unsharp mask

lkavaney

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I'm really struggling working out how to use the unsharp mask in CS2, does anyone have a link to a detailed how to? or an idiots guide? thanks!!
 
I would just play with it. Be careful with sharpening, though. Most people tend to oversharpen when first getting familiar with the tool. I usually adjust the first top two levers (don't know the names of them at the moment as I don't have PS here at work). I almost never sharpen portraits as a rule, too.
 
Notice too that the sharpening tools only give the viewer the "illusion" of greater sharpness by making the edges more contrasty etc. Photoshop cannot work with data that is not there due to really poor focus or camera movement.

Also because artifacts (irregular picture noise) often result around areas that are sharpened, it is important to either be very selective with your use of the tool or clean up the artifacts later with a softening brush tool.

skieur
 
I've found that viewing the image at 50% magnification approximates what the effect will look like as a print.

Percentage changes intensity. Radius effects local/micro contrast. Threshold effects grain/noise.

With digital I usually leave threshold at zero. With film scans I may go 1.0 -ish depending on how grainy.

I use USM on a luminosity blend layer, and usually in two steps. The first step is high percentage and low radius (like 350% 0.3 radius). The second step is low percentage and high radius (like 15% 40.0 radius). Then flatten.
 

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