The sky looks great but all of the detail has been smoothed out of the mountain which doesn’t look very nice either. Image #3 above shows what my picture looked like after exporting it from PS Express. It then takes you back to the editing screen where you should again click on the check mark to save the “denoised” image to your camera roll. Once you are happy with how your sky looks, click on the check mark on the bottom right of the screen to apply it. The app will automatically apply the effect but if you don’t like it you can adjust the amount by dragging your finger up and down the screen. Once installed, you will click on the Filters panel (on the top, fourth icon from the right) and select Reduce Noise. In order to proceed you will have to purchase the Adobe Camera Pack add on.
Photoshop Express is also a nice editor but I do like Snapseed better so I only really use it for this one feature that Snapseed doesn’t have. Click on the pencil icon (bottom right) to begin editing your picture.
First, launch the app and open your image.
#Touchretouch found download#
If memory serves, the app itself is free to download but I had to actually pay for the feature I use for this technique (not more than a couple bucks). The next step to clear skies is to open the image in PS Express ( Photoshop Express). Image #2, shown above right, is what I was left with after making my adjustments in Snapseed and removing the sign in touchRetouch. I also used touchRetouch (see post V4 for notes on touchRetouch) to remove the little yellow sign in the bottom right of the picture, which I also found to be distracting to the landscape. I decided I wanted to make this one black and white as I thought it, along with the minimalist composition, added to the mystery of the surreal landscape. But before I tackle that issue, I did a few other things to the image in Snapseed (see post V3 for notes on Snapseed) such as increasing the contrast and desaturating the image. I find this very distracting and I think it lowers the overall quality of the image so I try and get rid of it whenever I can. In other words, noise is a sky destroyer!ĥ: Masking and Blending: In the original picture ( image #1, above left) you can plainly see the little specks of noise in the blue sky. It also tends to rear it’s ugly head in areas where there are smooth gradients. Noise (also called grain) in an image looks like little specks of sand all over your picture and you are likely to see it most at times when there is not much available light (i.e., shots taken indoors and at night). Unfortunately, one of the biggest disadvantages to using a mobile phone camera is that the sensor in it is very small and, as such, is very prone to image noise. First, I should mention that this is an advanced technique and requires the purchase of a few apps… this one is probably only for those of you who are more serious about creating art with your phone.Ī properly exposed sky will naturally be darker towards the top of the picture and get lighter as it gets closer to the horizon line (this transition from dark to light is called a gradient). In today’s post I will share my secret to nice smooth skies.