Sharpening help please

[Tobyh]

Anyone able to offer some tips on sharpening - I'm using Elements 5 but the settings I'm using I'm struggling to see any change in my images.

What sort of settings do you others use?

Thanks

TobyH

[MagpieMick]

Toby,

I'm a Elements 5 user, shoot in Raw, convert to 16 bit Tiff do all the adjustments and save as Tiff.
Then Duplicate file and depending on whether its for Web or printing will Sharpen this file,normally sharpen a little more for the web, apply frame resize etc..

Between 10% and 70%
Radius 1.0 to 2.5

Mick..

[LoveT]

Don't know if this will help but you normally need to zoom in to approx 100% to see any effect your sharpening is having.

If you are already doing that, then apart from the advice Mick has given you I'm lost - sorry !

Thea

[RichBrew]

Sharpening of an image should only be done after all other adjustments have been made, and at the size you intend to print the picture. I convert the image to LAB mode to sharpen (Image>Mode>Lab Colour). Then select the Channels pallet (found under the Windows menu), and click on Lightness. This will turn the image to black and white. Then select Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask. Set the radius to around 1.5 for large prints (0.6 when saving for web use), and leave Threshold at zero. Then, using the Amount slider, adjust until you have the sharpness you require. Zooming in to the image by 50-100% will give you a clearer view of how much sharpening you are applying. Once you are happy, click OK. Then, back to the Channels pane and click on Lab. This then returns the image to colour. Finally, convert the file back to RGB Colour (reverse of above).

Using this technique, you are avoiding creating artifacts that can sometimes be caused by the filter. It's not as complicated as it first seems, and in time it becomes second nature.

RichBrew

[Geoff F]

Oversharpening is worse than too little. Use Unsharp Mask and do it last, as the others have said. Do not sharpen by more than 200% by 2 pixels in one go and less if possible. Ideally use 50% at 1 pixel.

One trick which I often use where a considerable amount is required is double sharpening. Do the first pass using settings around 100 to 150% and a radius between 0.5 and 1 to emphasise the fine detail. Then do a second sharpen using between 30 and 50% with a radius between 2 and 3 pixels to slightly widen the sharpened edge and smooth out any harshness.

Only use Threshold if sharpening is producing a little pixelation (false colour changes, often seen in skin tone) and then setting 1 is usually sufficient.

I usually do an extra final sharpen with images that need a considerable resize for web use. 30% by 1 pixel should be enough. Also when resizing, I find that BiCubic Interpolation usually works best.

There is a way that allows you to select which edges you want to sharpen but that is a bit advanced for now. It is also very time consuming so I don't use it often.

[Tobyh]

Excellent, thanks for the replies, i'll try them out later today.

[Steve S]

The amount of sharpening really depends on what your are trying to achieve. If you are looking for a quality print the RichBrew method will consistently give good results. If it's for the web then you can often get away with a "quick and dirty" use of unsharp mask.

Try the different methods suggested and see which you prefer. Experimentation is half of the fun. But always save sharpening until last.

Steve.

[andyc123]

Excellant thread about a subject that has bothered me for ages. I have messed about with it and finally decided that I like my finished result more but have then wondered whether that is largely due to making myself feel better for the time spent! The comments also manage to capture the seemingly 3 billion pages I have read on it in nice short, easy to use answers - thanks guys.

[DaiTheDragon]

I agree with what has been said above. One thing I often do is duplicate the layer that has been sharpened a medium amount and apply the sharpening again. Then you can reduce the opacity to get the right amount and then flatten the image.

Dai

[richardkm]

I was taught that one should always sharpen before using levels etc, because sharpening alters the contrast. In practice, I've found it better to sharpen before altering the image size, the higher the resolution of the image, the better the sharpening effect and the less artefacts.