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How to Fix Banding Caused by Gaussian Blur

While reviewing a batch of recently edited photographs, you begin to notice lines in the tonal gradation of some of the images. This is known as banding, and it occurs when the color range of an image is limited by a low-resolution file format. Though a soft Gaussian blur is usually applied to banding as a fix, it can actually make the lines more pronounced. Before Gaussian blur is applied, the color range of the image must be expanded.

Instructions

- 1
  Run Photoshop and open the image requiring adjustment.
- 2
  Select "Image" from the top toolbar, then highlight the "Mode" option. Choose "RGB Color" from the drop-down menu that appears to expand the color range of your image.
- 3
  Select "Filter" from the top toolbar, then highlight "Blur." Choose "Gaussian Blur" from the drop-down menu.
- 4
  Slide the notch on the "Radius" adjustment bar to the right to apply the Gaussian blur. The further you slide the notch, the smoother the tonal gradation will become. Exit the adjustment window once the banding has been removed from the image.
- 5
  Save your file once you are finished with your adjustments. Preserve the original file by renaming the edited image prior to saving.

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