Why so much grainy and noisy ?

[digmont]

I need help regarding this picture attached here: here's my question .. why this picture looks so grainy/ noisy and with what exact settings or say exposure settings this picture could have taken for better clarity and crisp ? is the ISO causing the image noise or The shutter speed or an aperture ? Thanks in advance

Regards,
Digmont.

Here is the Picture attachment.


EXIF:
ISO: 1600
Shutter speed: 1/60
Aperture: f/8.0
Tripod : NO
Lens : nikkor 50mm 1.8G
Camera : Nikon D5100

 

[Gavjenks]

Aperture has nothing to do with graininess, it is all ISO.
ISO 1600 is pretty high for a crop frame camera like the D5100.

 

[digmont]

thanks for your time .. ok so what ISO could have been better for this picture ? and on what ISO settings I should shoot often ?

 

[jaomul]

While F8 should be ideal for sharp shots etc due the fact both people are on same plane that shot could have been shot with dame shutter speed at iso 800 and f5.6 or iso 400 at f4. I'd say both settings would have worked with the lower iso settings decreasing noise

 

[Gavjenks]

There is no ISO to shoot at more often, per se. You simply always want the lowest possible ISO you can get while not ruining the photo in some other way.
So... if you don't NEED f/8, then shoot wider, for instance. Here, I don't see why you needed f/8. Who cares if the front steps are in focus? As mentioned by jaomul, your lens would still be plennnnnty sharp at f/4 for instance. So you could easily shoot ISO 400 and f/4.

If it were me, I would probably even try f/2.8. And I would use the last stop for a faster shutter, because 1/60 is cutting it close for no image stabilization hand held 50mm.
So... f/2.8 ISO 400, 1/120

 

[digmont]

Why I needed f/8 : for the background detail .. if I would shot at f/2.8 the background wouldn't be this clear or something ..I don't care for steps to be in focus but I needed the wall design behind the subject to pop out and I chose f/8 .. correct me if I am wrong and tell me with which aperture the background in this pic would have popped clearer compared to the aperture I used in this picture that is f/8 .

 

[jaomul]

You a're correct. F8 allows more detail in the wall.
However what is your subject? The people or the wall.? I suggest in a portrait that the people should be clearest. The wall detail is secondary, not requiring f8. At the distance you appear to be an f5.6 or f4 or maybe f2.8 will likely give "enough" detail on the wall

 

[digmont]

ok apart from the details thing .. here's another thing I want to ask .. what If I would have set my ISO 100 to 400 in this lighting condition and shutter speed to say 1/80 to 1/100 and aperture to f/2 to f/4 and If I would get under exposed image shot in RAW , would I be able to get the lights in post ?

 

[jaomul]

I can't say what exposures would be correct but iso 400 here with f4 and 1/100 sec is about 1/3rd stop less than your original exposure. You could pull that back in raw but increasing exp in raw increases noise also. You be better exposing correctly, or even slightly overexposing (without allowing clipping highlights). It is always better to be correct or slightly decrease exp in post rather than increasing exp in post

 

[digmont]

is it ok to take the "Highlight" slider down in post in "lightroom" if its showing some highlighted area "over-exposed" (as in lightroom would spot overexposed area with red color) ? would it make any negative effect (as in noise/grain) on my picture ?

 

[ronlane]

is it ok to take the "Highlight" slider down in post in "lightroom" if its showing some highlighted area "over-exposed" (as in lightroom would spot overexposed area with red color) ? would it make any negative effect (as in noise/grain) on my picture ?

It's okay to do what you want to in post production. The highlights slider will recover some of the detail to the really bright spots of your photo. Not sure about the effect that it will have on the noise/grain but you can go to the details section and look at the noise reduction section to reduce some noise and grain from your picture. I have recently got the Nik collection software and it has a program called Dfine 2 that I use to reduce grain/noise in some of my photos.

Some grain/noise is okay at times.

 

[Gavjenks]

No, underexposing then pushing exposure later has the same result as ISO: noise/errors/etc.

The clarity of the signal depends on light gathered. You can't really cheat.

 

[KmH]

The photo is under exposed.
Under exposure makes image noise more visible. Digital Camera Image Noise: Concept and Types

For making digital photos we need to expose for the highlights. It's called ETTR - Expose-To-The-Right - and means to the right of the image histogram. Optimizing Exposure
ETTR

• Understanding Histograms, Part 1: Tones & Contrast
• Understanding Histograms, Part 2: Luminosity & Color
• Using the "Levels" Tool in Photoshop
• Using the "Curves" Tool in Photoshop

 

[deeky]

If you have a smart phone, download a free dof calculator to be able to use in the moment until you really know your lens and dof. I think if you run the numbers, you would find you had plenty of dof to capture both subjects and wall even at a larger aperture.

 

[BoSnapsPhotography]

Maybe it's just me but I don't see the noise in this picture. It could use just a touch more exposure but over all very nice. The subjects, and composition are spot on.