Imagen’s Denoise AI: A Practical Guide for Photographers

If you’ve ever shot a wedding or event in dimly lit conditions, you’ll know how frustrating it is when you can’t use a flash.

I’ve got a Sony a7 IV which can shoot comfortably at high ISOs, but even then, the images are never as clean as I’d want them. Aside from the noise, the colours never seem to look quite right either.

High ISO shooting is a fact of life for wedding, event and even sports photographers. Dimly lit receptions, indoor ceremonies, unpredictable venue lighting… without artificial light, there aren’t any other options.

Now, we at least have one more trick up our sleeves when trying to clean up the high ISO photos, with Imagen’s Denoise AI.

Here’s how it works and how to get the best from it.

What Is Imagen Denoise AI?

I already rely on Lightroom’s own noise reduction feature in the Detail panel, which does a great job of cleaning up all the tiny artifacts of an image shot at high ISOs.

This is great when I have a set of images that are shot in precisely the same location with the same camera settings.

The key difference with Imagen’s Denoise feature is that it analyses each photo individually and applies noise reduction based on that image’s actual conditions. Photos that don’t need heavy treatment don’t receive it.

Processing runs in the cloud, which means it doesn’t tie up your computer like trying to batch process a load of photos in Lightroom can do.

It’s also non-destructive (originals untouched, corrections on a separate layer), and it integrates directly into your existing Imagen workflow after your AI Profile edits and before final export.

There are 2 Denoise modes to choose from:

Automatic is the right starting point for most photographers – Imagen reads each photo’s ISO metadata and scales noise reduction accordingly. Photos below ISO 3200 are left alone entirely. Above that threshold, intensity adjusts to match the severity of the noise. This is especially useful for mixed galleries where ISO has jumped around across the shoot.

Custom gives you direct control over two settings: an ISO threshold (so Denoise only activates above a level you choose) and intensity across four levels: Subtle, Moderate, Strong, and Stronger. All the settings are saved automatically once you’ve set them up.

Tips for Best Results

Start with Automatic, then assess. If it’s consistently under- or over-treating images from a particular context, switch to Custom and set your own threshold and intensity.

Match intensity to your subject. Subtle and Moderate are better for portraits and wedding coverage where skin tone accuracy matters – over-denoising introduces an artificial smoothness that’s harder to fix than the original grain. Strong and Stronger suit severely noisy frames or environmental shots where texture preservation is less critical.

Know your camera’s ISO ceiling. Modern full-frame cameras hold up well at high ISOs, meaning Subtle or Moderate is often enough.

Use Custom’s ISO threshold to protect clean images. Setting a threshold of ISO 4000 means every frame below that gets skipped entirely, rather than relying on Automatic to make that call.

Also, remember that there are a few constraints when using the Denoise tool:

• RAW files only – DNG exports from folders aren’t eligible
• 1,000 photo project limit – split larger galleries into two projects
• No simultaneous Object Removal – it’s one or the other per image
• Upload/download times are longer than standard Imagen projects due to full-resolution RAW file sizes

In testing, I found that Imagen Denoise performs well across the ISO ranges I regularly encounter shooting events in low light – roughly 3200 ~ 10,000.

At ISO 12,800 and above, results are similar to other noise reduction software I’ve used in the past, with some images fairing well, and others needing some manual touch-ups… or a sneaky switch to black and white!

The best news is that the tool is currently in Beta, which means right now it’s free for all Imagen subscribers. Learn more about it here >>