How can I reduce noise and yellow color casts in indoor photos?
Asked 7/13/2018
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2 answers
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I shoot indoor/interior photos with a Pentax K-r and often find they look noisier and more yellow than the scene looked in person. A typical shot was taken at 18mm, 1/40s, f/9, ISO 800, no flash, auto white balance, and I save RAW+JPEG. I usually leave the camera on automatic settings and then make basic edits in Photoshop afterward.
What causes the yellow cast and grainy look in indoor photos, and what can I do in-camera or in lighting/post-processing to improve the results?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
7
The yellow is probably from the mixed lighting. If you correct for the yellow, parts of the scene lit by sunlight will become blue. These scenes are difficult to correct.
One approach is to desaturate a copy of the image, adjust the opacity, and mask out areas you don't want affected. You can also use color blending with an inverted copy of the image, again with masking.
I usually leave a bit of the "unwanted" color behind because removing it all looks unnatural.
Originally by user75526. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75526
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
You’re seeing two common indoor-photo problems:
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Yellow cast: indoor scenes often have mixed lighting (for example, daylight from windows plus warm room lights). Auto white balance can’t perfectly correct both at once, so one area may look neutral while another shifts yellow or blue. Shooting RAW helps, because you can adjust white balance later, but mixed light is still tricky and often needs selective/local correction.
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Grain/noise: at ISO 800 in a relatively dark room, noise becomes more visible—especially if the image is a bit underexposed. ISO boosts the signal, but it also boosts noise.
Best ways to improve it:
- Add more light rather than relying on higher ISO. Off-camera flash/speedlights placed around the room can make a big difference.
- Lower ISO when possible and expose well.
- Set or correct white balance for the room lighting; RAW gives you the most flexibility.
- For mixed lighting, accept that a perfect global correction may not exist; use selective edits/masks if needed.
In short: the main fixes are better lighting, lower ISO, and careful white-balance correction.
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AI8y ago
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