Photo Sharpening

[Bo4key]

Should I be sharpening all my photos PP?

They seem to look soft at times, maybe I am just not capturing them 100% correctly. I'm shooting in RAW and processing on my laptop (I know the laptop isn't ideal)

 

[KmH]

I sharpen at least twice and often 3 times.

In ACR I do capture sharpening.
In Photoshop I do local sharpening.
Lastly, I sharpen for output, which is mainly for print.

Sharpening is a complex task and the type of image has a lot to do with the sharpening values used as well as the sharpening technique used.

Sharpening is also just one side of a coin, the other side of the coin being noise reduction. In other words to understand how to sharpen effectively, you also have to understand how to control and edit noise.

A good book to read and then keep around for quick reference is: Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom (2nd Edition)

 

[mhandy]

I often use the clarity slider in the raw dialogue box opening from bridge. It works well without posterizing.

 

[KenC]

Before you do anything to the raw file, look at it at 100% magnification - that will tell you whether it is sharp or not. Also look at the tab in ACR or whatever raw converter you use which controls sharpness and adjust the settings to see the effect. There are default values which may represent too much or too little sharpening. In any case, if the 100% view looks soft, you have a capture problem (slow shutter speed, moving subject, poor focus, etc.).

 

[vtf]

Before you do anything to the raw file, look at it at 100% magnification - that will tell you whether it is sharp or not. Also look at the tab in ACR or whatever raw converter you use which controls sharpness and adjust the settings to see the effect. There are default values which may represent too much or too little sharpening. In any case, if the 100% view looks soft, you have a capture problem (slow shutter speed, moving subject, poor focus, etc.).

All Raw are unsharpened out of camera, I agree with KenC. This is what I do also.

 

[KmH]

If the 100% view looks soft, the capture problem could also be caused by the AA (low-pass) filter in front of the image sensor, a lens that has less than great optics, a lens aperture that promotes diffraction, etc.

In any case, those are all reasons to do capture sharpening on Raw files.

 

[STM]

It has been my experience that RAW images usually tend a little on the soft side. I rarely sharpen more than once in Photoshop (and frequently fade the sharpness in the edit menu until I get what I need) because that is usually all that is needed, and further sharpening can create artifacts. Sharpening is like wasabi on sushi..........a little goes a long way!