How to I properly sharpen my photos in pp?

[AMOMENT]

I have PSE but usually shoot RAW and convertto DNG. I know that nailing my focus is first and foremost to a sharp photo but I am also just wondering how everyone sharpens their pictures. I usually use the RAW edit to sharpen but I find it makes my pixures grainy and the pixels (the whole point of sharpening,I know) too pronounced.

 

[MLeeK]

When you are sharpening in raw zoom in to 100% while you sharpen. Otherwise you will not be sharpening accurately. I don't know what your options are for sharpening in raw. You have elements right?
If you hold down the ALT key while you are clicking and dragging the sliders they change the image so you can better see what you are doing. A portrait will be sharpened about 40-a max of about 60%. Could be anywhere from 1 to 3 pixels. Masking is probably going to be somewhere around 85-90%

 

[e.rose]

I usually use the RAW edit to sharpen but I find it makes my pixures grainy and the pixels (the whole point of sharpening,I know) too pronounced.

That's because you are *over* sharpening.

I know that *you* know that a sharp image is the first step to a sharp image... but most of your images that I've seen, I'm afraid, aren't usually on the sharp in-focus side, which leads me to believe that you are consistently oversharpening to compensate for that. I used to do it all the time. I think we've all probably gone through a time when we've done that, haha.

As far as METHOD goes?

When I used Elements, I used the Unsharp Filter. I do it differently now, so I may be recalling this incorrectly, but I think what I used to do in Elements was create a copy of the image I was working on in a new layer... go to the High Pass filter and put in a low number that defined the edges nicely... ran the Unsharp Filter on the High Pass layer, and then switch the layer mode to Overlay (or maybe it was Soft light?... one of those two).

Just don't overdo it. :sillysmi:

 

[e.rose]

And yeah... as MLeek says... sharpen at 100%.

 

[Steve01]

Slight sharpening in Raw is fine, usually the default setting is enough to compensate for the sharpening the camera adds when shooting JPG.
Sharpening for output should be the last step in the process.

Sharpening varies a lot depending on the output.
Print size, and paper type will effect your settings and that's completely different if it's for the web.

Everything I do is for print and I print on Fine Art Photo Rag.
The very last step for me is a new composite layer named Hi Pass.
Obviously I use the Hi Pass filter and I set it to about 3 pixels
I then vary the opacity of that layer over the original layer until I'm satisfied with the results.
The opacity is usually 40 to 65%.

 

[Buckster]

My only steadfast rule on sharpening is that I always make sharpening the very last, final, nothing-else-left-to-do, step of my process before saving the DONE image file.

That's including sizing for whatever my final output will be. My final pixel dimensions for a large print size are much different from my final for a business card, which are different from my typical display size on the web, and I find that my final sharpening step changes with them, as far as the settings I use, and even then, it will vary from image to image, and may even include masking and so on, if I want to be very selective about what, exactly, I'm sharpening, and how much.

That said, I will even sharpen in a few steps; Sharpened to taste for one area, then sharpened even more for another, then sharpened to the max in yet another. It's not often that I go that far, but I don't limit myself. I also pay attention to halos and mask them out when I feel the need, leaving the surrounding detail tack sharp.

As an example of my sharpening process, my typical web output is 900 pixels on the longest side, and I work at 300 pixels per inch right up until I "save for web", which happens immediately following my sharpening process. So, I'm looking at my image resized to 900 on the longest side, and I choose "Smart Sharpen", Amount: 100%, Radius: 0.3, Remove: Lens Blur. That's my starting point for that size image, and I'll adjust from there if I feel I need to, usually just on the amount slider, rather than on the radius. Very often though, I'm done just by using my initial settings.

For large prints I'm making myself at 13" x 19", I find that I usually do the same thing, but up my Radius to about 1.3 px as my starting point.

I've never worked with PSE, so I don't know if it works the same or if you have "Smart Sharpen" or an equivalent, but maybe that can help give you some ideas anyway.

 

[scorpion_tyr]

It's really easy to soften a picture in PP, but really hard to sharpen one. Nailing the focus during the shoot is key. Choosing the right aperture is also a key point. The only thing I sharpen in PP is the eyes of the subject, and I only sharpen them very very slightly. Sharpening in PP, in my opinion, is a cheap way to try to overcome poor focus and/or aperture selection.

 

[MLeeK]

My only steadfast rule on sharpening is that I always make sharpening the very last, final, nothing-else-left-to-do, step of my process before saving the DONE image file.

That is a REALLY important point here!!!
We touched on raw sharpening and then on final output sharpening and never differentiated until Buckster here brought it up. Your raw sharpening is more of a "de-fog" kind of sharpening. It's to give you a clean, clear image. However output sharpening is done JUST before you go to print or to publish and it's done at the size you are going to print or specifically for web use.

 

[Tee]

I sharpen twice at the end. Once for the hi-res, then undo that and then again for my resized web ready image.

 

[KmH]

Sharpening is a complex subject, and is also affected by noise in an image, so image sharpening and de-noising are connected at the hip, so to speak.

I capture sharpen in ACR, then sharpen locally as needed, and do final sharpening based on output. Images destined for print will hold more sharpening than images destined for electronic display.
Sharpening locally in CS5 I can use the selection tools to target different areas of an image for different sharpening techniques, and amounts, rather than just sharpening the image globally.

There are many sharpening techniques. UnSharp Mask (USM) is just one method. When using USM you need to have a good understanding of what the Amount, Radius, and Threshold sliders do. I don't think the Elements version of sharpening in ACR includes the Luminosity and Color de-noising sliders.

There is also high-pass sharpening, LAB mode sharpening, and using mid-tone contrast adjustment. USM can be used to enhance local edge contrast as well as to do general sharpening.

Which technique you use and how aggresively the technique is applied boils down to image content.

Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom (2nd Edition)

 

[ghache]

I am not sure yet why people keep sharpening pictures that much. If your shot is in focus, well lit, you shouldnt have to sharpen your pictures that much.

I rarely sharpen my pictures. if i do i do it locally in lightroom using a sharpen brush at like +15-20 MAX OR i use photoshop and a layer mask with whatever sharpening filter work best to do my sharpening.

 

[shootermcgavin]

I don't think elements is great as far as sharpening. In CS5 you could do a high pass which usually helps quite a bit. Normally in RAW you can get enough out of a photo in terms of sharpness. PSE has limitations so just do the best you can with the RAW and know you could always go back some day and get a bit more. Or you can check and see if highpass filter is an option, I didn't use PSE very long.