We have all done it… You take your camera out one evening and jack the ISO up to 2000+ and then accidentally shoot with a high ISO the next day because you forgot to readjust. But what if you really want some grain? You don’t have to jack up your ISO, you could simply add it in post processing. Any photo processing software worth it’s weight in gold has a grain adjustment that allows you to add grain until the grainy cows come home. If you don’t own any software there are free websites that work just like Photoshop (my favorite is Pixlr.com)
So there you have it, this is one of those photo projects that the couch potato loves… Chances are you have a handful of images in your photo library that have unintended grain you didn’t think anyone would like. Dig them out and process 5 or 10 for a series called “Grain” and you’ve just completed a photo project (pat on the back).
Grainy photos aren’t the type you enter into most photo contests unless the contest specifically asks for it. Unfortunately, most of the images you show to your friends will be interpreted as you had no idea what you were doing and don’t know how to take a clear picture. It’s best to start with, “Hey, check out my grainy images… the ones I purposely made grainy… that I could have made clear… but I didn’t… I added grain… on purpose.”
Photo by John Barbiaux processed to have significant grain using Lightroom 4
Do you have any great grainy images? Share them with us by hitting the Submit an Article link under the Articles tab in the menu above. If you liked this then freaking share it by tweeting, liking, stumbling, pinning, etc… I’ll like you more if you do.