How to add clarity to a photo. How to sharpen a photo in Photoshop

In this lesson, you will learn several ways to sharpen an image, allowing you to “bypass” the shortcomings of the built-in sharpening filters in Photoshop. What are these disadvantages? Let's start in order:

1. Color halos may appear around contrasting objects.
2. Color and monochromatic noise increases. If the second one is not so terrible, you don’t even always need to get rid of it, then the first one literally hurts your eyes.
3. In scanned photographs, the above-mentioned shortcomings appear even more strongly, in addition, the graininess that was originally inherent in them increases.

As a rule, in the process of improving a photo, you have to increase the sharpness several times, which can make the situation even worse.
How to avoid such problems? This often confuses novice (and not only) users. But there are several methods, plus their variations and combinations, that allow you to increase sharpness without increasing noise and artifacts. So let's get started.

1 way:

1. Open our image. Immediately switch it to Lab mode Image-Mode-Lab(Image-Mode-Lab).

2. Choose a palette Channels(Channels), press CTRL+1 to select the channel Brightness(Lightness), then ~ to see the image in color.

3. Apply to this channel Filter-Sharpness-Unsharp Mask(Filter- Sharpen-Unsharp Mask).

Settings vary depending on the specific image. Many people do not know how to use this filter correctly. We will now correct this knowledge gap.
So the first thing to do is set the value Effect(Amount) within 80 - 150, depending on the image resolution. Then we gradually increase the values Radius(Radius) until visible flaws and artifacts appear. Next we increase the value threshold(Threshold) until these roughness disappears, but the effect of sharp contours is preserved.

4. Press CTRL+ ~ to select the composite channel. Then, as in step 1, we transfer the image back to RGB mode.

Method 2:

1. Open the image. Copy to a new layer CTRL+J.
2. Apply to this layer Filter-Others-Color Contrast t (Filter-Other-High Pass), with a radius of about 1 (depending on the image resolution, but I don’t recommend setting it large, I’ll explain why later).

3. Click CTRL+SHIFT+U to desaturate the image. This is a very important point! Since we have removed color information from this layer (and it certainly is, although the layer looks gray), this will avoid increasing color noise.

4. Change the layer blending mode to Overlap(Overlay). You can do this in the Layers palette, or by pressing SHIFT+ALT+O.

5. If you are not satisfied with the result, for example, the sharpness has increased too much, you need to reduce the opacity of the layer. If you need to increase the effect, copy the layer the required number of times (CTRL+J).

If you try to immediately greatly increase sharpness by setting a large radius value in step 2, this will lead to a deterioration in image quality.

3 way: the same second one, but adapted for scanned photographs. I think many will appreciate its effectiveness. I don’t include any pictures so as not to repeat myself.

1. Open the image and copy it to a new layer.
2. We repeat step 2 from the previous method, but set the radius value much larger, from about 4 and higher, depending on the resolution.
3. Next you need to blur the layer using Filter - Noise - Dust and scratches(Filter-Noise-Dust & Scratches), so as to remove grain but leave the outline of the images.
4. Then repeat steps 3-5 from the previous recipe.

In order to avoid wasting time on performing these actions in the future, you can create actions, that is, operations, for each selected method.

In one of the following lessons you will learn another way to increase sharpness. It is quite complex, so I did not clutter this lesson with its description.

I wish you creative success!

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 plays an important role in the creation of 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, post-processing software gives you a ton of options 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 this tutorial I'll show you how to make landscape photos look their best. 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 - the total amount of sharpening applied. 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 with a lot of textures, such as fabric or clothing, the 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.

Although this is a very effective method, it is applied globally and sometimes we only need to sharpen 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 Sharpen(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 both very close and very distant contours 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 its younger brother - Lightroom. But back to the topic!

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

Smart Sharpening provides the most 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.

It is 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 return 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 to sharpen landscape photos (and more) is to 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!

Good day everyone, dear friends. I am with you again, Dmitry Kostin. And today we will photoshop again. Does it ever happen to you that you took several photographs, but in the end it turned out that they were blurry and even a little blurry, and somehow they didn’t look right? I guess it did.

But thanks to our program this can be fixed. Therefore, today I will tell you how to improve the sharpness of a photo in Photoshop. And by tradition, I will show here several ways how this can be done.

Sharpen Tool

The first thing that comes to mind in this case is to use the sharpening tool. So open the image in Photoshop and we'll get started. I took this picture. She will be perfect for us.

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t use this method. I prefer the method described below.

Filter "Sharpening"

In addition to the usual tools, there is a whole group of filters, specially tailored to our today's needs. To do this, select “Filters” in the top menu and select "Sharpening". There you will see another submenu with several items. Let's look at a few of them.

Well, no matter which filter you use, the image still becomes clearly better and much more pleasant to look at.

In principle, such tricks can be used to make your image clearer and better. Which method do you prefer? Or maybe you are using something else altogether? Please write in the comments.

Well, if you want to master all the tools of Photoshop, know what for what and how to use it, learn to swim in it like a fish in water, then I recommend that you check out one great course. These video lessons are designed for absolutely any level. The main thing is that after watching you will not have a mess in your head, since everything goes from beginning to end, from simple to complex. And the presentation of the lessons is simply excellent, so be sure to check it out.

Well, this is where I end my article for today. I really hope you like it. And by the way, I recommend that you subscribe to my blog updates. Then you will always be aware of everything important and interesting. You can also look at other articles on my blog. I'm sure there will be something interesting for you there. Good luck to you. Bye bye!

Best regards, Dmitry Kostin.

Step 1.

Step 2.

Step 3.

images (Image - Image Size). In my example, these are the dimensions:

Step 4.

Step 5.

Sharpness + (Filter - Sharpen - Sharpen More).

Step 6.

(depends on the number of small or large details in the picture). My opacity is:

Step 7

Size), enter the value 50%:

Step 8

- Contour sharpening (Filter-Sharpen-Unsharp Mask)

And finally, change the transparency of the duplicated layer to 5–30%

(depends on the amount of small or large details in the photo and the selected sharpness in step 2)

Merge the layers and save the image.

Here is the result of our work.

Any image consists of many small details. The concept of image sharpness can be defined as the clarity of the boundaries between areas of the image with different brightness. What determines the sharpness of a photograph? Yes, it depends on many factors - the quality of the lens, the aperture used, the movement of the subject during shooting, crooked hands, in the end.
If you compare two photographs, you will almost always choose the one with more detail and the image that seems better focused.

But it is very important to understand that all methods of sharpening an image do not change its true characteristics - the number of clearly visible details per unit area.
In reality, our eye perceives an infinite number of halftone transitions and an infinite number of image details. And a digital image is limited by the technical capabilities of a particular camera - the number of pixels and color depth (i.e., the number of halftones of one color) that each pixel can record. Details that are smaller than the physical size of one pixel are simply lost.
And there is no need to remember Hollywood films, where from a completely low-quality image taken by a surveillance camera, the evil face of a criminal suddenly magically appears on the monitor screen in all its glory, with many details, and someone recognizes him by a particularly noticeable pimple on his nose.
It is impossible to create a 10-megapixel image filled with complete information from a one-megapixel image. If there are no details in the photo, then they don’t exist, no matter what angle you look at them from.
But this does not mean that the photo cannot be improved. The concept of "sharpness" is closely related to our visual perception of an image. Contrast transitions allow our eyes to more easily find the boundaries of objects, thus highlighting details, which is perceived by the brain as increased “sharpness.” All sharpening methods, in fact, do not change the true characteristics of the image, but only our visual perception of it. To increase sharpness, you need to darken the outline in the dark area and lighten it in the light area.

Why sharpen a photo?

Before figuring out how to sharpen a photo, it would be good to ask yourself, is this even necessary for this image? Sometimes a soft, blurry photo creates a special mood, and sharpening it can only ruin it. At the same time, photos containing a lot of fine detail will improve if they are sharpened.
It is imperative to sharpen photos when reducing their size. In this process, several pixels in the original photo are converted into one pixel, and its value must be somehow calculated. Therefore, most algorithms use the sum of the values ​​of all original pixels. With this averaging, the clarity of the contours is inevitably lost, and the sharpness of the image decreases.
Let's look at how to sharpen a photo in practice using Photoshop, the most famous graphics editor, as an example.
In this example below, the contours between parts of the image with different brightnesses are quite sharp (Figure 1). If you make the image smaller, several pixels have to be placed in one, and with the usual calculation of the average value, the contours would become blurred (Fig. 2). When zooming out, Photoshop algorithms slightly increase the contour sharpness (Fig. 3). With additional sharpening with filters, the contrast on the contours increases even more (Fig. 4), but distortion occurs, noticeable as a light halo on the contours.

Fig1	Fig2	Fig3	Fig4

Methods for sharpening

If you need to sharpen small areas of the image, you can simply use the Sharpen Tool (Sharpen) and it is better to first make a duplicate layer and work on this copy of the layer.
If you need to sharpen the entire image, use filters from the Sharpen group.
The Sharpen filter enhances the sharpness of an image by enhancing the contrast of adjacent pixels.
The Sharpen More filter does the same thing, but even stronger.

Unsharp Mask filter

The most famous way to increase sharpness is through the Unsharp Mask filter. This filter allows you to control sharpening using three parameters:

Amount (Effect): degree of influence of the filter.
Radius: determines which area around the outlines will be affected by the contrast change. For most images intended for the web, a value of 0.2 or 0.3 gives optimal results.
Threshold: This parameter specifies how much different neighboring areas must be in order for the boundary between them to be considered a contour. It is better to leave this parameter at zero.

Filter Color Contrast (Highpass)

The second way to increase sharpness is the Highpass filter.

First you need to make a copy of the layer, change the overlay mode to Overlay and remove the saturation in the copy of the layer via Hue/Saturation.

Now you need to apply the Other/Highpass filter to this copy of the layer. There is only one option in the dialog box that appears. It matches the parameter Radius Unsharp Mask filter.

If the sharpening is increased too much, you can reduce the transparency of this layer. If you simultaneously need to increase the saturation of the image as a whole, you can try this: make a duplicate of the layer with the image, set its blending mode to Overlay and set the Opacity of this layer to 12-18%

Smart Sharpen Filter

The Smart Sharpen filter appeared in Photoshop CS2. It gives you more control over sharpening and produces better results. Provided you know how to use it.


Turn on the More Accurate option. The quality will be better.
The Sharpness, Shadow, Light tabs allow you to adjust the gradual reduction of the effect in dark or light areas of the image, the width of the tonal range, depending on which tab you are in.
Radius determines the size of the area around a pixel that is used to determine whether the pixel is dark or light (can be left at 1). It all seems complicated, but experiment and see the results.
Using masks
By applying a filter to the entire image, we don't always get the desired effect. Some parts of the image that are not of particular importance also become sharp and acquire a halo. To avoid this, we should duplicate the layer, add a mask to this layer and paint with black all areas of the mask where sharpening is undesirable for our photo. It is better to take a brush with soft edges and a transparency of 20-40%.

And one last piece of advice.
Do sharpening last before saving the image.

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