Little Photoshop » Sharpening

Smart Sharpening with Smart Filters

Stuart Little — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:03:58 +0000

I thought I would complete our little series on sharpening by taking a look at how best to use Smart Sharpening in combination with a Smart Filter and a Smart Object. Are you feeling smart yet? You will be…

This is a shot of my John who assisted for me last year. He has now left us to go back-packing around Europe. Hope he remembered to take his camera with him! I have used this image to demonstrate the advanced features of smart sharpening. I have to admit I am a hi-pass and USM kinda guy but I thought showing you how best to smart sharpen with a smart filter for the ultimate for non-destructive editing was a good way to end our little series on sharpening.

OCF Info:

Canon EOS10D
Sigma 50mm F2.8 – 1/200th @ F5.6 ISO 200

SB24 @ 1/2 power – zoomed to 50mm and shot through an umbrella, camera right.
SB28 @ 1/8 power – zoomed to 50mm with honl gobo, camera rear left.

It wont be long now before the studio is finished and we be videoing the shoots for the blog. Then you can see the images as they are created… right the way through to the print stage.

Finally…

Watch out for me using my new workflow essentials actions in this screencast. Its the first time I have used them on a screencast and will be making them available for everyone to download sometime in the next week or so. If you visit our flickr discussion group you will know that there has been input from the members on this particular kit. >

HiRaLoAm Sharpening with UnSharp Mask

Stuart Little — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:16:43 +0000

In this screencast I will show you how to take a different approach to Unsharp Mask by using the “HiRaLoAm” sharpening technique with Photoshop. If you are a fan of USM then give this variation a try. When used on the right image and can really make it pop!
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Sharpening Jewellery with the Hi-Pass filter

Stuart Little — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:32:32 +0000

Today, we are going to look at sharpening jewellery with the hi-pass filter. This is one for all of the wedding photographers out there, who are probably knee deep in digital albums and slideshows right now. So hopefully when it comes rings, tiaras, bouquets, and other details this technique will prove to be invaluable for you.

When you are using any kind of sharpening technique in Adobe Photoshop. I think the main thing to remember is that subtlety is the key. Selective sharpening will always win out over a wallop of overall sharpening and that is why Adobe have given us the likes of the masking slider in ACR and Hi-Pass in the filters. Enjoy! >

Updated – The Secret of RAW Sharpening

Stuart Little — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:15:44 +0000

In this updated screencast, I show you the power-user secrets of sharpening in Adobe Camera RAW. If you have already watched this screencast then give it another go, because I somehow managed to lose 3 minutes of video between recording, editing and uploading it. So in this new version, I show you in full how to make the most of sharpening your RAW images with a little help from Spike the Pike!

This is the first in 4 screencasts where I explore sharpening in ACR, Lightroom and Photoshop. Its also where I will be sharing some of my favourite settings and techniques for getting those little pixels nice and crisp. Enjoy!