One of the greatest giveaways that a photo was captured on a smartphone is the noise and grain typically found in the dark areas (shadows) and low light images. Effective noise removal can make your low light photos look much more professional.
Noise (aka grain) is a random variation of speckled brightness or colour detail in the image. This is usually a by-product of having a high ISO sensitivity setting. It is most evident in the dark areas (shadows) of the image. It is also caused by sensor size, pixel density and noise reduction algorithms. All very technical isn't it? If you find yourself taking lots of low light photography - this is one of those rare occasions, when I will actually say it is about the camera. Technology has improved leaps and bounds in this area and is definitely worth the upgrade.
The good news, all smartphones, including the iPhone already has image noise removal and reduction built-in and does a great job. If you use the standard camera, this happens automatically before the photo is being saved to your Photos app.
Note: When you utilise a camera replacement app and select RAW (DNG) file format - this bypasses the Apple noise removal software and the noise can become increasingly evident.
Want to see noise in action?
How do we use Live Photos remove noise and grain?
1. Open a photo in the Live Photos album and swipe up on the photo to reveal the Effects options (available since iOS 11 update)
2. Swipe up on a selected Live Photo to reveal three settings (bounce, loop and long exposure) and tap on long exposure
These are the best editing apps available on both Android and iPhone
Noise removal on other iPhone photos – Noiseware app (iOS)
Noise reduction app for Android photographers
I didn't forget you – PicsArt is a great noise removal alternative that is available on both iOS and Android.