Add noise or film grain to an image

How it works

Tap or click the box to choose one or more photos, set the grain amount and press "Add grain". The tool adds a small random brightness change to every pixel. Because the changes average out to zero, the photo gets neither darker nor lighter — only its surface becomes grainy. Example: at amount 20 most pixels move by less than 10 steps on the 0–255 scale, which shows as a light film texture on a phone screen. Above 40 you get the heavy grain of an old newspaper print. "Film grain" adds the same value to all three colour channels and creates no colour speckles; "Colour noise" adds a separate value per channel and looks like a phone photo taken in low light. JPG files are saved at high quality so compression does not wipe the grain away. Everything runs in your browser.

This tool is also known as add noise to image, film grain online, add grain to photo, noise effect, film grain effect, grainy photo effect, add noise to photo online.

What is Film grain?

Film grain is the fine sandy texture you see in prints from film cameras, caused by the silver halide crystals in the negative. Fast (high ISO) films have larger crystals, so the grain is stronger. Digital photos have no such texture, which is why adding grain gives an analogue, nostalgic feel — and why it helps AI-generated images lose their too-smooth, plastic look.

What is Gaussian noise?

Gaussian noise is made of random numbers that are mostly close to zero and only rarely large; their distribution follows a bell curve. The tool adds such a number to every pixel, so most pixels change a little and very few change a lot. That spread resembles real film grain and sensor noise far better than evenly random numbers, which produce harsh salt-and-pepper dots.

Film grain vs. colour noise: what is the difference?

With film grain the same amount is added to a pixel's red, green and blue values, so the pixel only gets slightly lighter or darker and keeps its colour — like the texture of a film print. With colour noise each channel gets its own value and neighbouring pixels drift to different colours, like the coloured speckles in a digital photo taken in the dark. Use film grain for portraits and a vintage look; use colour noise for a glitch or damaged-recording effect.

What is adding grain good for?

In smooth areas such as a gradient sky or a plain wall, compressed images show visible steps called banding. A little grain breaks up those bands, because the eye sees a fine texture instead of individual steps. Designers add a small amount of grain to posters before printing for this reason.

AI-generated photos and heavily denoised pictures can look unnaturally smooth; an amount of 10–20 gives the surface a natural texture. For an analogue film look on social media, 20–35 is a common range.

Does the grain survive when I share the photo?

Apps like Instagram and WhatsApp recompress images, and fine grain is partly smoothed away. If you want it visible after posting, pick one step higher.

Resize the photo first, then add grain — not the other way round. Grain added to a large photo gets averaged away when the image is scaled down. Because the same settings give the same result, you can note an amount you like and give a whole series of photos the same texture.

Frequently asked questions

How do I add film grain to a photo?

Choose the photo on this page, leave the type on "Film grain", set the amount and press "Add grain". Save the result with "Download"; if you do not like it, change the amount and try again.

Can the grain be removed again?

Grain changes every pixel and cannot be undone exactly. Your original file stays untouched on your device; the tool creates a new file with "-grain" added to its name.

How much grain should I use?

10–20 for a subtle analogue texture, 25–40 for a clear film look, 50 and above for an old newspaper or high-speed film effect. Grain looks stronger on small images.

Do I get the same result if I run it twice?

Yes. The random numbers start from a fixed seed derived from the image size, so the same photo with the same settings gives exactly the same image every time.