Photoshop Elements’ Reduce Noise filter (Enhance > Noise > Reduce Noise) can smooth out grain from a low-light or high-ISO photo without losing too much genuine detail.
What you need
- The photo, opened in Photoshop Elements
- About five minutes
Work on a copy first
Noise reduction is a trade-off: too much and the photo starts to look soft or plastic. Make a copy first so you can compare against the original.
How to reduce the grain
- Open the photo in Elements.
- Go to Enhance > Noise > Reduce Noise.
- Adjust the Strength slider while watching the preview, increasing it until the grain visibly smooths out.
- Raise Preserve Details if fine detail like hair or texture is disappearing.
- Apply the filter and save a copy.
Check shadows look smoother
The grainy, speckled look in shadows or dark areas should be smoother, while the rest of the photo still looks reasonably sharp rather than soft or waxy.
If fine detail has gone blurry
If fine detail like hair or texture has gone blurry, undo and lower the Strength slider – it’s better to leave a little grain than to lose real detail. If you don’t have Elements, the free program GIMP has a similar Noise Reduction filter under Filters > Enhance.
Next step
If the photo is soft as well as grainy, see Sharpen a slightly blurred phone photo.
Sources and date checked
Adobe Photoshop Elements Help, checked 22 September 2026.