Although most cameras automatically apply capture sharpening for JPEG photos, the amount will depend on your camera model and any custom settings you may have applied. Also be aware that the preset shooting modes will influence the amount of capture sharpening. For example, images taken in landscape mode are usually much sharper than those taken in portrait mode. Regardless, optimal capture sharpening requires shooting using the RAW file format , and applying the sharpening manually on your computer see below.
Manual Capture Sharpening requires weighing the advantages of enhancing detail with the disadvantages of amplifying the appearance of image noise. First, to enhance detail, sharpen using a radius value that is comparable to the size of the smallest details. For example, the two images below have vastly different levels of fine detail, so their sharpening strategies will also need to differ:.
Note: The sharpening radii described above are applied to the full resolution images and not to the downsized images shown above. Generally, well-focused images will require a sharpening radius of 1. Regardless, capture sharpening rarely needs a radius greater than 2. Keep an eye on regions with high contrast edges, since these are also more susceptible to visible halo artifacts.
Don't fret over trying to get the radius "accurate" within 0. When noise is pronounced, capture sharpening isn't always able to be applied as aggressively and uniformly as desired. One often has to sacrifice sharpening some of the really subtle detail in exchange for not amplifying noise in otherwise smooth regions of the image. Using high values of the threshold or masking settings help ensure that sharpening is only applied to pronounced edges:. Such a mask was chosen because it doesn't worsen the appearance of image noise within the otherwise textureless areas of the image.
Also note how image noise is more pronounced within the darker regions. However, noise reduction should always be performed before sharpening , since sharpening will make noise removal less effective. One may therefore need to postpone sharpening during RAW development until noise reduction has been applied.
While creative sharpening can be thought of as just about any sharpening which is performed between capture and output sharpening, its most common use is to selectively sharpen regions of a photograph. This can be done to avoid amplifying image noise within smooth areas of a photo, or to draw viewer attention to specific subjects.
For example, with portraits one may want to sharpen an eye lash without also roughening the texture of skin, or with landscapes, to sharpen the foliage without also roughening the sky. The key to performing such selective sharpening is the creation of a mask, which is just a way of specifying where and by how much the creative sharpening should be applied. Unlike with the output sharpening example, this mask may need to be manually created.
An example of using a mask for creative sharpening is shown below:. Top layer has creative sharpening applied; mask ensures this is only applied to the white regions. Alternatively, sometimes the best technique for selectively sharpening a subject is to just blur everything else.
The relative sharpness difference will increase — making the subject appear much sharper — while also avoiding over-sharpening. It can also lessen the impact of a distracting background. Move your mouse over the top left image to see this technique applied to the previous example.
Another way of achieving the same results is to use a brush, such as a history, "sharpen more" or blurring brush. This can often be simpler than dealing with layers and masks. Sometimes this type of creative sharpening can even be applied along with RAW development by using an adjustment brush in ACR or Lightroom, amongst others.
Overall, the options for creative sharpening are virtually limitless. Some photographers also apply local contrast enhancement aka "clarity" in Photoshop during this stage, although one could argue that this technique falls into a different category altogether even though it still uses the unsharp mask tool.
Lastly is the Sharpening control called Masking. This slider is neat, because it, too, helps determine whether the aforementioned sharpening adjustments are to be applied to every little contrast edge, or just to the big ones you select. Moving the Masking slider toward minimizes the inadvertent, unwanted sharpening in random areas of the scene, which can be increased by the Detail and Radius controls. I like to employ this tool to rein in aggressive sharpening established with the three previous sliders.
The higher the masking level, the more small details and fine edges are eliminated from the sharpening protocol. It turns the preview to black and white and clearly reveals how the sharpening is working. Ultimately this type of RAW capture sharpening is just the bare minimum necessary, the first step.
Output sharpening can compensate for any aesthetic changes this may cause. Stay tuned for future tips on creative sharpening and output sharpening to round out your overall understanding of this important, if not exactly glamorous topic.
This was a very good article on using the sharpening tool in Lightroom. However, I was always taught that since sharpening is a destructive action, that this should be the very last part of post processing. You must be logged in to post a comment. Username or Email Address. There are also a variety of ways to improve perceived sharpness. The standard sharpening tools of Lightroom are not the only way.
The "Clarity" tool, which affects microcontrast, is an alternative or complementary way of improving sharpness without actually needing to apply a high degree of standard sharpening, mitigating the potential impact of haloing while achieving stronger results.
There are also a variety of high- and low-pass filtering methods to sharpen photos in a tool like Photoshop which offer different results that may be more appropriate to different subjects. Sharpening is really a matter of taste, so its best to experiment for a while and find out what works for you. Make it a part of your style. For standard prints i. That will get you in the ballpark.
Depending on the subject, you might need to mask what's being sharpened. Grass and some foliage doesn't take well to the sharpening. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group.
Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Asked 9 years, 2 months ago. Active 1 year, 3 months ago. Viewed 30k times. For processing right now, I'm working with Lightroom 4. Let me know if there is any additional information I can give to help answer. Improve this question. Francesco 4, 4 4 gold badges 30 30 silver badges 51 51 bronze badges. Steve Brouillard Steve Brouillard 1 1 gold badge 2 2 silver badges 6 6 bronze badges. In Lightroom 4, hold down Option Mac or Alt Windows as you change the sliders and you'll see the effect it has more clearly.
I use opt-slide for Sharpening Mask and Radius all the time , you'll be able to dial in what you want very quickly this way.
The same image photographed with a low density sensor vs. You can generally and sometimes must use a larger sharpening radius in that scenario. There are a LOT of factors that affect sharpening, however output format is one of the primary ones. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. In general, yes, RAW files will need sharpening.
This is for two main reasons: First, the processes both at the physical sensor level and in software to convert the raw data to a useful image tend to result in soft-looking images. Here's how I do it when I'm going down the sliders in Lightroom: Start with setting Amount at 50 or maybe It needs to be above 0 or else there's no sharpening at all and you can't see what the other sliders are doing.
It almost certainly won't stay here; you'll come back to this. Radius depends strongly on the type of detail in the image. Lots of fine details, go with smaller values. If there's not a lot of fine details, you can go higher. You can also use Detail to suppress the effects of Radius and Amount on fine details.
I start Detail at At that level it won't be suppressing the fine details halo very much and you can judge what Amount is really doing. Lower values reduce the effects of Amount and Radius on fine details, while higher values apply more sharpening to fine details. Remember that affected areas are white, so you want white edges.
With the radius, detail, and masking set, adjust Amount according to your taste.
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