I use severals paths to add grain of which Real Grain by Imagenomic is one. With todays software options for getting your images processed, the integration of noise reduction, both color and luminance and the adding of grain needs to be carefully done with output intent always kept in mind.

It should be pointed out though that plug ins in LR don’t currently allow for the non destructive in put, so while it may be convenient, it could just be done in PS.

Thanks,
Matt

thats correct, higher iso gives you more grain, just as it gives more noise in digital. liquid developers and temperature can increase it as well and make it larger. just as over developing in LR can increase noise. an inferior lens will give you soft edges to grain and produce a soft image in both film and digital. so a sharp image with fine grain is achieved by using expensive optics with wider f/ and good glass. this way you can use the lowest iso for the shot at hand and have sharper finer grain/noise. but i can see the possibilities of hiding the added noise of higher iso in digital with a grain effect that could be more acceptable to some, since its been a common look since Kodaks begining and possibly since glass plates.
The grain look will have its place, but its not an every shot thing for me either. It does look better than PS add grain filter, thats for sure.

thanks for using the preset…lol

Ron

Using a grain focuser has nothing to do with what the grain is, only how it is focused through another lens which will have as much or more affect on how the grain is rendered in the final image.

Grain can be used to both add sharpness, and reduce detail and it is the loss of detail that I think you’re really talking about Matt. Ron, I don’t think that a little criticism is going to make Matt shut the site down, and it might also help. As for “being with some one” on the subject of grain or not? This is a long running issue in photography and is not what this is about. There are many that do use it or you would not have seen Adobe put it in here. And for those that do use it, they might have a specific look that they are after; an old favorite combination or a look that they admire. I was looking to see if Matt had included a few specific examples of those combinations or were they simply a look that was being offered.

And I ask this, do you go shop for a meal from a source that admits to really not liking to cook the food you like? NO. It’s great that they have a site like this and that Adobe is trying to include new stuff from an old media, but we’re all looking for creative answers to our vision.

best regards to Matt,

Eric

I LOVE the smell of hypo in the morning…

I’m with you, I just don’t see the purpose of adding grain when I go to so much trouble to keep it out. Can’t ever see using these on any of my images.