Photoshop Elements >
Sharpening >
1 - Unsharp Mask Sharpening
Disadvantages
Unsharp Mask Sharpening has four disadvantages.
1) There are many steps and choices.
2) Everything is sharpened, not just the edges where sharpening is most needed.
3) Noise is sharpened.
4) Selective sharpening, applying sharpening to only certain areas, is harder.
This writer suggests you try High Pass Filter Sharpening.
High Pass Filter Sharpening doesn't have the above disadvantages.
Be sure to check off as you go along.
Preparation
A composite layer contains all of the layers of your photograph.
Do the following.
a) Deselect the eye icons on the layers you don't want to merge.
b) Make sure the top layer is active (highlighted).
c) Select > All.
d) Edit > Copy Merged.
e) Edit > Paste.
If you haven't already done so, go to Composite Layer.
Sharpening
2) Make sure the composite layer is active (highlighted).
3) Go to Enhance > Unsharp Mask.
4) Review the most important part of the photograph.
There should be:
• An area with lots of detail
• An area with an even tone or color.
Reposition the image in the Unsharp Mask window by doing the following.
Click, hold, and drag the image in the Adjust Sharpness window.
Always use 100%, the default setting for the magnification (zoom).
This is because anti-aliasing is performed at other view enlargement settings, making it harder to see the the sharpening.
5) Enter values in the Amount, Radius, and Threshold boxes.
Try the values below.
See the next section for explanations of each variable and suggested values.
Compare
Click and hold on the image in the Unsharp Mask window to see the photograph with no sharpening.
Release to see the sharpened photograph.
Evaluate the Sharpening
Go to Evaluating Sharpening.
Next
The next section discusses the sharpening settings, Amount, Radius, and Threshold.
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