This weeks video is on a problem I see almost every day, and certainly every time I ever judge or critique images: Banding. We’re going to look at what it is, why it happens and how to fix it in photographs after it appears. Removing banding in photoshop should always be a last resort though – it is far better to find and treat the source than fix banding after the image is finished and saved out, so keep that in mind!

There is a video on how to remove banding in photoshop, that’s here:

Essentially, the process for removing banding in Photoshop goes like this:

1. Start with a flattened image in Photoshop
2. Duplicate the layer
3. Click on the new copy
4. Go to Filter -> Blur -> Surface blur
5. Set the threshold to around 20
6. On the radius, start at 0 and move up in small increments until the original bands disappear
7. Click OK when you’re happy
8. Go to Filer -> Noise -> Add noise
9. Switch the settings to Gaussian with Monochromatic checked
10. Add enough noise to match the previous level included in the image. Usually 1-3% is sufficient
11. Click OK when you’re happy
12. Click back on the original background layer and choose select -> subject
13. Click on the new blurred and noised-up layer and hit the new mask icon
14. Press command (or control on windows)+I (for iglo) to invert the new mask
15. Grab a black brush and at 100% flow and opacity, with a soft edge, remove any parts of the image that are in the midground or foreground. You can dust around the subject at 30% if needed
16. Banding gone!

How to check if your image has banding?

Super important point! The easiest way is to pop on a Solar Curve adjustment layer. This curve looks like this:

For MTog’s you can download your very own TPS Solar Curve action to quickly get this layer onto an image. If you are logged in, you should see it below here!

For MTog’s you can download your very own TPS Solar Curve action to quickly get this layer onto an image. If you are logged in, you should see it below here!

Not a Premium Member of That Tog Spot? Check what you’re missing here.

Happy band fixing!