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Sharpening Tip (1 Viewer)

mjmw

mjmw

formally known as mw_aurora
Nigel Blake recently posted instructions on how he sharpens in Photoshop on a recent image of a Puffin.

This is an excellent technique to sharpen but as mentioned in the image comments, can't be used in Elements. I just added a comment with a similar technique that would work in Elements before realising that the image is over a week old and won't get viewed as much...so I am posting it here too. I don't have a copy of Elements to hand to check it works but it should ;)

- Create a duplicate of the Background layer (CTRL + J)

- Change the blending mode of this layer to Luminosity (click on the duplicate layer then change the drop down where it says Normal)

- Apply USM as normal to the duplicate layer

- Flatten the layers.

This sharpens in a similar way to that described by Nigel - it shouldn't introduce halos and other nasties and it works in the full version of PS too.
 
Works in PSP X onwards too - though if I'm honest, I'm not sure if it's that different to applying USM to the original layer (assuming that you're not going mad with the sharpening of course).

Another approach is to split the image into the three RGB colour channels, applying sharpening to the most detailed of the three raster images generated, then re-combining them.
 
A key factor in this technique is to change the opacity of the sharpened layer to achieve the intended result, not simply use it as a 100% blunt instrument.

It is also important not to just blindly sharpen everything to the same degree, images for screen display need less sharpening than printed images and different images need different ammounts full stop. It is very easy to over sharpen or to put time and effort into things that look great at 150% zoom on your 21" screen but are unnoticable on a 6" by 4" print.
 
Mono said:
A key factor in this technique is to change the opacity of the sharpened layer to achieve the intended result, not simply use it as a 100% blunt instrument.
Click to expand...

I agree...but I was only posting a 1:1 set of instructions for Elements based on Nigel's original tip - besides, we could write (and there are) books on the subject ;)
 
Hi
I know this sounds stupid but where do you find this "Change the blending mode of this layer to Luminosity (click on the duplicate layer then change the drop down where it says Normal)" in photoshop 5.5

cheers thorin
 
thorin said:
Hi
I know this sounds stupid but where do you find this "Change the blending mode of this layer to Luminosity (click on the duplicate layer then change the drop down where it says Normal)" in photoshop 5.5

cheers thorin
Click to expand...

I just googled "Photoshop 5.5" and found a site with some old tutorials.

This page shows how to reveal the layer palette. If you look at the screenshots of the palette, you can see the drop-down list with "Normal" selected. If you duplicate the layer and select it, you can then change the value in this drop-down list to Luminosity.
 
Yes I agree Mark this technique works well, and by generating more than one adjustment layer and altering the opacity of each, as well as selectively cutting or erazing some parts of the layers (background detail etc for instance) you can get some very nice and subtle sharpening effects without enhancing any noise.
 
Interesting thread. Just a quickie on the subject of sharpening, almost nobody mentions CS2 smart sharpen - is this inferior to USM and if so why?
 
Smart sharpening is as good as USM, it actually finds edges and only sharpens them, leaving large areas without any detail alone and thus not generating noise, I find it works best in lab colour when applied to the lightness layer, it is best to experiment though as, just as with using USM, the way in which you sharpen depends on the detail in, and size of, the image.
 
Last edited:
The technique of sharpening a copy layer and setting it to luminosity and the sharpening the lightness channel of a LAB image are basically the same thing. You restrict the sharpening to the brightness details not the colour details.

But you must also remember that with an 8 bit/channel image the conversion RGB to LAB and back is lossy.

Smart Sharpen is USM with bells on and adds a host of other options that you can fiddle with particularly in Advanced mode. This can lead to better results but can equally be frustrating as you struggle to get it right. If you want to correct an image that is faulty, slightly out of focus, subject moved etc then Smart Sharpen is a powerful tool but if you want to crisp up a good image then stick to USM.

Martin Evening has lots to say on sharpening in his excellent Photoshop for Photoshop series, well worth a read.
 
Thanks to both Nigel and Mark for your tips. I have recently been dabbling in selective sharpening (Dup Layer > Sharpen > Apply Layer Mask > Paint Area to reveal sharpening > Flatten) I guess this would still work with either of the two methods given on this thread although it probably would not be needed as much.
 
Mono said:
But you must also remember that with an 8 bit/channel image the conversion RGB to LAB and back is lossy.
Click to expand...

Well yes and no, as I understand it the lossiness is only in the adjustment layer, and is mostly confined to the "invisible" colours that result from the broader gamut colour space that Lab colour is, and is quite minimal.
There is no lossiness with 16bit and higher bit depth files.
 
I can see colour fringes in the Puffin image. (Lovely image otherwise.) I tried the sharpening technique on one of my images, and it introduced fringes, so I assume that is the cause.

I tend to use the Smart Sharpen. Apparently it uses deconvolution with USM. Not that I have investigated in detail.
 
Sharpening techniques are a pandoras box with many ways to do it.
I have a Fred Miranda action that I use which automatically gives me control of sharpening at different "strengths" and gives me an option to fine tune the sharpening.

I also use the USM filter, I've used the LAB mode as discussed by Nigel and others.

I think it's best to try many and then find one that works for you, since each method will not be the best for each image.

Also, I try and make the image a little crunchy when viewed at "actual pixels", since the halftone screening process when prints are made add in some softness to a digital image. How "crunchy" is too much is down to personal experimentation.

Often, if an image necessitates, I while run the reduce noise filter on the blue channel since this contains the most "digital" noise for an image.

One action I do use on my sharpened images to give it a little more "pep" or contrast in the midtones, without degrading the image further, is to:
-duplicate the sharpened layer
Filter>high pass (picture will turn gray)
-set radius to 2.0 pixels (reduce if working on small files)
Then, in the layers pallette, change the blending mode for the layer to either "Overlay", "soft light" or "hard light" - whichever suits the image best.
Finally reduce the opacity for that layer from 100% to whatever looks good.

Julian
 
Julian H said:
Sharpening techniques are a pandoras box with many ways to do it.
I have a Fred Miranda action that I use which automatically gives me control of sharpening at different "strengths" and gives me an option to fine tune the sharpening.

I also use the USM filter, I've used the LAB mode as discussed by Nigel and others.

I think it's best to try many and then find one that works for you, since each method will not be the best for each image.

Also, I try and make the image a little crunchy when viewed at "actual pixels", since the halftone screening process when prints are made add in some softness to a digital image. How "crunchy" is too much is down to personal experimentation.

Often, if an image necessitates, I while run the reduce noise filter on the blue channel since this contains the most "digital" noise for an image.

One action I do use on my sharpened images to give it a little more "pep" or contrast in the midtones, without degrading the image further, is to:
-duplicate the sharpened layer
Filter>high pass (picture will turn gray)
-set radius to 2.0 pixels (reduce if working on small files)
Then, in the layers pallette, change the blending mode for the layer to either "Overlay", "soft light" or "hard light" - whichever suits the image best.
Finally reduce the opacity for that layer from 100% to whatever looks good.

Julian
Click to expand...

Interesting stuff, Julian ... thanks!
 
Julian H said:
One action I do use on my sharpened images to give it a little more "pep" or contrast in the midtones, without degrading the image further, is to:
-duplicate the sharpened layer
Filter>high pass (picture will turn gray)
-set radius to 2.0 pixels (reduce if working on small files)
Then, in the layers pallette, change the blending mode for the layer to either "Overlay", "soft light" or "hard light" - whichever suits the image best.
Finally reduce the opacity for that layer from 100% to whatever looks good.

Julian
Click to expand...
Sounds good Julian, I will give it a try.
 
Julian H said:
Sharpening techniques are a pandoras box with many ways to do it.


Also, I try and make the image a little crunchy when viewed at "actual pixels", since the halftone screening process when prints are made add in some softness to a digital image. How "crunchy" is too much is down to personal experimentation.
Julian
Click to expand...

Julian is correct with the stating that there are various ways of sharpening images. One warning I would give if you are half toning your images for print, then you will add contrast and gain to your image when printed, you must compensate for this in your origination.

I would stick to the highlight and shadow and let the mid-tones calculate themselves between your two measurements.

If your purpose is just to show on web, then saturating the mid-tones colours is a very good procedure.
 
Pe'rigin,

Not quite sure I understand what you mean by adding contrast and gain during printing?

Do you mean contrast is enhanced due to dot gain on commerical printing presses??
 
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