Sharpening For Web

[smoke665]

Does anyone bump the sharpness up on images that they post to Web vs print? If so how high?? I've been told anywhere from 150 to 350%. Which seems awful high. Any rule of thumbs???

 

[john.margetts]

I was taught to increase sharpening on prints to counteract the spread of the ink drops. I only give web images minimal sharpening.

 

[KmH]

Images destined for the web generally cannot be sharpened as much as images destined for print.
Regardless the destination, how much a digital photo can be sharpened is influenced by a number of factors, a major one being edge frequency (image content).
The fewer edges there are in a scene the less sharpening it will tolerate.

The details are a book length subject.
One of the guys that created ACR's Sharpening & noise Reduction panel wrote the book you might want to get. (ACR is Photoshop's Camera Raw, and Lightroom's Develop module)
Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom (2nd Edition)

 

[Ysarex]

Does anyone bump the sharpness up on images that they post to Web vs print? If so how high?? I've been told anywhere from 150 to 350%. Which seems awful high. Any rule of thumbs???

Using PS as a reference and assuming an image sized for web display at approx. 1024 pixels, try Unsharp Mask values of radius .7 and amount 45.

Joe

 

[smoke665]

Unsharp Mask values of radius .7 and amount 45.

Thanks Joe

 

[Ysarex]

Unsharp Mask values of radius .7 and amount 45.

Thanks Joe

Set up a PS action to apply frequency sharpening. There are numerous ways to sharpen a photo: unsharp mask is common and very good, but there's also RL sharpening which can be preferred with some subjects and frequency sharpening which I'm rather fond of especially when implemented via PS layers.

Create two duplicate layers of your image:

Select the middle layer as you see done above. Blur the middle layer using either: Filter->Noise->Median or Filter->Blur->Gaussian Blur.
NOTE: This step fundamentally determines how much max sharpening is possible. More blur = more sharpening. Start with a Median value of 1 or Gaussian Blur value of 1.5. Re-do with higher values if you need more sharpening. Hint: You can save multiple actions with different values. I have saved actions for Median values 1, 2 and 3.

Select the top dupe layer. Go to Image -> Apply Image and make sure you set these values:

Note that the Layer selected is the layer you just finished blurring. Click OK and your image should turn grey.

Delete the middle layer. Select the top (grey) layer and change the blending mode to Linear Light.

Use the opacity slider to dial in the desired amount of sharpening.

NOTE: If you apply a layer mask to that top layer you can paint out sharpening where you don't want it or paint it in at a reduced value (paint mask with grey).

Joe

 

[ashleykaryl]

I agree with @KmH that sharpening should be based on the individual image and intended destination. There is no absolute rule on how much sharpening should be applied, so it comes down to a subjective decision, however it should be the very last step.

On a general workflow point, your Raw files are unsharpened, but if you want to keep an edited Tiff or PSD master file in your archives, leave that unsharpened. From there you can export sharpened copies that are deleted when no longer needed, since you can always create new ones.

If you use Lightroom, check out the output sharpening options in the export panel that includes an option for screen. You may find that works for you if you want a simple solution and assuming there is no further editing.

 

[smoke665]

@Ysarex your sharpening method looks vaguely similar to an action I use to create a softening mask, only the layer is inverted. When I get home this evening I need to step through this. Though at first glance it looks lIke the same can be accomplised with the Smart Sharpen, and its expanded controls, for highlights, midtones, and shadows. If this proves better, rather than have multiple actions couldn't the action be paused for user entry of the median value?

@ashleykaryl My RAW files are masters never altered, and final sharpening (if required) is done at export. However some of my Actions in PS include sharpening functions. I have LR but find I'm using Bridge and PS more.

 

[Ysarex]

@Ysarex your sharpening method looks vaguely similar to an action I use to create a softening mask, only the layer is inverted. When I get home this evening I need to step through this. Though at first glance it looks lIke the same can be accomplised with the Smart Sharpen, and its expanded controls, for highlights, midtones, and shadows. If this proves better, rather than have multiple actions couldn't the action be paused for user entry of the median value?

Smart Sharpen's ability to target the sharpening area is less precise. Beyond that the sharpening methodology produces subtly different results. Sure you can pause the action to enter the median value -- strictly a personal preference there.

Joe

 

[ashleykaryl]

@ashleykaryl My RAW files are masters never altered, and final sharpening (if required) is done at export. However some of my Actions in PS include sharpening functions. I have LR but find I'm using Bridge and PS more.

Obviously we keep the Raw, but in cases where you have an edited Tiff or PSD in your archive it's better not to sharpen where possible. I'm mainly thinking about those images where you spend hours in post production, so you want to avoid starting again from scratch with the Raw.