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Basic techniques for sharpening an image in Photoshop. How to improve image clarity

When you see a beautiful photograph of a natural or cityscape, the first thing you ask yourself is, “How did he manage to capture that shot like that?” Of course, the moment of shooting itself plays a role important role in creating any outstanding photograph. Is the exposure set correctly and will it produce a correct, well-balanced RAW file? Do I need to bracket to capture and then be able to process wide dynamic range? Should you use a slow shutter speed to create a sense of movement or soften it (that's where ND filters come in handy)?

There are too many variables on this list, and you're probably already familiar with most of them.

Once you have a RAW file ready to go, the post-processing software provides huge amount opportunities to make it sharper and stand out.

Using the 4 techniques covered in this tutorial, you can get your photos razor-sharp and ready to print or share online!

In the lesson I will tell you how to give landscape photos best view. However, these techniques also work for most other areas of photography. Since it's already spring outside, now is the time to get outside and capture some beautiful scenery!

1. Sharpening in Lightroom

The full name of Lightroom is “Adobe Photoshop Lightroom,” so when I talk about sharpening, I'm technically explaining the Photoshop method. However, no matter what you call it, Lightroom has a very useful section in the panel Details(Details) of the module Develop.

Sliders should be used when the image is open at least in full 1:1 size. When making adjustments, you need to see their impact even on the smallest details.

Holding down the Alt key allows you to see the mask being created.

All sliders can also be used in conjunction with the Alt key. Top slider - Quantity(Amount) will show the photo in black and white. Radius(Radius) and Details(Details) will mute the colors so you can see the outlines, which will be sharpened. Slider Mask(Masking) switches to black and white, showing exactly where the sharpening is applied (see image above).

Sliders

Quantity(Amount) adjusts exactly what you might think - total quantity applied sharpness. The further you move it to the right, the sharper the photo will become.

Radius(Radius) controls how far from the center of each pixel the sharpness increases. The lower the value, the thinner the radius of focus. The larger the radius, the thicker it is.

Details(Details) affects mainly other areas of the photo, not necessarily the edges (Radius is responsible for them). If there is a photo from a large number textures, such as fabric or clothing, slider Details(Details) will highlight them without creating an unwanted shine effect.

Mask(Masking) is nothing more than just a mask. If the slider is in the left corner, the mask is filled with pure white and the effect is applied completely. By holding down the Alt key and moving the slider to the right, you will see how the white outline remains only around some areas. If you drag the slider to the right edge, only the most obvious details will become sharp.

Even though it is very effective method, it is applied globally, and sometimes we need to sharpen only certain areas. This is where Photoshop comes to the rescue.

2. Unsharp Masking in Photoshop

Unsharp Masking(Unsharp Mask) is a function with a very ambiguous name. If you do not pay attention to the prefix “not”, this is a common tool for increasing sharpness. The way it works is to create a slightly blurred version of the original image and subtract it from the original to find the edges of objects. This creates an unsharp mask. The next step is to increase the contrast of the edges using the created mask. The result is a sharper photo.

Unsharp Masking Sliders

Quantity(Amount) is displayed here as a percentage and controls how contrasting the edges will be.

Radius(Radius) - the amount of blurring of the original to create a mask. The smaller the radius, the finer details will be affected.

Threshold(Threshold) sets the minimum change in brightness to which sharpening is applied. Threshold also works well to sharpen only noticeable edges without affecting others.

Any sharpening operations should be applied at a minimum of full 1:1 or better. The ideal zoom for working in Photoshop is 200%.

3. Smart Sharpening in Photoshop

Photoshop's most advanced sharpening tool - Smart sharpening(Smart Sharpen). It has the most options and when used correctly, you can get the best results for landscape and almost any field of photography. Landscape photography is a very difficult subject, as you often have to cope with very close contours and very distant ones at the same time. However, each of them requires a separate approach. By working with masks in Photoshop, you can ensure that some areas are masked while others remain sharp. This is another advantage over younger brother- Lightroom. But back to the topic!

Also in the tool popup window Smart sharpening(Smart Sharpen) you can save and load presets so you don’t have to enter parameters every time.

Smart sharpening provides greatest number options. With its help you can perfectly perform the finest corrections!

Slider Quantity(Amount) varies from 1 to 500%. In most cases you don't have to go beyond 100%. Of course, no one forbids you to go further, but you will get common artifacts in the form of radiance and an unrealistic appearance.

Radius(Radius) is measured in pixels and is responsible for the edges that Smart Sharpening will adjust. You can select from 0.1 to 64 pixels - a scale of 0.1 increments was created for maximum fine adjustment.

Noise reduction(Reduce Noise) is a very clear and excellent function. This is another reason for the power and popularity of Smart Sharpening. Now it becomes clear why Adobe created presets for this filter!

In line Delete(Remove) better install Low blur depth of field(Lens Blur), as this item does a great job of reducing the glare effect.

Sections Shadow(Shadow) and Light(Highlights) also received their own set of sliders for fine adjustment. Weakening the effect(Fade Amount) is responsible for the overall sharpening in light and dark areas.

Tonal width(Tonal Width) sets the limits of sharpening for certain tonal areas of the image. As an example, if you select a lower Tonal Width in these areas, the sharpening enhancement for them will be limited. A higher value expands the range of tones.

Radius(Radius) here works the same way as Unsharp Masking - moving the slider to the left determines a smaller zone, and to the right - a larger one.

Worth noting- to get the best results when using these tools, convert first copy original layer into a smart object. This can be done at the very beginning of post-processing or later when the layer is merged and on top. Switching to a smart object will allow you to go back and make corrections at any time. Also change Mode overlays(Blending Mode) sharpening layers (except Color Contrast) on Glow(Luminosity) to avoid unwanted glow. This is highly recommended.

4. Color Contrast Filter in Photoshop

Another great way sharpen landscape photos (and more) - use a filter Color contrast(High Pass). Again, you can either make a copy of the layer itself, or a copy of all visible ones (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E). Convert the resulting layer into a smart object by right-clicking on it and selecting the appropriate drop-down menu item. As already mentioned, this will allow you to go back and make corrections at any time.

The Color Contrast filter is a very simple but effective way to sharpen a photo. Remember that with any adjustment layer or filter you can always use a mask to hide unwanted areas. Slider Opacity(Opacity) is another way to reduce the influence of the effect.

Small radius within 1-1,5 Usually it's enough. Don't overdo it! We only need a little! The image will then turn 50% gray and only have a stroke showing the edges. This is exactly what we need.

Now just go to the Layers panel and select Blend Mode Overlap(Overlay) or Linear light(Linear Light). The latter has a more noticeable impact, while the former is less radical. Linear light is a better choice, since you can always adjust the opacity of the layer and soften overly harsh areas using a mask. Using Luminance Masks can also be a good option if you only want to sharpen a certain tonal range.

There are many more ways to bring out detail using Photoshop - what's your favorite? Share your experience in the comments or ask a question.

Practice shooting and editing often!

Despite the fact that modern digital cameras are extremely easy to use, since the vast majority have a mode automatic settings, amateur photographs do not always turn out spectacular. One of the common problems among amateur photographers is insufficient clarity and cloudiness of photographs in general, or unsuccessful focus setting, as a result of which it is not the subject being photographed that is in focus, but some insignificant background object, so the subject being photographed looks blurry. Most often, blurry photographs are caused by incorrect depth of field, incorrectly chosen focal length (when the camera is too close to the subject), camera shake during shooting (which is typical for handheld shooting), and a number of other factors. You can improve such pictures by increasing sharpness - the entire image as a whole or only in the focus area. It is worth noting that even photographs taken on professional cameras usually need some sharpening, which allows them to be presented more advantageously. This is due to the fact that digital camera sensors and lenses always blur the image to some extent, so even professional digital photos require sharpening.

As for incorrect focusing, a well-adjusted focus gives the picture a b O greater expressiveness, and incorrect focus setting automatically leads to photographs that do not make the desired impression, since the subject being photographed merges with the background elements. Unfortunately, it is impossible to radically correct photographs with completely blurred focus, but correcting slightly blurry focus is quite possible. Moreover, even in pictures with perfect focusing in a number of cases (more often when shooting portraits, macro photography, when photographing close up) it makes sense to apply sharpening in the focusing area - this will draw attention to individual fragments of the photo, focusing on some important detail (for example, the eyes).

About sharpening techniques and tools

Sharpening (full or selective - taking into account objects in focus) is an integral part of processing any digital image, although such an operation should be carried out extremely carefully, since excessive sharpening leads to increased noise and the appearance of color artifacts at the boundaries of contrast transitions.

The sharpening procedure should be resorted to only after performing the entire range of traditional actions to improve the image - that is, removing noise, performing color correction, adjusting contrast, etc. Otherwise, these actions will be much more difficult to perform. In particular, sharpening before noise reduction usually results in a noticeable increase in noise levels, which can be difficult and often impossible to eliminate. It is also worth noting that when sharpening, you must view the image at 100 percent size (in as a last resort, at 50 percent) and not on a smaller scale - otherwise it will be problematic to correctly assess changes during the selection of parameters.

There are different ways sharpening photos - you can apply sharpening filters built into Adobe Photoshop (combined into Filter → Sharpen), although obtaining high-quality results with their help usually involves working on several layers, sequentially adjusting the level of sharpness on each layer and then mixing them at carefully selected levels of transparency. Other methods of sharpening in Photoshop have also been developed - using channels and filters that have a completely different main purpose (for example, Emboss), etc. Obviously, all these methods are very labor-intensive, and it’s difficult to call them intuitive. In addition, if necessary, settings various options The level of sharpness for different fragments of the image requires painstaking selection of the corresponding areas, and this requires additional time. As for focus, no software solution can give clarity to an image with completely blurry focus - at best, you can slightly correct slightly blurry focus, but no more. How? In general, everything is quite simple - you need to sharpen the object in focus while simultaneously blurring the background elements. Thanks to this, the subject will be highlighted against the general background, and the image itself will look clearer and more expressive. Of course, all these operations can be performed in Adobe Photoshop.

An alternative is to use third-party specialized plugins and even independent applications (such applications solve the same problems as plugins, but do not require Photoshop to be installed on your computer). With their help, you can achieve high-quality results faster and with much less effort (often without the need for selection and masking).

Which option is better - each user decides for himself. If we talk about plugins and independent applications, then everything is obvious: professionals will work with plugins (this provides the possibility of complex selective sharpening using selected areas and masks, etc.), amateurs will prefer applications (they often do not need complex and expensive Photoshop ). In turn, the choice between filters Adobe sharpening Photoshop and tools from third party manufacturers is not at all obvious. Here, a lot depends on the usual working technology, personal preferences and your own visual assessment of the processing results in a particular solution.

Therefore, we will not highlight more or less preferable software tools, but will limit ourselves to considering specific examples sharpening and focus manipulation in such well-known professional software solutions as Nik Sharpening Pro and FocalBlade, as well as in not so popular, but also interesting programs for amateur photographers - AKVIS Refocus and Focus Magic.

Sharpening

Perhaps the easiest to use tool for sharpening images is the program AKVIS Refocus. Let's use it to sharpen the entire image as a whole, choosing a slightly blurred photo for experiments (Fig. 1). Launch AKVIS Refocus (in in this case separate application), open the original image - the image will be automatically processed with default settings (AKVIS Default preset), and the result will be shown in the tab To in the preview area (see Figure 1). Next steps boil down to selecting the most appropriate parameter values ​​for a specific image, which can be achieved either by selecting one of the built-in presets or by manually adjusting the settings (Fig. 2).

Rice. 1. Applying the AKVIS Default preset to a photo in AKVIS Refocus

Rice. 2. Sharpening photos in AKVIS Refocus

Make your photos clearer with FocalBlade will also not require much effort from the user if you limit yourself to using automatic and semi-automatic tools in Easy Mode, designed for beginners. For example, let's open the original photo in FocalBlade (mode Easy Mode), click on the button Reset to set default values, change the display type to Top View(with checkbox enabled Multiple) and then indicate that the image is supposed to be displayed on the display (option Display for parameter Output). The result of applying the default settings is shown in Fig. 3. To ensure that the photo is sharpened in the central part of the image without the appearance of visible noise and while limiting the degree of impact on textured surfaces, let’s change the basic settings on the Auto tab: set the parameter to Sharpness(adjusts the degree of sharpening of the photo) option High, and for parameters Surface(defines the nature of texture processing) and Details(adjusts the level of detail) options Light And Very Rough respectively. As a result, the flower in the photo will become more expressive - fig. 4.

Rice. 3. Automatic image processing for display in FocalBlade

Rice. 4. Sharpening the Center of a Photo Using a FocalBlade

Perhaps even more in a fast way To improve images in FocalBlade, you will use built-in presets, of which, according to the developers, there are more than 80. Let's consider this option. Let's open the original image and make the initial settings (mode - Easy Mode; display type - Right View with checkbox enabled Multiple; outputting the image to the display - option Display for parameter Output) - rice. 5. To better distinguish small details, let’s increase the display scale to 300% and see that the sky area is noisy (Fig. 6). Apply a preset to the photo Noise Reduced Sharpen, which provides increased sharpness while simultaneously suppressing noise - as a result, the mountain area will look sharper, and noise in the sky will be almost invisible (Fig. 7).

Rice. 5. The result of automatic image processing in FocalBlade

Rice. 6. Enlarged view of the image (FocalBlade)

Rice. 7. FocalBlade Noise Reduction Sharpening

IN Sharpener Pro In principle, there are also possibilities for quick sharpening. In the very simple case To do this, just open the original image in Adobe Photoshop, activate the module Output Sharpener(Fig. 8) and correct as desired in section Creative Sharpening Sharpness settings: Output Sharpening Strength(adjusts the strength of global sharpening), Structure(provides control over the display of small parts) and Local Contrast(adjusts the degree of local contrast). For example, in this example we changed the value of the parameter Structure to negative (so that too small inclusions in the sand are not visible) and select a value suitable from the point of view of this image Local Contrast. As a result of these simple manipulations, the blurred image became much less blurry, and selective (in this case due to the adjustment Structure) increasing the sharpness made it possible to draw attention to the marine inhabitants washed up on the sand (Fig. 9).

Rice. 8. Original photo opened in Sharpener Pro

Rice. 9. Setting processing parameters in Sharpener Pro

Bringing the image into focus

First, let’s consider the option of bringing “in focus” specific object V AKVIS Refocus. Let's open the original image (Fig. 10), but we will not make any changes in terms of setting the sharpening parameters (we will trust the default settings). Now you need to indicate to the program the focus area (fragments where sharpening is required - in this case it is an insect) and the background. To do this, outline the approximate external contours of the focusing area with a blue pencil, and the internal contours of background objects with a red pencil. All contours must be closed - otherwise the effect will spread beyond the drawn boundaries. As a rule, there is no need for very careful selection of fragments, although when forming contours it is still better to draw lines fairly close to the boundary separating the object being focused and the external background, since in this case the likelihood of a program error will be minimal.

Rice. 10. Opening the original photo in AKVIS Refocus

To carry out masking, select a tool Focus area and draw a blue outline around the insect. Then we activate the tool Second plan and draw a red outline to limit the background objects (Fig. 11). Please note that unsuccessful fragments of the blue and red outlines can be easily removed with an eraser and then drawn again more carefully. After this, we will start the processing process by clicking on the button Start. The converted image will be shown on the tab After(Fig. 12).

Rice. 11. Masking an object in AKVIS Refocus

Rice. 12. Result of “focusing” in AKVIS Refocus

A little more difficult (mostly due to the need to determine the degree of blur “by eye”) is “aiming” focus at Focus Magic. Let's try using this solution to improve a photo that is noticeably blurry due to the movement of the object. Let's open the original image in Adobe Photoshop and select the desired focus area by tracing the corresponding fragment with a lasso (Fig. 13). Let's carefully look at the image at an enlarged scale and roughly estimate the extent of the blur (in pixels). Activate the Focus Magic plugin ( Filter → Focus Magic) and select the module Fix Motion Blur. Since the default value of the parameter is Image Source(determines the source from which the image was received) was set correctly, then we will limit ourselves to setting the parameters Blur Direction And Blur Distance- the first sets the direction of the blur (it’s easier to set it using the built-in compass), and the second indicates the extent of the blur (Fig. 14). In order to further highlight the object in focus, let's blur the background - invent the selection and apply Gaussian blur ( Filter → Blur → Gaussian Blur) with blur radius ( Radius parameter) 5-6 pixels. After the manipulations, we will see that the subject began to look much clearer, and the picture itself now produces more good impression, although we were not able to completely eliminate the blur (Fig. 15).

Rice. 13. Selecting an object in Adobe Photoshop

Rice. 14. Adjusting Sharpening Options in Focus Magic

Rice. 15. View of the photo after final processing
Adobe Photoshop and Focus Magic

For comparison, consider an example of obtaining the soft focus effect of portrait optics, which is possible using FocalBlade. Let's open the original photo (Fig. 16). Let's apply a preset to it Portrait Sharpen(Fig. 17). Activate the tab Effect and add a soft focus effect to the photo Soft Focus from the group Blur. As a result, the portrait photo will look softer (Fig. 18).

Rice. 16. Original photo opened in FocalBlade

Rice. 17. The result of using the Portrait Sharpen preset in FocalBlade

Rice. 18. Soft focus effect achieved with FocalBlade

IN Sharpener Pro The process of selective sharpening based on focus is implemented differently, since the focus area (as well as other areas) is usually specified through control points. Open the original image in Photoshop and activate the module Output Sharpener- image view with disabled preview (checkbox Preview) is shown in Fig. 19. Let's turn on the preview mode. In the section Output Sharpening select output to an inkjet printer ( Inkjet) and determine the type of paper used ( Paper Type) and printer resolution ( Printer Resolution). In the section Creative Sharpening Let’s select the appropriate sharpness settings for the selected photo: Output Sharpening Strength, Structure And Local Contrast. In the section Selective Sharpening activate the formation of a focused area based on control points ( Control Points), add control points to the original image (button Add Control Point) and adjust the radius of application of the effect and the strength of its impact - fig. 20. Additionally, let's blur the area to the left of the bud, since it looks too clear. To do this, in the lower left corner of the image, create a new control point of the desired radius and with negative focus. After this, we will make several duplicates of this control point and place them sequentially on the left side of the image around the bud (Fig. 21). Before printing, let’s evaluate the appearance of the processed image by activating the mode Sharpening Soft Proof- this mode provides the ability to preview final result(in this case, printouts on inkjet printer) on the monitor. As can be seen from Fig. 22, there is a qualitative increase in sharpness taking into account the focusing area in the absence of noise and other artifacts.

Rice. 19. Original photo opened in Sharpener Pro

Rice. 20. Determining the Focus Area (Sharpener Pro)

Rice. 21. Installation control points for blur areas (Sharpener Pro)

Rice. 22. Preview of a photo enhanced with Sharpener Pro

A brief overview of sharpening programs

Sharpener Pro 3.0

Developer: Nik Software, Inc.

Distribution size: Windows version - 72 MB; Mac version - 159 MB

Work under control: Windows XP(SP 3)/Vista/7; Mac OS 10.5.8-10.7; Adobe Photoshop CS3/CS4/CS5

Distribution method: shareware (15-day demo - https://www.niksoftware.com/site/)

Price:$199.95

Sharpener Pro is one of the most popular solutions for adjusting the sharpness of digital images, taking into account their output on a variety of devices and media, including monitors and printers. The program is presented as a plugin for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, etc. and is aimed primarily at professional photographers.

The main differences between Sharpener Pro and other solutions under consideration are support for output to a wide range of devices with the ability to manually configure specific parameters (for example, when outputting to a printer, you can determine the type of paper and printer resolution) and the use of a two-stage focusing system. To implement such a processing system, the product includes two modules: RAW Presharpener and Output Sharpener. The RAW Presharpener module is designed for preliminary sharpening correction in RAW files. It is used to compensate for the effect of the camera's low-pass filter and allows you to slightly sharpen the image even at the RAW file stage without increasing the noise level and other artifacts that, to one degree or another, inevitably appear during the final sharpening. In turn, the Output Sharpener module is used for the final sharpening (of the entire image or selectively), taking into account the features of the image output technology. With its help, the basic sharpness parameters, data relating to the features of outputting a particular image (on a monitor screen, to a printer, etc.) are adjusted, and sharpness is also fine-tuned in specific areas. Selective sharpening, which allows you to precisely adjust the level of sharpness in those areas of the image to which you want to draw attention, is carried out by setting control points (determining the radius of application of the effect), forming selected areas with a special brush, or specifying specific colors for which individual sharpening is required. Selected settings can be saved into presets for future use. The Sharpener Pro plugin can work with 8- and 16-bit images and supports TIFF, JPEG and RAW graphic formats.

FocalBlade 2.02b

Developer: Harald Heim

Distribution size: Windows version - 2.73 MB; Mac version - 1.7 MB

Work under control: Windows 98/NT/Me/2000/XP/Vista/7; Mac OS X; Windows 32-bit - Adobe Photoshop version 3 and higher; Windows 64-bit - Adobe Photoshop CS4 and higher; Mac OS X - Adobe Photoshop version 7 and higher

Distribution method: shareware (demo version that installs watermarks on the image - http://thepluginsite.com/download/)

Price: $69.95

FocalBlade is a renowned solution for sharpening images (for screen viewing and printing) with minimal artifacts. The product is presented as a separate application and a Photoshop plugin (only the plugin is offered for Mac OS X) and is of interest to both beginners and professionals. The former have a simplified automatic correction mode (Easy Mode), while the latter can take advantage of fine-tuning numerous parameters in the Classic Mode and Advanced Mode, which allows you to achieve high-quality results on various types pictures.

FocalBlade includes many preset presets, so you can achieve a variety of processing effects with minimal effort. The solution supports one-, two- and three-pass sharpening algorithms and provides full control over this process, in particular, it allows you to control sharpness on surfaces and contours in various ways, ignore certain fragments and specific colors during processing, sharpen the central part of the photo without affecting it background, etc. Any transformations can be carried out with a group of images at the same time. Additionally, the plugin can be used for noise reduction and obtaining a number of effects, such as glow, soft focus, etc. FocalBlade supports sharpness restoration in any color model (RGB, Grayscale, Lab and CMYK) with a color depth of 8/16 bits per channel and works with major graphics formats including JPEG, TIFF, PNG, PSD, RAW and DNG.

AKVIS Refocus 1.5

Developer: AKVIS LLC

Distribution size: Windows version - 23.8 MB; Mac version - 27.3 MB

Work under control: Windows XP/Vista/7; Mac OS X 10.4-10.7; Adobe Photoshop 6-CS5

Distribution method: shareware (10-day demo version - http://akvis.com/ru/refocus/download-sharpen-photo.php)

Price: depends on the license type: Home - $39; Home Deluxe - $49; Business - $72

AKVIS Refocus is a tool for sharpening fuzzy, blurry, out-of-focus photos. The program is presented as a separate application and a Photoshop plugin and is aimed at both a wide range of users and professionals.

This solution allows you to enhance sharpness in images as a whole or only in certain parts of the image; If desired, certain fragments ignored when sharpening can be blurred, which, in combination with sharpening in the focused area, visually provides the “bringing into focus” effect. It is possible to save your favorite settings (presets) for future use, as well as batch file processing. AKVIS Refocus works with 8-, 16- and 32-bit images in RGB, Grayscale, CMYK and Lab color modes and understands major graphics formats, including RAW.

Focus Magic 3.02a

Developer: Acclaim Software Ltd

Distribution size: Windows version - 1.5 MB; Mac version - 2.5 MB

Work under control: Windows 95-7; Mac OS X; Photoshop (almost all versions, including CS2/CS3/CS4CS5)

Distribution method: shareware (demo version that allows you to process up to 10 photos - http://www.focusmagic.com/download.htm)

Price:$45

Focus Magic is a simple solution for sharpening blurry (due to lens movement during shooting or subject movement) and out of focus photos. The program has a minimum of settings, works quickly and is presented as a Photoshop plugin, as well as a separate application, so it may be of interest to a wide range of users.

The solution includes two sharpening modules - Out-of-Focus Blur and Motion Blur, which operate using different algorithms. The Out-of-Focus Blur module is designed to improve out-of-focus photos, and Motion Blur is used to sharpen blurry photos. Additionally, the program can be used for noise reduction and to combat dust and scratches on the scanned image. Focus Magic can restore sharpness in color RGB models, Grayscale and CMYK (color depth 8/16 bits per channel); The standalone application only understands JPG files, the plugin works with all formats supported by Adobe Photoshop.

Conclusion

We looked at several well-known solutions for increasing the sharpness of blurry and out-of-focus photographs, among which there are both quite expensive professional products and more affordable programs aimed at the widest audience. It is very difficult to clearly select the best among the presented solutions, since much depends on the type of source images, tasks and preferences, although in general, Sharpener Pro and FocalBlade products provide better results. The Sharpener Pro solution is distinguished by its tools for preparing images for printing (taking into account the printer resolution, paper type, etc.), as well as the presence of functionality for quickly selectively changing the sharpness in different fragments of the image. In turn, FocalBlade is interesting with its many preset presets, with which you can easily and easily in a matter of minutes achieve high-quality results when solving a variety of sharpening tasks. At the same time, both tools allow you to carry out fine tuning a variety of sharpness settings, which is important for professional photographers. As for the AKVIS Refocus and Focus Magic programs, they are attractive for their simplicity and relative accessibility (in terms of price and in terms of mastery) - even a novice amateur photographer can improve their photographs with their help.

Unfortunately, even when choosing a professional tool for work, you should not delude yourself, since blurriness and out-of-focus can only be corrected to a certain extent, and not in every picture. If the main details of the objects being photographed are clearly visible in the resulting image, then the chances of successfully improving it are high, but, of course, you should not hope to save completely blurry photos.

If not all, then probably almost all digital photos require increased clarity, even if they were taken with a super-duper megapixel professional. Most cameras or scanners do a pretty good job of sharpening, but sharpness top quality can only be achieved programmatically. The sharpening tool allows you to choose the amount of sharpening and areas of the image that require it.
But when controlling the increase in sharpness on the screen, it is very difficult for us to assess the true sharpness, and this is primarily due to the design of LCD displays.
Sharpness is very important when printing. Spare no expense, conduct a “scientific” experiment: print two identical photographs in a photo studio, only let the sharpness of one of them be improved, and the other as is. I assure you that after this experiment you will improve the sharpness of all the pictures that you are going to print, well, except for those, of course, in which blurry focus is an artistic technique...

Remember!…

The clarity in pictures prepared for printing should always be slightly higher than what appears to be quite sufficient when viewing pictures on a monitor and especially an LCD monitor.

The best methods for enhancing clarity allow you to do this as a priority - affecting only certain areas of the image. So, for example, in a portrait, the sharpness of the eyes is increased, but the increase in the structure of the skin is avoided. In Photoshop, the basic sharpening filters “Unsharp Mask” or “Smart Sharpen” do not just change the clarity of the entire surface of the photo, but “search and change”. These filters are programmed to make pixels on the lighter side of any edge even lighter, and pixels on the lighter side dark side this edge is darker. And you shouldn’t forget about this when adjusting the clarity - a little more and the people in your images begin to look radioactive (halos).

Remember!…

If you are going to programmatically increase sharpness in the future, and if your camera has an electronic sharpening function, then these functions must be turned off or set to minimum. The fact is that, as a rule, these functions in your camera are quite crude, simple and much inferior to the sharpening technique described below.

Remember!…

Sharpening a picture in a format should always be the last thing, after all kinds of adjustments and corrections to color, tonality, contrast, etc.
Now let's move on directly to the techniques for increasing clarity.
The first technique is High Pass:

Step 1.

Copy the layer and set its effect on the bottom layer in the layers palette - Overlay.

Step 2.

Go to Filter > Other > High Pass. In the window that opens, increase the pixel radius until we achieve the required clarity. At the same time, I recommend setting the pixel radius to 1.0 if you are going to print photos on Glossy paper and 3.0 if you are going to print photos on Matte paper.

In the window that opens, set the pixel radius value depending on what paper you will print the photo on.

Step 3.

Go to the color picker and double-click on it. A palette window will open. Set it to “0” in the Hue “H” and Saturation “S” windows and 50% in the Brightness “B” window (thus we set 50% gray) and click OK. Now we take a brush and go over all the places in the photo where we need to reduce clarity, for example: facial skin. This technique is especially useful when, after increasing clarity, noise appears in the photo.



Above is the original without any correction and the result after correction using the “High Pass” filter with a radius of 3.0 pixels and subsequent softening of areas of the photo to 50% gray where sharpening is not required.

Step 4.

At the beginning of the lesson, I said that in the photo that you want to print in the studio you need to raise the clarity a little, so, based on my practice, in this case I would set the radius in the “High Pass” filter to 3.3 pixels.

Second method: Unsharp mask/Smart Sharpen

This technique is a continuation of the first and is designed to prevent an increase in saturation at the edges, which in turn can lead to a “fringing” effect.

Change the effect of the top layer on the bottom layer from Overlay to Normal. Go to Image > Adjustments > Threshold.

Step 2.

In the window that opens, move the slider until all areas of the photo that should not be clear become white. If some pixels in the image cannot be removed, you can paint them over with a white brush.

Step 3.

Now we go to the channels palette, press and hold Ctrl, and, placing the mouse on the RGB channel, pressing and holding the left button, move the mouse to the icon with a dotted circle at the bottom (see the figure below).

Now we return to the Layers tab, place the mouse on the bottom layer, press the left button and drag the layer down onto the icon in the form of a sheet with a curled corner. Move a copy of the layer to the very top.

Step 4.

Turn off the middle layer by clicking on the eye (1). Select the top layer (2). Hold Alt and click on the icon below - in the form of a rectangle and a circle (3), thereby creating a vector mask with a black fill. Now go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and in the window that opens, set the pixel radius to 1.5 (4).

Step 5.

Now, remaining on the same layer, you need to select the photo (1) by clicking on it with the mouse. Next, go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen (or Unsharp Mask) and in the window that opens, set the appropriate values. Special attention Pay attention to the Amount adjustment. Moving this slider between 80 and 170% will change the ratio of dark and light pixels at the edges when changing the clarity of the photo. Set this value a little more from the normal value estimated by you on the monitor screen if the image will then be printed.

Step 6.

And lastly, let’s change the effect of the top layer from Normal to Luminosity.
In combination, these two methods give a very good and, probably, the best result of adjustment and increased clarity. In this case, increasing the clarity of the photo is done in those areas of the photo where it needs to be done and does not (almost in any way!) affect other areas of the image.
These two methods of correcting photo clarity give a very noticeable, good and correct result, probably the best of the best!…

Well, that's all!... I hope that I helped you in some way. It seems like I haven't forgotten anything. Well, if you forgot, ask!

Setting the image scale to 50%, select Filter --> Sharpen --> Unsharp Mask. Unsharp Mask literally translates as “unsharp mask”.

When the filter dialog appears, you will see three sliders. The "Effect" slider (Amount) determines the amount of sharpening applied to the photo; The Radius slider determines the number of pixels from the edge that will be affected by sharpening; and Isohelium (Threshold) specifies how different a pixel must be from the area surrounding the edge to be considered an edge pixel and eligible for the sharpening filter. By the way, the Isohelium slider works exactly the opposite of what you might think - the lower the number, the more intense the sharpening effect.

So, what values ​​should you still enter? I'll give a number of good starting values ​​below, but for now we'll use the following settings:

  • "Effect" (Amount) - 120%
  • "Radius" - 1
  • "Isogelia" (Threshold) - 3

Click OK to apply the filter action and the sharpening will be applied to the entire photo. Unfortunately, due to page width limitations, I cannot insert the entire photo at 100% scale, so the figure below shows only a fragment of the photo to demonstrate how the filter works.
The fragment is shown in the state to applying a filter. To see what he looks like after, hover your mouse cursor over the picture:

Sharpening soft objects

Below are settings for the Unsharp Mask filter that work well in images where the subject has a “soft” structure (for example, flowers, animals, rainbows, etc.). These settings give a subtle sharpening boost that works very well for these types of subjects:

  • "Effect" (Amount) - 120%
  • "Radius" - 1
  • "Isogelia" (Threshold) - 10


Sharpness of portraits

If you want to sharpen a close-up portrait, try the following settings:

  • "Effect" (Amount) - 75%
  • "Radius" - 2
  • "Isogelia" (Threshold) - 3

This is another option for a slight increase in sharpening, but, nevertheless, quite effective, enhancing the shine of the eyes and creating highlights on the subject’s hair:

Hover your mouse to see the photo after sharpening. A fragment of the photograph is shown at 100% scale.

ADVICE: Sharpening female portraits
If you need to sharpen a woman's portrait, first go to the Channels panel and click on the channel
Red (as shown here), making it active (this will change the image in the document to black and white). Then sharpen this red channel using an Effect value of about 120%, Radius - 1, Isohelium - 3. This technique avoids sharpening most of the skin texture and instead only sharpens the eyes, eyebrows, lips, hair, etc. Once this sharpening is applied, in the Channels panel, click on the RGB channel to return to the full color image.

Moderate sharpening

Below is a moderate sharpening setting that produces pleasing results in everything from product shots to shots of interior and exterior architecture and landscapes (and in this case, hat displays). This is my favorite setting when a nice, obvious sharpening is needed. Try the following settings:

  • "Effect" (Amount) - 120%
  • "Radius" - 1
  • "Isogelia" (Threshold) - 3

And you will see how good they are (I am convinced that you will like them). Hover over the photo to see how these adjustments brought life and detail to the rim around the hat and its brim:

Maximum sharpening

I only use extreme sharpening in two situations:

  1. When a photo is clearly out of focus and needs drastic sharpening to bring it back into focus.
  2. The image contains objects with clear edges (for example, rocks, buildings, coins, cars, mechanisms, etc.). In a shot like this, radical sharpening really brings out the detail on the edges of the building.

Here are my radical values ​​for gain:

  • "Effect" (Amount) - 65%
  • "Radius" - 4
  • "Isogelia" (Threshold) - 3

Hover your mouse over the photo to see the photo after sharpening. A fragment of the photo is shown at 100% scale.

Universal Sharpening

This seems to be my favorite all-around sharpening setting:

  • "Effect" (Amount) - 85%
  • "Radius" - 1
  • "Isogelia" (Threshold) - 4

I use it most of the time. She is not a "shock strike" variety, which is probably why I like her. It's mild enough that it can be applied twice to the same image if the photo doesn't look sharp enough the first time, but usually a single use is sufficient.

Sharpening for Web

For web graphics that have a slightly blurry appearance compared to, say, slideshow graphics, I use the following options:

  • "Effect" (Amount) - 200%
  • "Radius" - 0.3
  • "Isohelia" (Threshold) - 0

When you lower the resolution of an image for the network from a high resolution of 300 dpi to 72 dpi, the image becomes a little blurry and soft. If the sharpness seems insufficient, try increasing the “Effect” value (Amount) to 400%. I also use Effect at 400% on out of focus shots. This "Effect" value adds some noise, but at least allows you to save the photos, otherwise they would have to be thrown away.

Choosing your own settings

If you want to experiment and find your own sharpening presets, I'll give you typical ranges for each correction within which you can find your own sweet spot.
"perception" sharpening settings.

"Effect" (Amount). Typical usage ranges from 50 to 150 percent. This is not a strict requirement, but rather a typical recommended range for setting this parameter. Values ​​below 50% will not have any noticeable effect on the effect, but values ​​above 150% may create a problem, depending on how you set the Radius and Isohelia. A change of up to 150% is quite safe.

"Radius" For the most part, you'll use 1 pixel, but you can try 2 pixels. Above is one example where in emergency The "radius" reached 4 pixels. I once heard a legend about an elf who used the value 5, but maybe. these rumors are not reliable. In general, Photoshop allows you to increase the “Radius” value even up to 250! If you ask my opinion, I think that anyone who dares to use 250 as a "Radius" value should be jailed for up to a year and/or banned from using Photoshop for at least 3 years.

"Isohelia" (Threshold). A relatively safe setting range is from 3 to 20. 3 corresponds to the most intense effect, and 20 to a barely noticeable effect. If you need to significantly sharpen the sharpness, you can lower the value to zero, but keep an eye out for any digital noise that may appear in your photo.

If you don't know where to start creating your own Unsharp Mask filter preset, then do this: choose a starting point - one of the sets of settings I provided above, and then simply move the "Effect" slider and only that (that is, do not touch the other two sliders).
Try this technique and you'll soon find yourself wondering if lowering the Isohelium setting would improve sharpness, and by choosing the appropriate value you might like the result.

Do you have a lot of time and are you willing to sit for hours trying to improve the colors in your photo, sharpen it, or remove digital noise? This is a bold decision! For those who value time and want to perform all the above operations to improve a photo in one click, we suggest using online service correction of defects photo site. The site's simple and user-friendly interface will help you deal with the most common digital photo problems in less than a minute:

  • faded colors or incorrect color rendering;
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  • blur;
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By uploading your photo from your computer or via a link to the service page, you immediately receive a finished, improved photo, with color correction, noise reduction and sharpening only in required areas. At the same time, color saturation is adjusted and red eyes, if any, are removed.

More subtle manual photo correction settings

After the first photo processing, you will see a number of settings marked with check marks. They will allow you to select the necessary parameters more precisely (cancel or activate the function of removing noise, improving photo sharpness, correcting illumination, improving saturation, adjusting digital temperature).

Save enhanced photos. Free photo hosting. How to show an improved photo to friends

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