Stack Modes for Noise Reduction

Not 24 hours have gone by and I've received an e-mail from Texas asking about the Stack Mode process that we demonstrated in Dallas. So ... here it is.

Starting with a series of very noisy security camera images such as the one shown above, open Bridge CS5 and select all of the images to be used in this process.

Then, from Bridge, select Tools>Photoshop>Load Files into Photoshop Layers.

This command will take the selected files into Photoshop CS5 and put them into a single document as layers.

Next, select all of the layers and choose Convert to Smart Object from the Layers flyout menu.

Notice that the layers are gone, replaced by the single Smart Object icon.

All that's left to do is to head over to the Layers menu and select Layers>Smart Objects>Stack Mode>Mean.

You'll be left with an image that looks much better that the original.

In this case, I had to blur out the license plate to protect the innocent - it was that clear.

Here's the before and after. Notice the remarkable difference.

Enjoy.