Sharpening Question

This is probably a dumb question, so I can’t wait to ask it. The books tell us that all digital images lose sharpness going from camera to computer, so the pros sharpen all their images. Now, there are also techniques that require blurring, such as softening a woman’s skin. So the question is, where you would require a softening technique, would you soften then sharpen, sharpen then soften, or just not sharpen at all??

I use Mike’s suggestion on just about every image taken with a digital camera. Keep the threshold at zero for this.

A couple of hints to gild the lily:
*Always* sharpen last, just before printing or archiving. Once you sharpen an image, you can never recover the previous state unless you do the following.

If you are using PhotoShop CS. . . .(Otherwise, let me know and I’ll outline how to apply a layer mask to *any* layer in PS Elements or older versions of PS)
*Always* copy the image to a new layer first and sharpen on that layer. Concentrate only on those areas that you want to sharpen. Ignore all other areas (such as complexion) until the next step.
Then add a layer mask to that layer (click on the second icon from the left at the bottom of the layers palette).
Now use a soft, black brush to block the sharpening effect wherever you want (on the complexion, for example) by painting on the image with the mask active..
(Control-left bracket will soften the brush in four steps, Control-right bracket will harden it.)
You can vary the opacity of the brush in the Options Bar to control the degree of sharpening in the various areas that you paint over. If you paint too much, change the brush to white to restore the effect where you paint.
(If you press the backslash key while painting in the mask, the areas where you have painted will be displayed as solid red in the main image window so you can see exactly what you’re doing. Press the backslash again to return to the normal display.)

So now some areas can be sharpened more than others or can have the sharpening effect removed altogether.

You can use the same idea with the blur filter, controlling where and to what extent you want the blur to take effect. Again, just concentrate on the areas you want to blur, ignoring all other areas and correcting for them later with a layer mask. I often use this to blur the background of images. For facial or head sharpening, some of the big boys suggest that you activate the channels mode (Window>Channels) and hide all channels except for the red channel, Then sharpen on that channel. This will be gentle on the flesh tones because there are few edges in the complexion areas to be sharpened. (All sharpening does is seek out what it sees as edges. It then increases the contrast across the edge — making the lighter side brighter and the dark side darker. That’s why, if you sharpen too much, you’ll see a white line along the edges.)

Good luck! . . . . patrick

"Mike" wrote in message

for portraits, professionally speaking, I would turn in camera sharpening off altogether, then sharpen with unsharp mask in PS at 150, radius 0.7.. when on the PC

mike
"wilkie" wrote in message

This is probably a dumb question, so I can’t wait to ask it. The books tell us that all digital images lose sharpness going from camera to computer, so the pros sharpen all their images. Now, there are also techniques that require blurring, such as softening a woman’s skin. So the question is, where you would require a softening technique, would you soften then sharpen, sharpen then soften, or just not sharpen at all??

In article ,
"wilkie" wrote:

This is probably a dumb question, so I can’t wait to ask it. The books tell us that all digital images lose sharpness going from camera to computer, so the pros sharpen all their images. Now, there are also techniques that require blurring, such as softening a woman’s skin. So the question is, where you would require a softening technique, would you soften then sharpen, sharpen then soften, or just not sharpen at all??

Generally speaking, sharpening should be the absolute last step you take, when the image is completely finished and ready to be printed.

Do all your color correction, all your retouching, all your softening, and so forth first. Resize the image, and do anything else you need to prepare it for print. Then sharpen using Unsharp Mask.

Unsharp masking is part art, part science. There is no set way to use it which works for all images.

Generally speaking, however:

The Unsharp Mask filter works by exaggerating areas of high contrast–ie, edges. This gives the appearance of sharper edges, and increases the apparent overall sharpness of the image. While it can’t make a blurred or out-of-focus image sharp (nothing can do this), it can dramatically increase the perception of sharpness. And unsharp masking is a requirement to get good-looking images in print.

The Amount slider dictates how much edges are increased in contrast. If the value in this slider is too high, the image will appear to have "halos" around the edges.

The Radius slider determines how wide the area of enhanced contrast is around edges. In general, the amount you put in the Radius field depends on the resolution of the image; the higher the resolution in pixels per inch, the wider the Radius.

A good place to start is (image resolution/200). If the image is screen resolution–100 pixels per inch or less–try a Radius of 1. Increasing the Radius will also create undesireable halos around edges.

If you are sharpening an image which will be printed on a printing press, and your image is the recommended resolution (twice the frequency of the halftone you will be using to reproduce the image on press), use a Radius of (halftone screen/100). So, for example, if your image is being printed on press with a 150-line-per-inch halftone, use a Radius value of 1.5.

The Threshold command determines how far apart two neighboring pixels must be in tonal value in order to be sharpened. I usually start with a Threshold of 3. Lower Threshold values exaggerate noise along with edges; higher values don’t sharpen noise, but also produce more muted sharpening overall.

Note that if your image is intended for print, you should set the Amount value so that the image looks slightly over-sharpened on your screen! This is because the process of halftoning the image for print decreases the apparent sharpness of the image (which is why all images should have USM applied if they are going to be used for print).

—
Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html

All ideas presented so far are sound and will give good results. So far however, all solutions have used unsharp mask. You should also try "high pass sharpening". It is non-destructive and gives you lots of control. As with the other ideas, you can mask the sharpening for selective application to your image. Here’s the quick and dirty explanation:

– duplicate your target layer
– change the blending mode from normal to "overlay" – at this point the picture will look garrish … don’t worry, we’ll fix that next. – on this new layer, apply the following filter: <other> <high pass> – move the slider to zero to begin with and your resulting image will look as it did originally. As you increase the effect with the slider, you can see your image becoming sharper … et voila!
– you can then adjust the effect by changing the opacity of the layer and/or by adding a layer mask.

Play around and have fun.

SB

"wilkie" wrote in message

This is probably a dumb question, so I can’t wait to ask it. The books tell us that all digital images lose sharpness going from camera to computer, so the pros sharpen all their images. Now, there are also techniques that require blurring, such as softening a woman’s skin. So the question is, where you would require a softening technique, would you soften then sharpen, sharpen then soften, or just not sharpen at all??

"SJB" wrote in message

All ideas presented so far are sound and will give good results. So far however, all solutions have used unsharp mask. You should also try "high pass sharpening". It is non-destructive and gives you lots of control. As with the other ideas, you can mask the sharpening for selective application to your image. Here’s the quick and dirty explanation:
– duplicate your target layer
– change the blending mode from normal to "overlay" – at this point the picture will look garrish … don’t worry, we’ll fix that next. – on this new layer, apply the following filter: <other> <high pass> – move the slider to zero to begin with and your resulting image will look as it did originally. As you increase the effect with the slider, you can see your image becoming sharper … et voila!
– you can then adjust the effect by changing the opacity of the layer and/or by adding a layer mask.

Play around and have fun.

Yes, this is a good technique. You can also erase sections of the sharpen layer, to allow original, unsharpened material to show through, or use a layer mask. The best soft portrait focus effect is a combination of a sharp and slightly blurred version of the image, and this is a good technique to achieve this.
—

Mike Russell
www.curvemeister.com

patrick wrote:

*Always* sharpen last, just before printing or archiving.

When it comes to sharpening, there are many ways to skin the cat. The experts will never apply terms like "always" or "best" to a particular way. Bruce Fraser will definitely disagree with your above suggestion.

http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/11242.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/12189.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/20357.html

As mentioned in these articles, how you sharpen depends a lot on the intent of your final image.

JJ is correct, of course. However, Bill Fraser would not disagree. He would qualify.

In context with the level of the OP’s question, *always* is appropriate.

Next step: *Always* sharpen with the image magnification set to 100% so you can gauge the effect better.

Again: Good luck! . . . .patrick

wrote in message

patrick wrote:

*Always* sharpen last, just before printing or archiving.

When it comes to sharpening, there are many ways to skin the cat. The experts will never apply terms like "always" or "best" to a particular way. Bruce Fraser will definitely disagree with your above suggestion.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/11242.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/12189.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/20357.html

As mentioned in these articles, how you sharpen depends a lot on the intent of your final image.

Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html

I like your website… Am currently reading about Art… It’s been a year since the emails, how’s it going with him? I’ve had similar problems in the past with others myself… The emails are always interesting but do get worrisome when they indicate they know where you live…

You have some interesting topics on your site… Very interesting reading…

Also, I saw the little note about Kattaryna, did a google on her… Sorry to hear about your friend…

Babs

Great responses from everyone. Thank you.

In article <YizYe.195$>,
"BubblyBabs" wrote:

Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html

I like your website… Am currently reading about Art… It’s been a year since the emails, how’s it going with him? I’ve had similar problems in the past with others myself… The emails are always interesting but do get worrisome when they indicate they know where you live…

Art is still around. He’s still trolling this newsgroup and comp.graphics.photoshop, sending spam advertising his software piracy site. Every so often, I get an email from one of his scam victims. He hasn’t harrassed me recently, though. His current Web host is an outfit called "trouble-free.net," and he’s still doing business as normal. (Trouble-Free specifically allows hacking and warez sites to be hosted on their servers; it’s even in their terms of service.)

You have some interesting topics on your site… Very interesting reading…

Thanks! 🙂

Also, I saw the little note about Kattaryna, did a google on her… Sorry to hear about your friend…

The scary part is, she was younger than I am. She was one of the most interesting people I’ve ever known.

—
Art, photography, shareware, polyamory, literature, kink: all at http://www.xeromag.com/franklin.html

patrick wrote:

JJ is correct, of course. However, Bill Fraser would not disagree. He would qualify.

Bruce, not Bill.

In context with the level of the OP’s question, *always* is appropriate.
Next step: *Always* sharpen with the image magnification set to 100% so you can gauge the effect better.

Depending on the final output intent, judging an image’s sharpness at 100% is not necessary "*Always*" the best way.

You need to look up the definition of always before giving advice.

wrote in message

patrick wrote:

*Always* sharpen last, just before printing or archiving.

When it comes to sharpening, there are many ways to skin the cat. The experts will never apply terms like "always" or "best" to a particular way. Bruce Fraser will definitely disagree with your above suggestion.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/11242.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/12189.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/20357.html

As mentioned in these articles, how you sharpen depends a lot on the intent of your final image.

OK . . . .patrick

wrote in message

patrick wrote:

JJ is correct, of course. However, Bill Fraser would not disagree. He would
qualify.

Bruce, not Bill.

In context with the level of the OP’s question, *always* is appropriate.
Next step: *Always* sharpen with the image magnification set to 100% so you
can gauge the effect better.

Depending on the final output intent, judging an image’s sharpness at 100% is not necessary "*Always*" the best way.
You need to look up the definition of always before giving advice.

wrote in message

patrick wrote:

*Always* sharpen last, just before printing or archiving.

When it comes to sharpening, there are many ways to skin the cat. The experts will never apply terms like "always" or "best" to a particular way. Bruce Fraser will definitely disagree with your above suggestion.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/11242.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/12189.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/20357.html

As mentioned in these articles, how you sharpen depends a lot on the intent of your final image.

thankx JJ
wrote in message

patrick wrote:

*Always* sharpen last, just before printing or archiving.

When it comes to sharpening, there are many ways to skin the cat. The experts will never apply terms like "always" or "best" to a particular way. Bruce Fraser will definitely disagree with your above suggestion.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/11242.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/12189.html
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/20357.html

As mentioned in these articles, how you sharpen depends a lot on the intent of your final image.

wilkie wrote:

This is probably a dumb question, so I can’t wait to ask it. The books tell us that all digital images lose sharpness going from camera to computer, so the pros sharpen all their images. Now, there are also techniques that require blurring, such as softening a woman’s skin. So the question is, where you would require a softening technique, would you soften then sharpen, sharpen then soften, or just not sharpen at all??

I turn of all in camera sharpening. Well, I almost always shoot RAW so it really doesn’t matter. I also have zero sharpening in ACR.

I then do all my color correction and run Noise Ninja. You need to ask the question of why you want to blur a picture. If it is to get rid of noise, you should be using a good noise remover instead. If it is just to save time on blemishes, it probably won’t work. If you are afraid of pores, you don’t need to blur the whole picture. In fact, you shouldn’t. Use some good selection techniques and just select the skin. Then do your blurring. There is no reason to aggravate your sharpening by blurring things that don’t need blurring.

Only then do I sharpen. I’ve read plenty of times that you should sharpen last, but I always retouch AFTER sharpening. I got tired of retouching twice.

Sharpening will very often highlight dust spots and many other flaws that you won’t see until you have sharpened. I used to retouch then sharpen. Then I would see a bunch of new spots popping up and would have to retouch all over again. Besides this gives you a chance to closely look at the result of your sharpening.

For years I tried every technique that came along for using USM. I was never very happy. I finally bought Focus Magic and run this plugin. It is significantly better than anything inside Photoshop – including the new Smart Sharpen. It seems to make the lines narrower rather than just add contrast. So, I get noticeably sharper without the artifacts.

Clyde

"Clyde" wrote in message

snip

I’ve read plenty of times that you should

sharpen last, but I always retouch AFTER sharpening. I got tired of retouching twice.

Sharpening will very often highlight dust spots and many other flaws that you won’t see until you have sharpened. I used to retouch then sharpen. Then I would see a bunch of new spots popping up and would have to retouch all over again. Besides this gives you a chance to closely look at the result of your sharpening.

snip

Clyde

this has also been my experience, I sharpen first, remove with a mask what I don’t want sharper like the skin or retouch after as the sharpening changes what needs retouching…………