Noise question

[KylePeterson]

How do I get a smoother "blur" in the background.

Picture from last week that I had posted:
I liked how the clownfish turned out in the picture, but the background is kind of noisy, especially where it isn't black. What can I do?

f5.6
Shutter 1/125
ISO 400

 

[joeymas]

First, this is a beautiful photograph and I do not feel the the noise has ruin it at all. You can use a brush to soften the background quickly in PS but I think if you bump up the brightness by adjusting the curves, you have a masterpiece.

 

[joeymas]

I might crop the darkness out in front of Nemo a bit as well.

 

[dcclark]

The general answer is: faster lenses (i.e. f/1.8, f/1.4, etc.) give you blurrier backgrounds. However, it looks like you're using a macro lens -- you may not be able to find such a fast one.

But, I wouldn't worry -- I don't find the background problematic.

If you really want, you could also Photoshop / Gimp / etc. to selectively blur the background. Use an edge-detecting tool (such as scissors, or color selecting, etc.) to get ahold of the background, and apply a gaussian blur.

 

[djacobox372]

Simple answer: Wait for the fish to swim in front of something less distracting.

 

[Saddlebreds4me]

Beautiful shot - the noise I see hardly detracts from the photo - nice job!