Best Way to Post Process Sharpen CS4

[spicegirl326]

There are so many ways to sharpen your image as the final stop in post processing. I am wanting to get some feedback on what you think is the best way and what settings you usually start with to achieve your look.

I hope everyone is having a beautiful weekend!!

[MicWayWal]

Too many variables. I have 5-7 depending on how it was shot and processed.

[ngoduyviet]

I normally try to shoot as sharp as I can so I can minimize the sharpening process. I can't remember the last time I have to sharpen anything in photoshop.

But if I do have to, I'd just use the smart sharpen in the filter menu.

[RKEnnis]

For the final sharpening step, I generally use Lightroom to export the image the the size and resolution I want, and have it do the sharpening at that time.

If I need to selectively sharpen a portion of the image, I use a variety of techniques depending on the image. Smart sharpen works well in many cases.

I also regularly use the "High Pass" filter for sharpening (or softening). This technique works great for sharpening eyes, or softening skin.

To do this:

Copy the image or area to a new layer.

Select Filter -> Other -> High Pass
In the dialog, adjust the radius to an appropriate level for your image (till you can see the detail you want sharpened) For a high rez image, I use about 10 or so. Try to err on the side of too much, since it's easy to crank down the effect later. Hit ok, and the layer turns sort of gray.

Select Image -> Adjustment -> Hue/Saturation and crank down the saturation all the way. You want this layer to be grayscale at this point. (If you're planning to soften instead of sharpen, invert the layer using command-I or control-I)

Now select "Soft Light" as the blend mode for the layer. The image will appear sharpener (or softer if you inverted the layer). If you want to apply this sharpening to only certain areas of the image, use a layer mask to hide parts of the layer. Also, if you sharpened too much, simply turn down to opacity of the layer.

Sorry for the long post. I hope it helps someone...

[dmcantrell]

Originally Posted by ngoduyviet

But if I do have to, I'd just use the smart sharpen in the filter menu.

+1

I use modest settings - lens blur, 40%, 0.4 pixels is my "standard" and I only go down from there.

I will also apply selective sharpening if needed using layer masks.

[andyz]

Good question. FWIW I usually use Smart Sharpen or the High Pass filter. The latter allows selective sharpening and works great in PS.

But a point above was that sharpening is a last step and depends on the size of the photo. I hear that, I do that. But why? I sharpen to my taste and I look for halos that indicate over sharpening. Do halos appear based on settings AND the size of the photo? I've not experimented with that or read why this is the rule.

[Wil_Bloodworth]

For overall sharpening, I use the LAB (luminance) method:
Photoshop Tutorials - Edge Sharpening | Photo Retouching | Photoshop Tutorials

For everything else, I use Smart Sharpen... but I use a layer mask and only sharpen very select parts of the image; not the image as a whole. Eyes, eyelashes, eyebrows, lips, jewelry. That's about it.

- Wil