What is the best sharpening method to use?

Everytime I downsize an image, I have to sharpen it a bit. I usually just do a 25% sharpen edges. But, there are times when the sharpening is just so obvious.

Help.

when downsizing, make sure that the resampling method is set at bicubic sharper so that you only have to sharpen a bit. i don't have a best method. it depends per photo. but my favorite being edge sharpening via find edges or high pass.

nino, what about smart sharpen? I tend to use this often.

smart sharpen is fantastic. especially the remove blur function.

Im using Fred Miranda's Intellisharpen plug-in. Quite a good sharpener imho. :)

Smart Sharpen and Unsharp Mask are two totally different animals. Smart Sharpen uses deconvolution algorithm which takes a blurred image and tries to make it clearer. This is the same process that was used by NASA scientists to "unblur" the photos from the Hubble telescope. Unsharp mask creates a dark and white edge on images and creates false sharpness technically through contrast. I have to agree with Nino in that every image requires different sharpening methods. Going down in size should definitely use Bicubic Sharper.

@Din- what do you mean by 25% sharpen edges?

@Nick...

I sharpen edges... then, I undo sharpen edges... then move slider down to 25%. Uhmmm, not really sure about my term though...

Help.

Din2

I see. You are using the Sharpen Edges filter and then Edit>Fade Sharpen Edges down to 25%. I've never used this method surprisingly. If you feel like it is oversharpening your images its because with this filter you don't have full control of the sharpening. Photoshop has a pre-determined amount set and your only choice is to reduce the amount. You also can't determine what edge will get sharpened.

I suggest creating the edge yourself and then controlling the sharpening through the Unsharp Mask filter. Its a more tedious process but if you are looking for total control, then this is the way to go. You can save the Sharpen Edges filter for sharpening bulk images, but for the special ones you should take the extra time.

If you need help with this let us know. Nino or I can walk you through it.

@Nick...

I sharpen edges... then, I undo sharpen edges... then move slider down to 25%. Uhmmm, not really sure about my term though...

Help.

Hi Dindin,

Maybe you can try the formula i am using, i'm do it by unsharp mask

AMOUNT= slider maximum of 180% depending on the images (with 22 and 39mp images i can go as high as 300 without a trace of ghosting in edges.)

RADIUS = 0.8 to as high as 1.9 just look at the preview window you will see the improvement.

THRESHOLD = 1-2 levels

this process works for me. there is another one using desaturate and highpass and another process using combination of those which i can make an action so it can guide you through the process i'll prepare one to email you just pm for your addy.:)

smart sharpen is fantastic. especially the remove blur function.

hi. where do i find smart sharpen? i only see "sharpen, sharpen edge, sharpen more and unmask sharpen"....thanks!:)

Leni,

You'll find it if you are on CS2. Filter>Sharpen>Smart Sharpen

@ nick and arnel

thanks, guys!!! will try and apply the tips right now. wish me luck!!!

arnel, email addie is dindinlagdameo@yahoo.com

smart sharpen is only available in photoshop cs2. unless you have that version, you're stuck with unsharp mask

am using a cs2... whew!

smart sharpen is only available in photoshop cs2. unless you have that version, you're stuck with unsharp mask

darn! guess i have to change my version of photoshop!:BlackEye:

thanks!

Sometimes I apply a high pass filter over a duplicated unsharped masked layer in Photoshop. Making sure I don't increase too much cause halos would soon appear on the image. Then depending on the image I use the hard light or soft light blending modes and adjust the opacity of the layer if necessary.

so how do you determine which sharpening method is best for your photo? i mean are there general guidelines as to which one works for which photo?

or just test all out on your image so that you can judge which is betteR?

@francis

exactly!

Sometimes I also use high pass filter. Duplicate the layer - apply high pass filter - change to overlay mode. Kung na sobrahan, adjust the opacity.

so how do you determine which sharpening method is best for your photo? i mean are there general guidelines as to which one works for which photo?

or just test all out on your image so that you can judge which is betteR?


When you edit enough photos you will get the knack of which sharpening methods to use. I don't think there is any one generic solution for sharpening. Many of the posts on this thread give respectable techniques for sharpening but they cannot be applied to every image. You don't need to try every technique on each image to see what is best. Once you have enough experience, you will know which one to use under certain circumstances. I think I have a fair enough idea now on how to go about tackilig a photo.

My next move, and Nino will agree, is to perfect sharpening for CMYK magazine print. I think we have done a decent job with sharpening for the magazine in the second issue but he and I noticed a few sharpening errors that will be corrected in our third issue.

That's what I like about Photoshop. There's more than one way to treat an image. Even the levels, curves, or the contrast can make a difference in sharpness.

Hi again...

I have stumbled upon another minor problem here... I took a facial shot that was quite sharp and high in contrast. So, no need to sharpen. Now, it's the reverse problem, how do I soften the facial features?

Flickr is down right now but you can see the image at the Manny Librodo link... the first one... http://www.digitalphotographer.com.ph/forum/showthread.php?t=501&page=7

Thanks so much in advance!!!

Best regards,
Dindin

din im no PP expert (far from it.. hahaha)... but you can try out gaussian blur to soften part of your image... tried it a number of times - seems effective (at least to my tastes:) )

now lets hear it from the experts....

Make sure to "save as" your original Jpegs to Tiff first. You may keep your original and work on the tiff files because the more you work on your jpegs the more you loose the pixels:)

Make sure to "save as" your original Jpegs to Tiff first. You may keep your original and work on the tiff files because the more you work on your jpegs the more you loose the pixels:)


The file compression that occurs while saving a JPEG file does not cause an image to have a smaller pixel dimension. The pixel dimensions remain constant.

But, you do lose color, brightness and optical info the more frequent or the greater the file is compressed.

try doing this:
1. duplicate original.
2. apply gaussian blur.
3. change blending mode to soft light.
4. decrease saturation.

Stan

Hi again...

I have stumbled upon another minor problem here... I took a facial shot that was quite sharp and high in contrast. So, no need to sharpen. Now, it's the reverse problem, how do I soften the facial features?

Flickr is down right now but you can see the image at the Manny Librodo link... the first one... http://www.digitalphotographer.com.ph/forum/showthread.php?t=501&page=7

Thanks so much in advance!!!

Best regards,
Dindin

unsharp mask may also do the trick, try reversing the parameters

Hth :)

try doing this:
1. duplicate original.
2. apply gaussian blur.
3. change blending mode to soft light.
4. decrease saturation.

Stan


Stanley's advice is very good. You will see a contrast increase with soft light so pay attention to the opacity.

I use Fred Miranda's Intellisharepen II plugin. It helps when you're editing lotsa event photos. You need to experiment though with the settings, to what you think is ok with your photos and your camera's settings.

As for softening, I learned this reading a photoshop book for photographers:

1) Go to image you want to soften
2) Create a duplicate layer
3) Go to that layer
4) Apply Gaussian Blur, 20
5) Go to the layers palette, click on the opacity lever and adjust to your desired softness
6) Flatten the image, and enjoy!