. Use the Denoise Button (AI Option)
Lightroom’s addition of an AI-enhanced Denoise button is a remarkable new feature that reduces image noise quite effectively.
To preview the new AI noise reduction capabilities, simply click the Denoise button and review the results.
Here’s a before and after example image using the Denoise Button:
- The image on the left was captured at an ISO of 2000 and is shown without the Denoise enhancements.
- The image on the right shows what the image will look like using the Denoise enhancements.
As you can see, the Denoise AI adjustments are pretty amazing!
One important thing to note before using the Denoise Button on EVERY image you have ever taken is that each time you activate it, Lightroom will create an entirely new raw file (DNG), including the new enhancements.
In addition, these files will be MUCH LARGER than the original files (3x the size in the case of this particular image). As a result, you may want to consider ONLY using the Denoise button on images that REALLY need the noise reduction or are specific favorites.
If the denoise button isn’t reducing noise as effectively as you’d like, you can manually adjust both luminance and color noise reduction settings to make further improvements to your photo. I will discuss how to do that in the next step:
3-B. Adjust Luminance & Color Noise Reduction Sliders (Manual Option)
Whether for file size or to further optimize the existing AI adjustments, you can certainly choose to make manual adjustments to reduce image noise.
To get started, click the Manual Noise Reduction Dropdown at the bottom of the Detail Panel to access the additional sliders.
Let’s start by examining Luminance Noise, which appears as speckles or grain in your image when shooting in low-light conditions or using high ISO settings. Some photographers like to use this type of grain for creative effect, but too much can be distracting and lower the quality of the image.
To minimize Luminance Noise in your photo:
- Start by slowly moving the Luminance Slider to the right. Be careful not to push it too far, as it can make your subject begin to look OVERLY SMOOTH. I rarely move this slider above the mid-20s.
- The Detail Slider (just below the Luminance slider) is used to bring back some of the details that may have been lost due to the noise reduction process and keep your image from blurring. Moving it to the right will bring back some of those details. I typically move this slider somewhere above 50.
- The Contrast slider helps to preserve some of the contrast that is also removed by the Luminance slider. Moving this up a bit will bring back some of this lost contrast. Generally, I move this somewhere in the 10’s.
Color noise is the other type of noise found in high-ISO images. It appears as random speckles or pixels of color throughout the photo but is generally most often noticeable in the shadow areas.
This type of noise is created by the camera’s image sensor amplifying the signal to capture enough light in low-light conditions, resulting in a weaker signal-to-noise ratio. As a result, the image may appear grainy, and the colors may be distorted or mottled, especially in areas of uniform color.
The good news is that Lightroom can remove these random color flecks from your image quite easily.
To reduce Color Noise in your photo:
- Start with the Color Slider. You will not need to slide it very far as it works quickly to reduce image color. Often moving it somewhere in the 10-25 area will be perfect.
- The Detail Slider (just below the Color Slider) works very similarly to how it worked in the Luminance section. The difference is that this slider starts in the middle. Slide it to the right to preserve detail and to the left to blur it. Typically, I move this slider a little bit to the right.
- The Smoothness Slider will determine how much smoothing goes on in the image as the noise reduction is applied. Slide it to the right to increase the smoothness in your image and to the left to remove some of the smoothness that has been applied. Generally, I will move this slider a little to the left.