Why do my indoor team portraits look fuzzy, and can I fix them in Lightroom?
Asked 5/17/2016
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2 answers
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I photographed indoor sports team portraits with a Nikon D90 and a Sigma 18-200mm lens. Settings were 1/200s, f/4.5, ISO 1250, with a shoe-mounted flash plus two fluorescent umbrella lights. I shot in RAW and used manual focus because the camera and subjects stayed in the same positions.
The images look soft/fuzzy to me, and I need to deliver about 200 8x10 prints soon. Are these actually out of focus, or is this mostly high-ISO noise and exposure/sharpening issues? What Lightroom adjustments are most likely to help, and should I consider reshooting?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
9
I do not think your photos are fuzzy,I think they are noisy. You will get the best quality image by shooting as close to the 'native' ISO as possible. For most modern dSLRS that is typically ISO 100 or 200. By shooting at ISO 1250, you will naturally get noise. Reshooting is the only thing that will significantly reduce the noise.
With Lightroom, assuming you are shooting RAW (you are shooting RAW, right?), you can reduce the exposure to 0 to .25 or so, which will cut the noise as best you can. Adjust the white balance to set it such that the 'warning' or red indicator is not present in the photo, and adjust blacks such that there are no blue indicators. Then add noise reduction to what you feel is helpful, likely 25-40 or so. I would add lens corrections for your lens as well. Given these settings, it will likely be about the best you can do with the ISO you shot.
Next time, try a better lens, perhaps even an inexpensive 50mm, adjust zoom with your feet, shoot at f/8 and have the flashes adjust to compensate for ISO 200 if you can.
Originally by user4880. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4880
10y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
From the examples described, the images likely look more noisy than truly out of focus. ISO 1250 on a D90 can introduce noticeable luminance noise, and slightly overexposed whites/faces can make portraits appear softer than they are.
In Lightroom, try this on the RAW files:
- Reduce highlights/whites a little if jerseys or faces are bright.
- Set exposure carefully to avoid clipping.
- Apply luminance noise reduction moderately.
- Add sharpening afterward, adjusting amount and masking so you sharpen edges more than smooth areas.
- Enable lens corrections for the Sigma lens.
If noise reduction is too strong, it can make images look mushy, so balance NR and sharpening carefully.
A reshoot is the only real way to significantly improve high-ISO image quality. If you can reshoot, use as low an ISO as lighting allows while keeping exposure under control. But based on the community feedback, these files may still be acceptable for 8x10 prints with careful RAW processing.
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