Most of us would often relate noise to sound, but you must know that there is noise in photography as well. Noise is defined as any kind of disturbance that hinders your clear vision or audio. In photography, noise is the disturbance in your picture, or factors that make your picture unclear and not very pleasing to the eye. A number of times such noises might not be visible in miniatures or in the LCD screens of your digital cameras, hence it is advisable to always view your digital picture in 100% size before getting it printed.

There are various reasons for noise in photography. These range from lens fringing, over exposure, under exposure, out of focus pictures, to film speed and quality. For instance, see the picture on your left. If you see the picture in 36% size, it’s a pretty picture, but when you zoom in or see it in full mode, you will notice that the mountain’s details are not sharp; the edges are not focused. This happens due to lens fringing or cheap lenses. That is why it is important to use a quality lens from a reputed manufacturer, such as the Nikon AF 24-85mm 2.8-4 D IF. The use of a cheap zoom lens or compound lens, instead of a prime lens also causes similar disturbances in your picture.

Now notice the picture on your right. How does it look? Tempting? But only if you see it in small size. Once you see it in full mode, you will see that a few grains stop you from relishing the sight of your doughnut. Such disturbances arise when you are using very high film speed from 400 ISO to 1600 ISO. As you increase the film speed, the grain or the noise in the film keeps increasing. So it is important to check you ISO settings or the speed of your film stock, before clicking.

In the next case as you see, in 36% size, the picture seems pleasing and in great contrast, giving a silhouette effect, but once you go in full mode, you realize that it looks more underexposed than a silhouette. The details of the black area of the ship are lost, which again proves to be a hindrance to the clarity of the picture. Similarly, over exposure also leads to noise in a picture.