Advice: I want my pictures SHARP!

[musicaleCA]

First, try sharpening with LAB. See here.

I too, will say thanks. Another tool in my kit of techniques to use.

When shooting in RAW, PP sharpening is mandatory, and the best sharpening program I have found is NIK software's Sharpener Pro, however you can use other forms of sharpening like CS3's sharpening slider or unsharp mask slider.

I usually do PP sharpening in LR2, but is there a particular reason you us Nik's Sharpener Pro? Is it superior somehow?

I also realize transitioning from PC to PC that my graphics card will also affect the way I see my photographs in translation from Canon.

The translation of the RAW to how it is displayed on your monitor is purely a software issue, and should not be affected by the graphics hardware you use to do it (e.g. there won't be any difference, all things equal, in how a RAW from your camera is displayed in PS between say, an nVidia or ATI GPU). The thing that will change from monitor-to-monitor is colour calibration, and that can make a huge difference if you don't calibrate your monitors every month or so.

And I'm gonna level with ya. I do not shoot in RAW! :l
I know how to shoot in RAW, but I have never learned how to convert. PS CS2 is my right hand, but I simply don't know all that much about it.

Learn RAW. Shoot RAW. Edit RAW. Your work will only benefit from it. Adobe Camera RAW will let you put those RAWs to use, and I do believe that CS2 has support for the XTi's RAW files.

 

[Garbz]

Hey Mike_E did you have a look at the sharpening tutorial posted? It gave an awesome workaround for the sharpening in LAB mode. I avoid this since it clobbers my working layers, but if you merge all current layers to a new flat layer, sharpen that one, and set it's blending mode to lightness you effectively end up with the same effect as sharpening in LAB on the L channel, but without the colour space conversions And I thought I knew it all! (joke)

musicaleCA Nik's Sharpener Pro is superior in that it it has many more options. It's not golden bullet one touch does everything sharpener, but when used right it can give outstanding results.

 

[manaheim]

^^^ that's two tips today. Thanks, guys.

 

[musicaleCA]

Aye, Garbz, those tutorials on that site are great. I've learnt quite a few things about my camera. And it has a user-friendly DoF calculator. Now I have a better idea of what aperture to shoot at for various distances.

Might have to try Sharpener Pro. I try to stay in LR though, just because the TIFFs that come out of Photoshop tend to weigh in at 200MBs or more each. I might have a Drobo and can expand up to 8TBs, but that's still kinda scary for a single image. >.<

That trick about creating a new layer, unsharp mask, and then blending with lightness is awesome. Colour space conversions can be the bane of my existence sometimes, espeically when it comes to the black that's added when converting to CMYK. Bah.

 

[gsgary]

I began shooting a little over a year ago and have seen the quality and character of my photographs progress since then. However, lately as my skill has plateaued with no formal education or apprenticeships, I am feeling very down about one particular aspect of my photographs, the sharpness.

Everywhere I turn my eye is struck with visually crisp surroundings that nearly miss the translation through my lens. I'm wondering, are the "blow your mind sharp as broken glass" images that turn up from photographers the product of a setting, or a manipulation? How can I achieve these crisp, sharp, perfect moments?

I think you need to invest in some good glass your lens gets slatted here
FM Reviews - EF 28-105mm f/4-5.6 USM

 

[Mike_E]

Hi Garbz, it's been a while but I had read it. To tell you the truth, I cheat. I usually just go into LAB and the L channel and play with Levels to increase the contrast for some edge sharpening. I find that sharper edges and (somewhat) softer middles help with a sense of depth.

mike

 

[inTempus]

Not only is it more fun, but WAAAY easier. I hardly ever have issues when I shoot someone else. Models all want $$$ which I refuse to pay haha, but I have a lot of friends I do portraits for, some lucrative, most just good learning and courtesy.

Join Model Mayhem. You will find plenty of local photographers in your area (typically) that will work with you for free. That's where I find my models.

Where Professional Models Meet Model Photographers - ModelMayhem

 

[djacobox372]

Sharpness = F8, low iso, high shutter speed, perfect focus

It's as simple (and hard) as that. The better your lens/iso performance the more wiggle room you have.

 

[Overread]

As Bryan Peterson says f8 is a great "who cares" aperture in that it does deliver good sharpness, but honestly of generaliations your statment is just too general to have any effect.

A long slower shutter speed can deliver a tacksharp shot - you just need a good solid tripod, no wind and a good static subject. Low ISO is always a boon to have yes I can agree to that. F8 - way too debatable, and for me way too limiting. I shoot my macro mostly out at f13 and I am sure many portraites are shot way out at wider apertures than f8. Also f8 places rathera big demand on shutter speed and ISO in less than perfect lighting to get a good exposures - something has to give to get the exposure in the first place.
Also I would say the key part is ideal lighting for the scene and capture - that is really the main criteria we have - the rest is dealing with imperfect lighting and how we work around solving the problem - be it a higher ISO, reflectors, flash, slower shutter speeds or coming back another day.

 

[JerryPH]

You are potentially missing a lot.
Time to take the plunge. Initialy it is more work, but suddenly, your pics look way better and it is easy! Make sure you upgrade your version of ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) to the latest edition possible and get that compatibility for your camera's RAW file type.

Do it once, get comfortable with it and you will be smiling!

 

[Iron Flatline]

There is a lot of responses here, and I lack the attention span to read them all.

I have benefited GREATLY from an application called Nik Sharpener Pro. Yes it is expensive... but NOT when you consider what a good lens would cost.

This software allows you to sharpen based on size as well as viewing distance, and you use the brush tool to only sharpen the areas you want - like the eyes, for example.

 

[Joves]

True. And I'm gonna level with ya. I do not shoot in RAW! :l
I know how to shoot in RAW, but I have never learned how to convert. PS CS2 is my right hand, but I simply don't know all that much about it.

I dont know about your camera but, maybe shoot RAW+Jpeg if it has that option. THen you can paly with RAW in CS2 as long as you have the ACR plugin installed for that camera. Converting is easy to jpeg or whatever you want to from the RAW data.

 

[EhJsNe]

Well, I see your images are perfectly sharp and you are just complaining of not beeing perfect.

Second, dont be a pageview whore, posting links to your user page all willy nilly and whatnot. Many of us people who use deviantART who work hard for our pageviews and people to view our stuff dont like them.
(DeviantART just is not the most user-friendly site to be using to share pictures. For people who arent used to the site, it has a horrid layout and crappy colour scheme Especially if you have a personalized profile.)
Send us a direct link to a specific picture or post the picture. Also, do not have pictures of your nipples on a forum that allows people as young as 13 to view.

Now, to get sharper images, invest in a good camera. (LIke your Canon AE-1. Just a digital, or newer, doesnt have to be digital) And get some good glass. Now set it the aperture giving you sharpest results (google your lens) and nail the exposure.

Also....make sure you have it in focus.

 

[Garbz]

Might have to try Sharpener Pro. I try to stay in LR though, just because the TIFFs that come out of Photoshop tend to weigh in at 200MBs or more each. I might have a Drobo and can expand up to 8TBs, but that's still kinda scary for a single image. >.<.

If that's your only complaint then you're not looking into your settings when saving. Save as TIFF, clobber the layers if you're not going to use them anymore, and enable LZW compression. I have a 26mpx TIFF image on my desktop at the moment that sizes in at 30MB.

 

[musicaleCA]

Oh snap; I knew I was doing something wrong. Once again, thanks Garbz.