How to Fix Color Banding in Your Photos
DefinitionVisible steps or lines in a gradient that should be smooth.
1The Simple Explanation
Imagine trying to paint a sunset but you only have 3 shades of orange. You would see hard lines where the colors switch. That is banding. To fix it, you need more colors (10-bit).
2Technical Deep Dive
Occurs when the bit-depth is insufficient to represent the gradual change in tone. Dithering (adding noise) can mask banding by scattering the transition pixels.
Common Misconceptions
Myth: Blurring the image fixes banding. Fact: It often helps, but adding noise (grain) is actually the mathematical solution to smooth out quantization errors.