Drone Low Light Stacking

[Bob Israel]

Next level experimentation with my drone. Compared to our mirrorless and DSLRs, drones don't do as well in low light situations. My drone, the Mavic 3, has an improved micro 4/3 sensor and does a much better job. However, shooting at ISO 1600, while passable still shows grain in the shadows. As I have also been beginning to explore astrophotography, a common post processing step is stacking of several images to help reduce noise. So why not employ that technique with droneography.

This image is a four image panorama. For each section, I took 14 images and stacked them in photoshop (56 total images). I then brought them into Lightroom Classic for stitching and additional post processing. For this particular image, I decide to smooth the water for a long exposure effect. I'm pleased with the sharpness and reduced noise and it was fun to do so I thought I'd share.

C&C always welcomed.

 

[AlanLichty]

Very nice result and an interesting approach to low light noise suppression. What was the stacking technique in PS you used for the blending prior to stitching and what did you do to smooth the water?

I have been use DxO PureRAW 2 as an initial step inside of LR which does an incredible job of cleaning up the DNG output from the Mavic 3 captures.

 

[Bob Israel]

Thanks Alan! First, since I'm shooting in raw, I convert all raw images to TIFFs. For each set of images, in photoshop, I load as a stack (File/Scripts/Load as Stack. I check the boxes to align the images and create a smart image. Take the resulting image and go to Layer/Smart Objects/Stack Mode/Median. I do this for each set and then import into Lightroom where I stitch the panorama. From there, I do my post processing.

To smooth the water, I used a brush with both Clarity and Texture set to -100 and brush the water smooth. For this image I needed to duplicate that layer mask 3 times. I like doing this in LRC but it could also be done in PS.

One last thing, I run the image through Topaz Photo AI for additional sharpening and noise reduction (sometimes it's just not necessary) as it does a remarkable job.

 

[AlanLichty]

Thanks - I have been running the RAW images directly into DxO PureRAW from within Lightroom and then finish the lighting edits in LR (still in RAW) and sync the edits before importing into PS where I use the same stacking/blending technique. I have Topaz PhotoAI but have found that DxO PureRAW goes well beyond what Topaz is doing and I only rarely find it necessary to bring up the Topaz tools with most images.

 

[Bob Israel]

Interesting to hear your thoughts on DxO PureRaw. I have that software as well but haven't really explored it enough. Perhaps running the images through DxO first might be a better idea? Maybe I'll give that a try as well since I have other image sets to play with!

 

[Jeffrey]

Great imaging Bob. That's a lot of pixel mashing, but it looks good. I never shoot my Phantom 4 Pro in anything other than ISO 100.

 

[Bob Israel]

Thanks Jeffrey. I love shooting during blue hour but have had very mixed results with drones. While the Mavic 3 represents a big improvement, this technique looks very promising. Perhaps give this technique a try.

 

[AlanLichty]

Interesting to hear your thoughts on DxO PureRaw. I have that software as well but haven't really explored it enough. Perhaps running the images through DxO first might be a better idea? Maybe I'll give that a try as well since I have other image sets to play with!

PureRAW is also highly effective with captures from the 7x lens.

 

[Ken Rennie]

Nice image Bob but a lot of processing. If you are using 14 images then Median stacking will reduce noise and sharpen slightly. If you use Mean stacking you will reduce noise ( theoretically not as well as Median but in reality very little difference between the 2 modes). With fewer shots per stack Mean becomes better than Median but again v little difference. With 2 shots per stack Median mode does nothing whereas Mean gives you 1 stop of noise reduction. I expect that with 4 shots Mean will be slightly better but it depends on just how noisy the image is. You may well know all of this. You may, if you have the software, like to use Nik Viveza and negative structure. I find that it gives a better effect than negative clarity and texture plus, if you use control points it will generate its own color/ luminosity mask and apply it only to the water. However with results like this just keep doing what you do. Ken

 

[Ben Egbert]

Very sweet results.

 

[Bob Israel]

Nice image Bob but a lot of processing. If you are using 14 images then Median stacking will reduce noise and sharpen slightly. If you use Mean stacking you will reduce noise ( theoretically not as well as Median but in reality very little difference between the 2 modes). With fewer shots per stack Mean becomes better than Median but again v little difference. With 2 shots per stack Median mode does nothing whereas Mean gives you 1 stop of noise reduction. I expect that with 4 shots Mean will be slightly better but it depends on just how noisy the image is. You may well know all of this. You may, if you have the software, like to use Nik Viveza and negative structure. I find that it gives a better effect than negative clarity and texture plus, if you use control points it will generate its own color/ luminosity mask and apply it only to the water. However with results like this just keep doing what you do. Ken

Thanks Ken. This was my first experiment to see how the drone would do and how effective a basic stacking would be. The only reason I chose 14 images is that I had set the drone to do a burst of 7 images and clicked the shutter twice. Probably 7 would be enough or two rounds of 5. Thanks for the info on using mean vs median. I've only used median in the past so it gives me more to consider. As for blurring the water, I set a mask using a brush to highlight just the water and included feathering near the shoreline. I have Nik Viveza but have rarely used it. I'll need to explore further.

 

[JimFox]

Hey Bob! What a very cool look!

The stacking and median blend is an old trick some of us have been using for a long time. It's also a great way to capture waterfalls when it's windy or too bright, as you know. It's such a cool and versatile trick.

I will second Ken's comments about using a Mean blend instead of Median. Everyone talks about Median as the standard and the way to go. Some years back while bored I experimented with all of the blending modes and stumbled across how well the Mean Blend works, often better then Median. So typically now, using a Mean Blend is my go to method. Though I will often try both, and just see which I like better each time.

 

[Kurt Harrigan]

Nice image, I like the colors in this especially the deep blues near the shore. Did you manage to do an exposure blend amid the 14 photos?