David Schooley – Noise Reduction & Sharpening – Getting it Right in Camera First
Jan 2023
The topic for our first meeting of 2023 was about noise reduction and sharpening including getting images as sharp as possible in camera by avoiding motion blur and camera movement. Once we’ve done the best we can do in camera, additional work may be necessary for sharpening and/or noise reduction using software tools. Examples and demonstrations was covered using Adobe software along with a few experiments using Topaz AI tools.
While not a full-time professional photographer, David Schooley occasionally does work for hire and also supports one of the local animal rescue organizations. He travels when he can and has done nature and landscape photography on six continents, including three trips to Africa and one trip to Antarctica. He is a graduate of the photography and natural history certificate programs at The Morton Arboretum and continues to assist with photography classes.
David has participated with previous MAPS programs including his images from Antartica and Africa but who can forget his demonstration of drone photography where we all went outside and watched on live TV his drone flying over Thornhill and the surrounding area! Those images can be found on this website with a search for those who are interested.
Because modern cameras have come a long way with lowering noise, David suggests that it may be best to shoot at higher ISOs leaving the camera with more options to capture sharp images with a deeper depth of field. A few cropped screenshots below help to explain the best way to process high ISO photographs. Click to expand photos:
