How to Use Image Enhancer in PhotoDirector
Take the grain and blur out of a photo with one click, with an optional GenAI mode for higher quality.
Updated Sep. 13, 2026 · 3 min read
In a hurry? Use the Image Enhancer quick guide instead.
PhotoDirector's Image Enhancer cleans up a soft, grainy photo with one click, removing the noise and firming up detail without changing what is in the picture. Our winter portrait went in speckled and blurred and came back with the grain gone, cleaner skin and a smooth snowy background. A GenAI option on the same panel aims for higher quality.
- In Guided & GenAI, click Enhance, choose Image Enhancer, and import a photo.
- Tick Use GenAI (Higher quality) or leave it unticked.
- Click Apply, then use the For further enhancement toggles if the photo needs more.
Steps to Use Image Enhancer
Step 1: Open Image Enhancer and Import a Photo
From the PhotoDirector launcher, choose Guided & GenAI.
Click Enhance in the rail on the left. Image Enhancer is the first item under Photo Enhancements, above Image Upscaler, Denoise and Deblur. Drag your photo onto the canvas, or click Import Photo.
Step 2: Decide on GenAI
The panel has one decision before Apply: Use GenAI (Higher quality). Ticked, as we ran it, Apply carries a badge showing the credits it will use.
Unticked, the button changes to a plain Apply and runs the standard enhancement. Try that first on a photo that is only a little soft.
Step 3: Apply
Click Apply. The canvas dims and a percentage counts up over the photo while it works.
The Result
The speckle is gone from the snow and the coat, the skin is even, and the eyes and lips read clearly again. It is smoother rather than razor-sharp: our source was a tiny 300 by 200 pixel photo, and there is only so much detail to recover.
If it still needs work, the For further enhancement section below Apply adds Auto tone, Auto color enhancement and Face enhance, each with a switch, and the first two with a strength slider.
Haven't got PhotoDirector yet? Rescue a grainy night shot or a soft old photo with one click, and choose the GenAI pass when it needs the extra quality.
Download PhotoDirector Free →FAQ About Image Enhancer
With Use GenAI (Higher quality) ticked, Apply carries a credit badge showing what the run uses. Check the button before you click.
No. Our 300 by 200 pixel photo came back at the same size. To enlarge a photo, use Image Upscaler, the next item under Photo Enhancements.
The checkbox is labeled Higher quality, and it is what we used for the result on this page. For a photo that is only slightly soft, try the standard enhancement first and tick it if you need more.
Auto tone and Auto color enhancement adjust brightness and color, each with a slider for strength, and Face enhance works on faces. They are optional and sit under For further enhancement.
