Practical Photography

PHOTOSHOPGENIUS...
M
OST DIGITAL IMAGES BENEFIT
from sharpening, even those shot on
the latest, high-resolution DSLRs. But
while sharpening adds definition, it can’t return
badly focused images to full clarity – sharpening
adjustments are more about adding local contrast
to firm up the details.
Different amounts of sharpening are
required for different images, and for different
areas in the same image, so always sharpen
on a Layer that’s a copy of the original. That
way you can delete the effect where you don’t
want it using the Eraser Tool (E) or a Layer
Mask. Levels of sharpening also vary for
prints and screen viewing – an image that
looks over-sharp on screen may be fine or even
not sharp enough, depending on the paper
you’re using, so experimentation is key.
When you’re starting out with Photoshop
Elements you might use the most simple and
automatic tools like the Enhance>Auto Sharpen
option, or the Sharpen Tool (R), which works
like a brush, sharpening whatever it touches. But
both lack control, so here are three better ways...
Sharpen with Unsharp Mask
Go to Layer>Duplicate
Layer... call it ‘Sharpen’ and
hit OK. In the Layers palette
you’ll now have a Layer
ready to work on, so go to
Enhance>Unsharp Mask. In
the palette are three sliders,
plus a preview window. Click
in the window and you can
toggle a before and after view.
Start with Threshold,
which governs the pixels to
be sharpened. Low settings
sharpen more pixels, so can
make pics look noisy (2 to
25 is better). Radius sets
the width of the sharpening
effect in pixels, so again is
better at low settings like 2 or
4. Amount sets the strength
of the effect with 50-150%
a good setting for most.
If you see strong fringes
around the details in the
image you’ve gone too far.
Above The settings in the
Unsharp Mask panel can be
tweaked to suit an image.
Right Apply sharpening
effects to a new Layer for
a fully adjustable finish.
TOO HIGH TOO LOW JUST RIGHT
Above Set the strength of the
sharpening, size of the affected
edges and brightness changes.
Above Different images require different amounts of sharpening, sympathetic to the details in the image.
78 PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY