Help! I am getting ugly banding

[memecafe]

I am getting banding (look above the tree for worst) Why? This is an old photo

I took with a nikon D50, but I did shoot in RAW so I can't imagine the photo

could turn out this bad. Also, I use this process on other photos and I never

get this banding. But every time I try to process this image it turns out like

this. Should I just junk it or can anyone help me fix it?<div></div>

[mark_sirota1]

I think you'll need to describe your process in order for anyone to help figure out what's causing this and how to avoid it.

[rainer_t]

I don't see any banding ... what I can see (above the tree) is posterisation ... this usually happens, when severe changes (levels and curves) are applied on sections of an image that already contain few different tones and if these changes are applied in 8-bit mode. So, agreed with Mark, describe the process ... and eventually show the image (or the relevant part of the image before and after processing steps).

[memecafe]

ok I will put up some before and afters in a little while (working now).

 

I started to disect it a little, and most of it occurs when I am using a selective color layer.

 

thank you guys for helping.

[memecafe]

Ok first I am having an issue with this ugly purple outline on my image. I only shot with this camera for a short time and I am not having this problem with my 5D. i don't know, but I think it was something to do with the D50 I was using? Correct if I am wrong.

 

Example:

[memecafe]

next, the tree is backlit so I get the lighting is having an affect on the tree, but this doesn't look right to me. Not to mention the purple again.

[memecafe]

I fixed it by selectivly desaturating the purple colors and then bringing back the rest of the image with history brush. A better way to fix this?

[memecafe]

And as for the banding (posterization):

The origional photo has a completely overexposed WHITE sky, so it was darkened with a soft black brush at opacity 30, and some burning later on. After I did this, I then made the selective color layer and messed with the tones. This is when I see the posterization happen.

[shutterdrone]

The purple 'outline' (fringe) you mention appears to be Chromatic Aberration - it's a function of the lens, usually. If you shoot in RAW, Adobe ACR has CA correction capabilities.

 

I don't see any banding, but I do see posterization as other posters have mentioned, and that's an artifact of your process. To reduce posterization, you'll need to adjust your effect - or smooth it out directly with a blur tool. If you created a gradient in 8bit mode, and then applied your effect to it - this would cause that. Try working in 16bit mode, or reducing the amount/intensity of effect applied. (Or, even, the nature of the effect - I usually get a lot of this with too much contrast induced from a levels adjustment layer - avoid compressing the regions of colors that exist in the "blend zone" - focus on the the brightest and darkest regions.)

 

!c

[hakon_soreide]

Since the posterisation is only really visible in the gradient of the sky, it would be easy to smooth it out by blurring it, wouldn't it?

[bernardwest]

Blurring is the way to go. I just painted in a blurred layer over the affected area using Gaussian blur of about 2.5.<div></div>

[memecafe]

Wow you guy rock. All my questions answered.

[j_sevigny]

This is definitely posterization. Minimize it by working in RAW, and editing your images as 16-bit tifs. Don't ever delete the RAW images.