Exported files are grainy

[hking1323]

I have Lightroom 5.6 but still having issues with exporting, as I apply "Luminance" but images exported do not have the effect I applied! They don't even show skin smoothing effects I added!

[ssprengel]

Are you judging the effect at 1:1/100% zoom, or using a reduced-size view, either in LR or after you’ve exported?

Also, what export sharpening are you applying and are you resizing as you export?

[hking1323]

Judging the effect at 1:1. The difference is extremely noticeable. NO export sharpening at all. Trust me I have been trying everything!

[ssprengel]

Can we see what you’re seeing—screenshots?  The view in Develop, the view after Export at 100% and the Detail and Export settings?

If you want someone else to test, post a raw file with your settings in an accompanying XMP, or a DNG with updated metadata, or JPG with updated metadata, using http://www.dropbox.com/ or similar hosting site.

Also make sure you're not exporting with the file format as "Original" which will ignore all LR adjustments and just copy the original file.  If this is happening, then I expect you're editing a JPG because exporting Original as a raw file would just copy the raw file, again, and this would obviously not be a JPG.

[hking1323]

Huh? Please simplify everything you just said... Also, I am editing a JPEG not RAW file. Is there no explanation for this not working, I have seen others with the same issues. One person posted a picture of a cowboy before and after adding luminance, then after exporting the luminance did not apply. This is all I need to know... why won't the luminance apply after exporting!

[ssprengel]

I'd suspect that either you're viewing your original JPG not the exported JPG, or you have Export / File Settings / Image Format set as Original instead of JPG which merely copies the original file, again, rather than making a copy with your LR adjustments.

Try adjusting the Exposure to something ridiculously high or low and do the Export and see if the Exposure setting is exported but the Luminance settings is not. 

[hking1323]

No, Im not viewing my original file. This is obvious as I have used some presets, color adjustments that are exporting fine. Also, I have Export/file settings/image format set as JPEG. So its obvious to me that it is ONLY the luminance that is not working.

[ssprengel]

Does this happen with all your photos or only this particular one? Are you resizing during Export?  There was a bug in very early versions of LR 5 that were supposedly fixed long since, where NR and sharpening weren’t being applied if resizing to less than 1/3rd the original dimensions.  So make sure you are actually running LR 5.6 and it's not a shortcut to an older version, somehow.  About LR x.x should tell you what version.

I’d like to see an example file, if you could either send me one to my e-mail steve at sprengels dot com or put it on dropbox and post a public download link, here.

[Turk12345]

I have documented the same problem.  I just finished a set of imported JPGs to include Noise reduction.  All views in Lightroom show the improved image.  After exporting as a full size JPG, the grain has actually increased on all of the images.  I've backed down on all the setting to see if they are causing the problem, but that did not help.

This is a very aggravating issue for me as I had hoped to improve a clients "point & shoot" images to something that could be used on the web.  I can take a screen shot of a "side by side" before and after, save as a JPG and it clearly shows improvement in the "after" image.  It actually exports and image that is grainier than the original!

This is a problem.  I'm going to "edit in photoshop" out of lightroom to see if I can get around this.

[Turk12345]

I just used "edit in another program" and sent a copy with Lightroom adjustments to 2014 PS.    The NR does not come with it.

[Turk12345]

I've now brought it over to PS 2014.  The noise reduction  does not work in PS.  It says it is applying it, but it does not work.  The preview for the NR panel does not show any improvement when you move the sliders.  It seems as if the file produced by Lightroom is in a locked state.

I am using an IMAC with 10.9.5 OS.

[dj_paige]

The noise reduction  does not work in PS.  It says it is applying it, but it does not work

Are you applying noise reduction and viewing the image zoomed in to 1:1, or not? You may not see noise reduction unless you zoom in

It seems as if the file produced by Lightroom is in a locked state.

This can't happen, its impossible

Are you going to show us the screen captures I requested?

[dj_paige]

So show us the side by side screen capture of photo in Lightroom without grain and exported with grain.

Also show us your export dialog settings that you used, particularly the sharpening and the Image Sizing

[Turk12345]

[dj_paige]

This is the develop module before and after view, this isn't showing un-exported and exported. This doesn't address the issue you stated at the beginning about exported photos being grainy.

Also, what software are you using to view the exported photo after you export it?

We'd also need to see a screen capture of your export settings, as I requested earlier.

[Keith Reeder]

dj_paige wrote:

This is the develop module before and after view, this isn't showing un-exported and exported. This doesn't address the issue you stated at the beginning about exported photos being grainy.

I think we can assume that this represents what Turk expects to see from his exported file, and what he's actually seeing, DJ.

FWIW, I'm absolutely convinced there's an issue with Lr's NR on export too - the same "what you see is not what you get" when comparing the Lr preview and the actual output.

Turk (and HKing if he/she is still about) - just as an information point, which camera?

[dj_paige]

I think we can assume that this represents what Turk expects to see from his exported file, and what he's actually seeing, DJ.

I make no such assumption, and I await Turk providing screen captures, side-by-side, of the difference between Lightroom version and exported version. I also await Turk answering the other questions I asked.

FWIW, I'm absolutely convinced there's an issue with Lr's NR on export too

There have been plenty of reports alleging this, so I believe there's an issue as well, whether or not this is the same issue that Turk is having is not established.

[Turk12345]

Here are the NR settings in LR:

[Turk12345]

I will give this a try but I probably should do a link to a full size image. 

Here is the two image displayed in PS 2014.  This is also what I get if I just preview the image.

Left is original.  Right is exported at same size in LR to a non compressed JPG.  Same files size and shape.

[Turk12345]

As you can see, the LR Noise reduction is not applied to the right image as it should be.  Further more I can use Noise filter in PS to add NR but it does not work at all!  Sliders have no affect.

[Turk12345]

Here is the same image in LR with NR applied.

[Turk12345]

I miss spoke about the one two images in PS 2014.  My older PS came up instead.   The NR problem still exists in the 2014 version of PS though.  Noise reduction will not apply under the noise filter.  I tried the original JPG in PS and it does allow for a noise filter to be applied.

I can only assume that LR is changing the file some way.  What ever it is doing, it is affecting not only the lack or export NR, but also is locking the file so that NR cannot be changed in PS.  Definitely a problem.

[Turk12345]

Almost forgot the export window.  Here it is:

[Turk12345]

I noticed that many of the functions in PS 2014 were not working.  After restarting it and reloading the images, the NR is now working, although very subtle compared to what I am use to.  I just signed up for Adobes "package" online and it upgraded my old PS.

The problems with exporting a JPG and LR Noise reduction remain.

If anyone would like me to do anything further, let me know. 

[Turk12345 · Accepted solution]

I've been using LR from the very start and have processed 30,000 pictures in it.  I reset all the images to original and reprocess them all again.  No settings have changed in the software.  None of my procedures are different.  The JPG's that I just exported now have the NR. 

I still believe a problem exhausts in the LR software.  There must be something that caused the original problem.  I used "Sync" to apply the same amount of NR to all of the images.  That's how I normally would do it.  I'm guessing something was not being picked up by the export program.  There is no other explanation for this and  I truly believe the software has some odd complex error going on.  I recreated 24 images over and over with the NR not exporting  and after starting over from scratch (re-setting the images) , it now works.  The documentation stands on it's own.

That said I've spent a lot of time on this and I hardly ever handle JPGs.  I believe the other that have experienced this are also experiencing a software glitch that happens when a certain sequence is hit and remains that way until resetting of the images removes the problem.  Now I've past the point were I can do any more testing.  It would have been nice to compare the file structure of the applied settings before the problem was solved to what they are now.  The error may not show itself to me again

Here are two image before and after (right)  Left original.  Right newly exported jpg WITH noise removal.

.