Why I Don't Mind Grain In Photos

Before digital photography became the norm, grain in photos was a common and accepted result.  Don't get me wrong, you still wanted sharp, clear photos, but grain was understood to be part of the process with film.  Now, in the digital age, things seem to have gone completely in the opposite direction to the point where any grain is considered a bad thing.

Now I'll be the first to admit that crystal clear images with no grain can be quite impressive and there are certainly moments when that style or result is best.  But, you are limiting yourself if you refuse to ever allow any grain into your photos.

First, there are many moments that you might miss.  Let's face it, there are times when you cannot or do not want to use a flash but the lighting requires you to increase your ISO, resulting in grain.  I don't know about you, but I'd rather capture that moment with some grain than miss it completely.  Above are 2 perfect examples, with either shot, using a flash would have interrupted the moments.  Then, of course, there are times such as sporting events when a flash would either interfere with the safety of the event or maybe slows the camera down enough that you would miss the action that you're trying to capture.  And, let's face it, sporting event locations are not the best lighting in the world.  A perfect example of that situation can be seen in my blog post from the Zumba for MARC event.  In my visit to one of the zumba classes prior to the event, I found that the flash just got in the way, but I needed enough light to allow me to keep my shutter speeds faster.  So, I increased my aperture as much as possible (which is actually a smaller number) and then increased the ISO until I was letting in enough light.  One thing that you will notice in all of these situations is that the photo should still be sharp; grain is not an excuse for blurry, out of focus, photos, but that there is more texture.

Which leads to another reason for grain.  It adds texture, which can give so much character to a photograph.
Honestly, I don't think the above photographs would be as good without the grain.  The texture that it added gives the photos life and an in this moment quality.

Everyone has different shooting styles but I'm glad that I have using grain in my arsenal as a tool.  There are moments and shots when I love it, others when I hate it, but overall it is a very useful artistic tactic.

What do you think?