What the best eye popping and image sharpening action for photoshop?

[sirsean52]

I've been searching for the best eye popping action and the best sharpening action for photoshop cs4. I've gotten so many different answers. So, I'm wondering what the pro's use. Some of the images that I've seen on here have been really awesome.

[Sonny]

That all depends. The same action will produce different results for each photographer. Theoretically, in a room of 10 photogs you can have 10 different answers because they all have different shooting styles. The person creating the action will have a different idea of "sharp". Some photogs like to over sharpen their images just a little and vice versa. What you could do is find an action that comes close to the results you want. Open the action in Photoshop, study their steps, and try to recreate it with results that better fit your taste.

An action is basically a recording of a series of steps in Photoshop. You might find better results by searching for Portrait processing or eye sharpening. Once you have an idea of good eye sharpening techniques then you can create your own actions.

Hope that helps. Sorry I couldn't recommend any actions.

[dmcantrell]

I've found that the most successful sharpening comes from good technique and a sturdy tripod.

With that being said, I typically use "Smart Sharpen" in CS4, lens blur, radius 0.4, amount 40% (maybe 60% at the most). I control where the sharpening happens with layer masks. I do not sharpen every image though, especially images bound for stock agencies.

[MrBeta]

Originally Posted by dmcantrell

I've found that the most successful sharpening comes from good technique and a sturdy tripod.

With that being said, I typically use "Smart Sharpen" in CS4, lens blur, radius 0.4, amount 40% (maybe 60% at the most). I control where the sharpening happens with layer masks. I do not sharpen every image though, especially images bound for stock agencies.

Is there a reason? Not worth the time or is there a more specific reason?

[dmcantrell]

Originally Posted by MrBeta

Is there a reason? Not worth the time or is there a more specific reason?

I assume you are referring to the stock agency comment. In my experience, the stock agency inspectors are more likely to reject images that have been sharpened. They have very keen eyes for this sort of thing. I'm not a stock guru or anything, but I've had rejected images accepted when I resubmitted without sharpening. Many times, the full-res stock images are purchased by a graphic designer who may incorporate it into and ad or a composite with text or something and do the sharpening as they see fit based on the size of the resulting artwork. They don't want to double-sharpen.

[MrBeta]

Good point. Makes sense.

[lscottpht]

I use Totally Rad's Select-O-Pop and Select-O-Sharp and love them! For overall sharpness, Magic Sharp is good, too.