Beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

[AprilForever]

The ultimate thing we should ask, is noise always a bad thing?

What is wrong with a grainy photo? EVERYTHING shot back in the old days was grainy when enlarged much (except maybe the 16x20's...) Watch an old 30's movie. Find some old WWII footage or pictures. Is grain always bad?

What is wrong with embracing the grain as an artistic expression?

[MazV-L]

The ultimate thing we should ask, is noise always a bad thing?

What is wrong with a grainy photo? EVERYTHING shot back in the old days was grainy when enlarged much (except maybe the 16x20's...) Watch an old 30's movie. Find some old WWII footage or pictures. Is grain always bad?

What is wrong with embracing the grain as an artistic expression?

+1

I like to add grain/noise to some of my b &w shots if I'm after giving an old-fashioned, nostalgic feel to them, but I don't do that everytime, just depends what kind of mood I'm trying to convey.

[Ryusui]

What is wrong with embracing the grain as an artistic expression?

Nothing at all.

But when you're hired by "Glam Magazine" to do a nighttime outdoors photoshoot and they want clean image for their feature article, you might want to deliver what they're paying for.  Just saying that I too think artistic grain can be quite nice.  But when looking at photography from a profession's standpoint, the public has their own idea of what a "good photo" is, too.  And often times, grain isn't a part of it.

[thepancakeman]

What is wrong with embracing the grain as an artistic expression?

Nothing at all.

But when you're hired by "Glam Magazine" to do a nighttime outdoors photoshoot and they want clean image for their feature article, you might want to deliver what they're paying for.  Just saying that I too think artistic grain can be quite nice.  But when looking at photography from a profession's standpoint, the public has their own idea of what a "good photo" is, too.  And often times, grain isn't a part of it.

It does amaze me that for an photographic forum, there are more pictures to go with all the words.  ;-)

Although in general I am a big fan of no grain, no noise, there is a time and a place (I think).  I added grain to this photo that I was editing for my wife this weekend.  Thoughts?

[Lee Jay]

Thoughts/comments?

I agree.

Geometric distortion and CA bother me very little, while noise and lack of color (B&W) bother me a lot.  Landscapes are boring, almost universally.

This is why I think photography contests are stupid.  They rarely have detailed judging criteria, and instead are based pretty much on "what the judges liked".  So it's nothing but personal preference which is as varied as there are people on the planet, which in turn means "what the judges liked" means absolutely nothing.

[Lee Jay]

The ultimate thing we should ask, is noise always a bad thing?

What is wrong with a grainy photo? EVERYTHING shot back in the old days was grainy when enlarged much (except maybe the 16x20's...) Watch an old 30's movie. Find some old WWII footage or pictures. Is grain always bad?

What is wrong with embracing the grain as an artistic expression?

Because it looks awful, and it did all those years we shot film as well.  It's like sprinkling dirt and sand on your pictures.  It's the second worst image artifact next to unintentional motion blur, and ahead of unintentional missed focus.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

[wickidwombat]

The ultimate thing we should ask, is noise always a bad thing?

What is wrong with a grainy photo? EVERYTHING shot back in the old days was grainy when enlarged much (except maybe the 16x20's...) Watch an old 30's movie. Find some old WWII footage or pictures. Is grain always bad?

What is wrong with embracing the grain as an artistic expression?

Because it looks awful, and it did all those years we shot film as well.  It's like sprinkling dirt and sand on your pictures.  It's the second worst image artifact next to unintentional motion blur, and ahead of unintentional missed focus.

Of course, that's just my opinion.

haha its mine too, not a fan of the grain

[friedmud]

What is wrong with embracing the grain as an artistic expression?

Nothing at all.

But when you're hired by "Glam Magazine" to do a nighttime outdoors photoshoot and they want clean image for their feature article, you might want to deliver what they're paying for.  Just saying that I too think artistic grain can be quite nice.  But when looking at photography from a profession's standpoint, the public has their own idea of what a "good photo" is, too.  And often times, grain isn't a part of it.

I agree.

Sometimes I like grain... sometimes I add more on purpose.  However, I want that _choice_!

If your equipment is capable of a clean image... then it gives you total artistic freedom to add grain where you see fit... instead of being forced into it by an inadequate sensor.