Gradient Banding Help

[nowheremanphoto]

Hey, guys!

Wondering if you guys can help. I wanted to add a background light in post with a simple white large soft brush tool which I blurred out as well and just masked out my model. As the edges fade to nothing there's an increased banding effect as the background shows through, which will not change no matter if I blur the gradient or not. There was no banding in the background before this.

Photo color space was Adobe RGB (1998).

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2223/...ca2ab243_z.jpg

(I'll post a "before" photo when I get home tonight.)

[4personnen]

Have you tried to add some noise to the background? Usually blurring makes banding worse...

[nowheremanphoto]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Interesting, I've never noticed that before, though I'm not in the habit of adding things to my backgrounds in post. Should I add noise to the background or two the gradient over the background?

[4personnen]

I usually add it the the gradient.... You have to break the "absence of texture"... However there is some cases where it doesn't work too well. Better to have the largest range (16 bits).

[nowheremanphoto]

Thanks again! I'll give it a shot tonight and let you know!

[artofretouching]

Yes, adding noise to the gradient, and working in 16-bit should eliminate the problem. I would add by saying that if this is for press, you should add a tiny bit more than you think you need. For example, if adding noise of 2 looks good on screen, make it 3. It will look strong on screen, but print as expected. If you go too weak, you will still see the bands on there printed piece.

[nowheremanphoto]

Thanks artofretouching! Very helpful!

[Rust]

Try filter-brush strokes-spatter-spray radius approx. 8 smothness 1. Just play around with the values. Add layer mask and paint in on the background
Another tips is to do as much of contrast, luminance work in ACR, to prevent this banding.

[nowheremanphoto]

@Rust… thanks, I'll give that a whirl too.

I'm not sure what you mean by "do as much of contrast, luminance work in ACR". What kind of luminance/contrast work in ACR would prevent the banding?

[nowheremanphoto]

Thanks all! Unfortunately I was working in 8-bit mode (adjusted my workflow for the future), so I couldn't COMPLETELY get rid of the banding, but I've got it down to a manageable level, so thanks a bunch.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2223/...e7ca8009_z.jpg

[artofretouching]

I can still see a little bit on the left, but overall I think it's great. Only those of us looking for it, will really see it. I am glad that you took something away from this thread, being the 8-bit vs. 16-bit. If you want to see the true impact of the difference, check out this video:

http://www.theartofretouching.com/bl...it-color-space

[nowheremanphoto]

Wow, that video was really helpful, thanks!