Fixing Distortion, Noise, and Lens Flaws in Post-Processing

Image Editing  |     |  

Fixing Distortion, Noise, and Lens Flaws in Post-Processing

Photography is a beautiful blend of art and science. While your creative vision guides composition and lighting, the science part often reveals itself in the form of technical flaws—distortion, noise, chromatic aberration, or vignetting. These imperfections are usually introduced by lenses and camera sensors, especially in challenging environments like low light or wide-angle scenes. Fortunately, modern post-processing tools make it easier than ever to correct these issues and bring your images closer to perfection.

In this blog, we’ll walk through how to fix three of the most common image flaws in post-production: distortion, noise, and lens imperfections.

Post-Processing

1. Correcting Lens Distortion

Lens distortion is a common optical issue where straight lines appear curved or skewed in an image. It’s most noticeable in architecture or product photography—any shot that includes straight lines near the edge of the frame.

Types of distortion:

  • Barrel distortion: Lines bow outward, common with wide-angle lenses.

  • Pincushion distortion: Lines bend inward, often seen in telephoto lenses.

  • Mustache distortion: More complex curve, harder to detect, but trickier to fix.

Post-processing fix:

  • Lightroom & Photoshop: Both offer built-in Lens Correction profiles. Activate “Remove Distortion” or “Enable Profile Corrections”.

  • Manual adjustment: Use the Transform or Geometry panel in Lightroom to fine-tune perspective manually.

  • Third-party tools: Automatic lens and camera corrections are applied by software like DxO PhotoLab.

These corrections straighten your lines and restore the intended geometry, giving your images a more natural and professional look.

2. Reducing Image Noise

Noise is that grainy, speckled texture you often see in low-light photos or images shot with high ISO settings. While some photographers might embrace noise for an artistic, film-like aesthetic, most prefer clean, smooth results—especially in portrait, product, or commercial photography.

Types of noise:

  • Luminance noise: Grainy texture across the image.

  • Color noise: Random specks of red, green, or blue pixels.

How to reduce noise effectively:

  • In Lightroom: The Detail panel can be used. Adjust the Luminance slider to reduce grain, and use the Color slider to clean up chromatic specks.

  • Topaz DeNoise AI: This standalone tool uses AI to remove noise while preserving detail better than traditional tools.

  • Photoshop’s Camera Raw Filter: Offers similar noise reduction controls with more granular precision.

Pro tip: Always zoom in to 100% while reducing noise. Overdoing it can make your image look plastic or overly smooth—balance is key.

3. Fixing Chromatic Aberration and Other Lens Flaws

Chromatic aberration is a fringe of color (often purple or green) that appears along high-contrast edges, such as tree branches against a bright sky or window frames. It’s caused by your lens failing to focus all wavelengths of light onto the same plane.

How to fix it:

  • In Lightroom: Simply check the “Remove Chromatic Aberration” box in the Lens Corrections panel.

  • Manual refinement: If needed, zoom in on trouble areas and adjust the sliders for purple and green fringe manually.

  • Photoshop Camera Raw also includes powerful tools for fringe removal.

4. Removing Vignetting

Vignetting causes the edges or corners of an image to appear darker than the center. While it can be used creatively to draw attention to the subject, unintentional vignetting often needs to be corrected—especially in product or landscape photography.

To fix vignetting:

  • Enable lens profile corrections in Lightroom, which automatically reduces vignetting based on your lens model.

  • Use the Post-Crop Vignetting tool under the Effects panel for manual control, either to add or reduce the effect.

  • Radial Filters: Apply radial filters to selectively brighten dark corners while preserving natural lighting in the rest of the image.

5. Best Practices for Cleaner Edits

  • Shoot RAW: Always shoot in RAW format to retain maximum detail and editing flexibility.

  • Use updated lens profiles: Make sure your editing software has the latest lens and camera profile updates for accurate corrections.

  • Don’t over-edit: While the goal is to correct, avoid making your image look artificial or losing important texture.

  • Zoom in during editing: What looks fine at full view may hide flaws when zoomed in. Always inspect your work up close.

Post-Processing

Conclusion: Perfecting the Imperfect

Every photo has potential—sometimes it just takes a bit of digital polishing to bring it out. By addressing distortion, reducing noise, and correcting lens flaws, you ensure your final image lives up to your original vision. Whether you’re a beginner refining your editing workflow or a professional delivering polished results to clients, mastering these techniques will give your images the clean, high-quality finish they deserve.

If you’re looking to save time and achieve flawless results, Outline Media Solutions provides expert photo editing services tailored to photographers, eCommerce brands, and creative professionals. From distortion correction and noise reduction to complete image enhancement, we help you turn good photos into great ones—quickly and professionally.