Improving images, making them sharp and clear, contrasting shades is the main concern of Photoshop. But in some cases, you do not need to sharpen the photo, but rather blur it.

The basic principle of the blur tools is blending and smoothing the boundaries between shades. These tools are called filters and are found in the menu "Filter - Blur".

Here we see several filters. Let's briefly talk about the most used of them.

This filter is used most often in the work. For blurring, the principle of Gaussian curves is used here. The filter settings are extremely simple: the strength of the effect is controlled by the slider with the name "Radius".

Blur & Blur+

These filters do not have any settings and are applied immediately after selecting the appropriate menu item. The difference between them is only in the strength of the impact on the image or layer. "Blur+" blurs more.

Radial blur simulates, depending on the settings, either "twisting", as when the camera rotates, or "expansion".

Twisting:

Result:

Result:

These are the basic blur filters in Photoshop. The rest of the tools are derivatives and are used in specific situations.

Practice

In practice, we use two filters - and .

Here is our original image:

Using Radial Blur

1. Create two copies of the background layer ( CTRL+J twice).

   

2. Next, go to the menu "Filter - Blur" and looking for .

   

   Method "Linear", quality "Best", quantity is the maximum.

   

   Click OK and look at the result. In most cases, a single filter application is not enough. To enhance the effect, press CTRL+F, repeating the filter action.

   

Now we need to remove the effect from the child.

3. Create a mask for the top layer.

   

4. Then select the brush.

   

   The shape is soft round.

   

   Black color.

   

5. Move to the top layer mask and paint over the effect with a black brush in areas that are not related to the background.

   

6. As you can see, the radiance effect is not very well expressed. Let's add some sun rays. To do this, select the tool "Arbitrary figure"

   

   and in the settings we are looking for a figure of the same shape as in the screenshot.

   

7. We draw a figure.

   

8. Next, you need to change the color of the resulting shape to light yellow. Double-click on the layer thumbnail and select the desired color in the window that opens.

   

9. Blurring the shape "Radial Blur" repeatedly. Note that the program will prompt you to rasterize the layer before applying the filter. You must agree by clicking OK in the dialog box.

   

   The result should be something like this:

   

10. Extra parts of the figure must be removed. Staying on the layer with the figure, hold down the key CTRL and click on the mask of the bottom layer. With this action, we will load the mask into the selected area.

    

11. Then click on the mask icon. On the top layer a mask will be automatically created and filled with black in the selected area.

    

We are done with the radial blur, now let's move on to the Gaussian blur.

Using Gaussian Blur

1. Create a layer print ( CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+E).

   

2. Make a copy and go to the menu "Filter - Blur - Gaussian Blur".

   

3. We blur the layer quite strongly, setting a large radius.

   

4. After pressing the button OK, change the blend mode for the top layer to "Overlap".

   

5. In this case, the effect turned out to be too pronounced, and it needs to be weakened. Create a mask for this layer, take a brush with the same settings (soft round, black). Set the opacity of the brush to 30-40% .

   

6. We pass the brush over the face and hands of our little model.

   

Let's improve the composition a little more by brightening the child's face. Create an adjustment layer "Curves".



7. Curve up.
   
   
8. Then go to the layers palette and click on the layer mask with Curves.

   

9. Press the key D on the keyboard, resetting the colors, and press the key combination CTRL+DEL, filling the mask with black. The lightening effect will disappear from the entire image.
10. Again take a soft round brush, this time white color and opacity 30-40% . With a brush, we go over the face and hands of the model, brightening these areas. Don't overdo it.

    

Let's take a look at the result of our today's tutorial:

Thus, we have learned two basic blur filters − and .

13.08.2016 27.01.2018

Detailed lesson, instruction about blurring in Photoshop. You will learn how to create a blur of any objects and images.

Group filters blur exists in the program Adobe Photoshop a long time ago, from early versions, the group includes many options for blurring - Gaussian Blur, Motion Blur, Surface Blur and many others, this group of filters is in the menu Filter-Blur (filter-blur). Starting with version CS6, new blur types have appeared, with a wider range of settings, you can open a subgroup with new filters by going to the menu Blur Gallery Filter (filter-Gallery Blur).

In the lesson, we will get acquainted with the most popular type of blur and learn how to blur in Photoshop using an example.

Gaussian Blur gives a blur effect throughout the image, you can access this filter through the menu Filter-Blur-Gaussian Blur (filter-Blur-Gaussian Blur).

Let's open a photo with a girl (https://cloud.mail.ru/public/C9Q6/jDda1wyej), the background and the girl in this image have the same degree of clarity, which is why the girl is lost in the background. According to one of the rules of aerial perspective, the main object should be clearer and more contrast, then our eye will immediately catch where the main things are in the composition, and where are the secondary ones. File-Open (File open):

Duplicate the layer (ctrl + J) or double-click on the layer in Layers panel-Create a duplicate layer (Duplicate Layer). Opening the filter Gaussian Blur, Filter-Blur-Gaussian Blur (filter-Blur-Gaussian Blur). The following window will open:

Radius Blurring directly depends on the size and resolution of the image, as well as on the desired result. Let's choose a radius in 5 pixels- so the effect will be clearly visible. For this image, this value of the blur radius is a little too much, but we chose it so that the difference was more obvious.

Add to blur layer layer mask, click on the icon layer mask in layer panel:

Choose brush tool (Brush), tool call hotkey AT(in English layout):

Color foreground - black:

Making sure that mask layer active, delete black brush on layer mask blur with girl. If you accidentally erased the excess, change color tassels on white and return the removed fragment. Black color on layer mask- erases white- restores the visibility of the image.

Here's what it looks like mask layer after processing black brush:

And the image as a whole:

Usage masks layer has one negative point - a halo appears at the junction of the main object and the background, this can be easily avoided if, before blurring with stamp tool (Clone Stamp Tool) , functions Content-Aware Fill or any other tool convenient for you to clone the background at the junction with the object, inside the object itself. In the case of our photo, it looks like this (may this cute girl forgive me!):

Briefly about work tool Stamp (Clone Stamp Tool).

Tool shortcut key - S. Using the tool, you can clone parts of an image into other areas. To select a sample to transfer, click left keymice clamped keyalt, then let go alt and move a piece of the selected image to the desired area, click again left mouse button- and the piece "takes root" in a new place.

I repeat, at the junction of the object and the background, we take a sample from the background and transfer it to the object, and so on along the entire outline of the main object.

And here's what the image looks like if you blur not the original layer, but the processed one along the contour tool Stamp (Clone Stamp Tool) and then erase again layer mask blur from girl:

There is no halo, the boundaries are clear, the focus is on the girl, the background does not distract attention.

So we learned how to make a blur in Photoshop.

Consider in detail the retouching tools: Blur (Blur), Sharpen (Sharpen), Smudge (Smudge).
Under retouching Blur(blur), Sharpen(sharpness), smudge(lubrication). To work with these tools, you need to move the mouse pointer to a place on the image,
which requires correction, and by pressing the left mouse button, make changes. The radius of the tool depends on the selected brush size in the Options palette. All three tools have the ability to set the blend mode ( mode) and impact force ( Strength).

Tools group Eraser (Rubber). designed to delete the selected fragment of the image. There are three types of rubber bands in Photoshop: Eraser(elastic), Background Eraser(elastic band for background), Magic Eraser("magic" gum).

Retouching tools: Blur (Blur), Sharpen (Sharpen), Smudge (Smudge).

Under retouching refers to editing an image in order to improve (or change) its quality, for example, sharpening, sharpening (softening), and so on. There is a group of tools for this: Blur(blur), Sharpen(sharpness), smudge(lubrication). To work with these tools, you need to move the mouse pointer to the place on the image that needs correction, and by pressing the left mouse button, make changes. The radius of the tool depends on the selected brush size in the Options palette. All three tools have the ability to set the blend mode ( mode) and impact force ( Strength).

• Blur (blur)- used to soften sharp edges in an image.


• Sharpen (sharpness)- on the contrary, it increases the contrast of the borders, and consequently, the sharpness of the image. You need to be careful with this tool - if you apply it several times in a row to one part of the image, just colored dots may appear that do not correspond to the content of the image.


• Smudge- an interesting tool that simulates the effect of smearing wet paint with a finger, it captures the color and blends it with the surrounding colors as it moves. It has an option in settings. finger painting(finger painting), which, when turned on, adds a fore color to the image at the location of the tool. It is absent in the Blur and Sharpen tools.

The figure shows the effect of the Smudge tool. When processing the top of the image, the Finger Painting option was enabled.

Comment. The sharpen and blur tools do not work with black and white and indexed images.

Group of tools Eraser (Elastic band).

These tools are designed to remove the selected fragment of the image. There are three types of rubber bands in Photoshop: Eraser(elastic), Background Eraser(elastic band for background), Magic Eraser("magic" gum).

• Eraser. A simple eraser is designed to remove part of an image regardless of color. In its settings there are: options Mode, Opacity, Flow, airbrush mode - see the section of the first lesson "Brush"; option Erase to history- when this checkbox is enabled, the eraser restores the just erased image. You can also choose what shape the elastic will be: Brush - a brush, Pencil - a brush with hard edges, Block - a square.


• Magic Eraser. "Magic" eraser removes part of the image of the same color or similar colors, depending on the settings. You have already met all the settings with the PaintBucket tool. (The principle of operation is similar to the PaintBucket fill tool, only it deletes instead of filling.)


• Background Eraser. Background eraser - removes everything, but leaves the background set by the main color when the option is enabled Protect Foreground Color. In settings Limits(Borders) you can choose how the rubber band works:
• Discontiguous - deletes everything in a row,
• Contiguous - removes adjacent similar colors and shades,
• Find Edges - leaves intact image fragments with contrasting colors (a sharp transition from one color to another).

Option Sampling- sets the color selection method.

Photos taken with most digital cameras sometimes lack sharpness. This happens even with pictures taken with a high-end camera that has a high-resolution display. A solid understanding of the sharpening process and applying it in Photoshop is essential to creating perfect focus and sharp images.

What is digital sharpening?

Sharpening is the process of enhancing the outline of an object. To sharpen a digital image means to sharpen the edges of an image or objects. The sharpening process is carried out by enhancing the contrast between light and dark pixels. This edge contrast is defined within neighboring pixels or an adjacent group of pixels. Edge contrast is also known as local contrast or sharpness. Sharpening sharpens edges by increasing contrast and creates sharper transitions between light and dark pixels, showing the beginning and end of an object.

Why is sharpness needed?

Every photograph needs to be sharpened to bring out details, otherwise they may be lost when the image is transferred from the camera to a computer or when printed. Sharpening works by increasing contrast at the edges of an image to improve focus and detail. It doesn't matter if you got the image from a digital camera or from a scanner, sharpening it will make it more expressive.

The negative side of sharpness

Sharpness cannot compensate for poor focus. Also, no amount of sharpening will make up for the depth of an image. The best way to get a sharp photograph is to take such a photograph. Nothing can replace an optically sharp image.

Another thing is applying filters that change pixels. Keep in mind that sharpening cannot fix a very blurry image. Be careful: over-sharpening will create a very rough texture in the image, as well as jagged edges and shadows. Sharpening can also add damaged pixels or artifacts, and color fringing or ghosting to an image.

Before you start

I left links to images at the beginning of the tutorial if you want to follow my directions exactly. I advise you to use your own images to get a clear understanding of the principles of sharpening. This lesson is more exploration than step-by-step instruction. So, don't focus on the process or steps to achieve a certain effect, think more about why we use sharpening. How can we use the same principles in other projects? What are the benefits?

Common Sharpening Methods

We will always start by duplicating the background layer - this way the non-destructive effect on the image will be guaranteed. Later, if we don't like the result, we can delete this layer, make a copy again and start over. After adding sharpening, you can control the effect of the sharpening effect of the layer by adding a pixel mask. In addition, you can adjust the sharpening effect using the layer's opacity or blend modes.

Sharpening with Smart Filters

You can sharpen without duplicating the background layer. Open the photo and right on the background layer go to the menu Filter ? Convert For Smart Filters and click OK. Photoshop automatically converts the layer into a Smart Object that you can apply the Smart Filter to.

The Smart Object will retain the original content of the image with all of its original characteristics, allowing for harmless editing of the layer. To expand or collapse the smart filter menu, click on the small black triangle next to the smart filter icon that appears on the right side of the smart object layer. There you will see a mask that is connected to the filter. Use it to selectively mask the effects of the smart filter. It works just like a normal pixel mask on a layer.

The advantage of smart filters is that you don't have to use a separate layer mask. In this tutorial, we'll take a look at the traditional approach of duplicating the background layer and then applying a filter to it. But don't be afraid to use smart objects and then add smart filters to them.

Sharpening tools in Photoshop

Let's take a look at some of the sharpening tools available in Photoshop.

Sharpen Tool

Tool Sharpness (Sharpen Tool) is in the toolbar.

Sharpening filters

The filter menu contains several sharpening filters: Smart Sharpen, Unsharp Mask, Sharpen, Sharpen More and Sharpen Edges.

Another powerful filter that is used for sharpening is High Pass and is in the Others category.

Sharpen Tool

The sharpening tools increase the contrast around the edges of the object, thereby increasing the overall sharpness of the image. The more you paint over an area of ​​an image with this tool, the sharper it will be. The main advantage of this tool is that you can use it on any part of the image just like the Brush Tool.

Using the Sharpen Tool

Open the face image in Photoshop. Right click on the background layer and select Duplicate layer. Name the duplicate "Sharpen" and select the Sharpen Tool.

In the property bar at the top of the screen, select the soft brush and change the blend mode of this tool to Luminosity. Check the box next to Protect Detail and Sample All Layers to sharpen details and reduce pixel artefacts. Now draw the Sharpen Tool over the details you want to sharpen.

For this image, we're using the Sharpen Tool at 100% opacity, but ideally, start with a low opacity and gradually increase it.

Since the Sharpen Tool creates a halo effect (halo) or colored fringing around the edges, change its mode to Luminosity. This mode will only use brightness information and skip color information.

The screenshot below shows the fringing after using the Sharpen Tool in Normal mode - it was reduced when using Luminosity mode.

Category filters Sharpen

Sharpening filters improve the focus of blurry images by increasing the contrast of neighboring pixels. Let's take a look at each of these filters one by one.

Preparation before applying filters

Never apply filters directly to the image itself. Always duplicate an image by copying the background layer and apply a filter on the created copy. The advantage of this method is that in the future we can experiment with different blending modes, as well as add a mask to the duplicate layer to control the sharpening effect.

Using the Sharpen and Sharpen More filters

The Sharpen filter enhances sharpness by enhancing the contrast of neighboring pixels. The Sharpen More filter performs the same operation but is more powerful. Both of these filters have no parameters and are executed immediately.

Applying Sharpen and Sharpen More filters

Select the layer you want to sharpen and go to the Filter ? sharpen? Sharpen/Sharpen More. To enhance the filter effect, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + F.

Sharpen Edges Filter

This filter finds areas in the image where there are significant color changes or sharpens them. It only works on the edges and keeps the overall smoothness of the image. The disadvantage of this filter is that it works in automatic mode and it cannot be configured.

Using the Sharpen Edges filter

Select the layer to which you will apply the filter and enter the menu Filter ? sharpen? Sharpen Edges.

Smart Sharpen filter

The Smart Sharpen filter uses the same algorithm as the Unsharp Mask filter. It allows you to remove previously added blur from the Gaussian Blur, Lens Blur and Motion Blur filters. You can adjust the sharpness settings or control the amount of sharpening in dark and light areas.

Using the Smart Sharpen filter

Open the fish image in Photoshop and duplicate the background layer. Go to the Filter menu? sharpen? smart sharpen. Enable the Basic option if it is not active and set the Amount parameter to 300%.

Set the Radius to 3px. Then, from the Remove drop-down list, select Lens Blur to remove camera lens blur. The Gaussian Blur item will give the same result as the Unsharp Mask, but the Lens Blur will give better detail.

Turn on the More Accurate option - it will give a more accurate sharpening effect. In fact, the More Accurate option is more or less similar to the Unsharp Mask filter.

Understanding Smart Sharpen Filter Options

In the options for this filter, you can adjust the sharpness of the dark and light areas using the Shadow and Highlight tabs. But first, you need to enable the Advanced option at the top of the window. There are three general settings for the Shadow and Highlight tabs: Fade Amount, Tonal Width and Radius.

Fade Amount

The Fade Amount parameter reduces the amount of sharpening separately in shadows and highlights. A high Amount value will generally reduce the amount of finer detail in highlights and shadows that can be protected with Fade Amount.

tonal width

This parameter determines which tonal value will be affected by the Fade Amount parameter. Smaller values ​​will only affect light highlights, while big values will affect a wide range of lights.

Radius

The Radius parameter determines the size of the shadow and light. Basically, it defines the number of data samples to be used in determining the Tonal Width.

Sharpening without shadow correction. Sharpness in the form of noise is visible in the dark areas of the image.

Sharpening with shadow correction. Use the Fade Amount option to remove noise from dark areas.

Sharpness without setting Highlights. Note that the noise is amplified in the light areas.

Sharpness with the Highlights setting. Noise can be removed from highlight areas by adjusting the Fade Amount.

Unsharp Mask Filter

The Unsharp Mask filter allows you to adjust the sharpening. It finds pixels that are different from others and then increases the contrast of the surrounding pixels. Basically, this is done by finding areas of high contrast between pixels and then emphasizing the difference between them.

Using the Unsharp Mask Filter

Open the face image in Photoshop and go to the Filter menu? sharpen? unsharp mask). In the window that opens, set the value of the Amount parameter to 50% and the Radius parameter to 1.0

Radius

Use the Radius parameter to define the width of the area around the found border. A small radius value means that the sharpening will be applied directly near the edges. A larger radius of field will affect the area away from the edge. For high resolution images, it is recommended to use a radius value between 1 and 3.

Amount

Adjusts the amount of contrast enhancement. To print high resolution images, the effect value should be between 150% and 200%.

Threshold

Sets the minimum value of the brightness and color levels that the filter defines as a border. For example, a threshold value of 2 levels affects all pixels that have tonal values ​​other than 2. That is, pixels with tonal values ​​of 10 and 12 will be affected, but pixels with tonal values ​​of 10 and 11 will not.

The default threshold value (0) sharpens all the pixels in the image. In addition, you must specify the radius of the area to which each pixel will be compared. The larger the radius, the greater the effects on the edges. In other words, if a pixel is darker than the areas that surround it, then adjacent areas of the image become lighter.

Conclusions:

When sharpening is applied to an image, a halo effect (color fringing or fringing) is created around the edges. The effects after applying the Unsharp Mask filter are more pronounced on screen than when printed in high resolution. If the image is to be sent for printing, you will have to determine the most appropriate settings by experience.

Sharpening control

1. Only sharpen a copy of the background layer of the image so that you can delete it and start over if necessary.
2. If you need to reduce noise in an image, do so before applying the sharpening filters.
3. Add sharpening to the image gradually. Use a small value for the Amount parameter each time.
4. The value of the Amount parameter varies depending on the output values ​​of the image.
5. Use a pixel mask to adjust the sharpness.

Case Study 1: Sharpening an Image Using Luma Mask

This method involves selecting the channel with the best contrast. Since each channel contains only grayscale information, we can eliminate unwanted color fringing or halo effects.

Step 1

Open the banana image and select a channel with good contrast in the Channels palette. Finding a channel with good contrast is important to get a good luma mask. In the banana image, the red channel shows good contrast between the banana and the background.

Step 2

Duplicate the red channel (Red) by dragging it onto the channel creation icon at the bottom of the Channels palette. Alternatively, you can right-click on a channel and select Duplicate Channel. Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the red channel to select it.

Step 3

Go back to the layers palette, duplicate the background layer and name it "Sharpen". With the red channel active, enter the Select ? Inverse or press Ctrl + Shift + I to invert the selection. Then go to the "Sharpen" layer and add a mask to it by clicking on the icon at the bottom of the layers palette to create a mask based on this selection.

Step 4

Go back to the layer (click on the layer thumbnail next to the layer mask), go to the menu Filter ? sharpen? Unsharp Mask and in the window that opens, set the values ​​​​as in the screenshot. If necessary, you can use the Levels adjustment (Ctrl + L) on the copy of the red channel to increase the contrast. You can hide the oversharpening from the image by painting it on the mask with a soft black brush.

Case Study 2: High Pass Filter

First of all, let's find out how this filter works. It removes the low frequency details of the image while preserving the edges and smoothing other areas into the middle grey colour. After applying the filter, we'll change the layer's blend mode to Linear Light to use only the contrast information. This method of sharpening can be called harmless. In combination with a pixel mask, you can adjust the sharpening effect.

Step 1

Open the face image in Photoshop and duplicate the background layer (Ctrl + J). Rename the copy of the background layer to "Sharpen" and change the blend mode to Linear Light. This Blending Mode will darken or lighten colors by reducing or increasing brightness depending on dark, bright, or composite lighting. The purpose of this blending mode is to sharpen the edges of the image, making them more visible.

Step 2

Apply Filter ? Other? high pass. Experiment with the radius of the sharpening filter. With a low value, sharpening will only be added to the edges.

Step 3

Lower the opacity of the layer if the sharpening effect is too strong. If you want to make the sharpening effect stronger, duplicate the layer it was applied to. To control the sharpening effect, add a pixel mask to the filter layer and use a soft black brush to paint on it those areas where this effect needs to be weakened.

Using smart filters

For those who use smart filters, working with the High Pass filter looks a little different.

Step 1

Open the face image in Photoshop, select the desired layer and convert it to a Smart Object via the Filter ? Convert For Smart Filters. Then, apply a Filter ? Other? high pass.

Step 2

We need to change the blend mode to Linear Light and we didn't duplicate the background layer. On the right side of the "Layer 0" layer, click on the small arrow to reveal the panel with the High Pass filter hidden in it. Next to the filter is a small slider icon, double-clicking on it will open the Blending Option (High Pass) window.

In the window that opens, change the blending mode to Linear Light, and if you double-click on the name of the applied filter (High Pass), a window will open in which you can change its parameters. To control the effect of a filter, use its mask. It works just like a pixel layer mask.

Conclusion

You may be interested in this question: which of the considered ways to add sharpness to an image is best? Unfortunately, there is no better way. The best way depends on the complexity of the project, the level of experience of the user and the amount of time that he is willing to spend on the work. The most common method is to apply the Unsharp Mask filter in combination with the Luminosity blend mode. It provides great flexibility and ease of use.

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Translated from the site psd.fanextra.com, the author of the translation is indicated at the beginning of the lesson.

Photos taken by most digital cameras usually need some degree of sharpening, even if we are talking about professional camera with high sensitivity sensor. Therefore, a clear understanding of the sharpening process and its application in Photoshop is paramount to creating perfectly focused, sharp images.

What is sharpening for digital photos?

Roughly speaking, sharpening is a technique that allows you to highlight or emphasize the contours of objects, lines and borders to make them more pronounced and noticeable. The process is carried out by enhancing the contrast between pixels, or more precisely between light and dark pixels. The change in contrast at the boundaries occurs between adjacent pixels or groups of adjacent pixels. Edge contrast is also known as local contrast, or simply sharpness. Sharpening exaggerates edges by increasing contrast, and thus creates very crisp edges with sharp transitions between light and dark that tell us where the subject starts and ends.

Why do you need to sharpen?

Of course, every photograph needs some degree of sharpening to bring out the details that are somehow lost when transferred from the camera to the computer and printed. Sharpness is enhanced by increasing contrast around the lines and edges of an image, while good contrast adds detail to help bring the image into focus. Sharpening enhances the definition of edges and lines in an image. Regardless of the origin, be it a digital camera or a scanner, most images can benefit from sharpening.

The Dark Side of Sharpening

Sharpening does not compensate for poor focus, and no matter how hard you try, it will not make up for depth of field. The best way to get a sharp photo is to take a sharp shot initially. Nothing can replace an optically clear image. The next point is the use of filters that perform destructive correction, irreversibly changing the pixels. But on the other hand, an insufficiently well-focused image will be smeared if appropriate measures are not taken to improve sharpness. Keep in mind that sharpening cannot fix a severely blurry image. When aiming for perfect definition, be careful, as over-sharpening will disfigure images with jagged, jagged borders and shadows. In addition, overzealous sharpening (sharpening) contributes to the appearance of damaged pixels or "artifacts", as well as color halos (color fringing) or the "halo" effect.

Before you start

I included links to images at the beginning of the tutorial so you can follow along, but I would suggest using your own images to get a good understanding of sharpening principles and how to apply them. And remember that this lesson is more of an exploration than just a learning process or step by step guide. Therefore, you do not need to bother unnecessarily with the process or at specific stages in order to achieve a certain effect without fail. A smarter question would be: "Why are we sharpening? How can we use the same principles in any other projects? What are the advantages of this or that method?". Now let's get started!

General scheme of work

We will always start by duplicating the background layer. Thus, we will insure against destructive consequences. Later, if the result does not suit us, you can always delete this layer and start over. Having completed the sharpening procedure, we can further adjust it on the current layer by adding a layer mask to it, which is visible in the screenshot below. In addition, you can adjust the sharpening effect using the layer's opacity or blend mode options.
Let's take a look at this process:

Sharpening with Smart Filters (Smart Filters)

Without duplicating the background layer, apply the smart filter directly to it. Select the layer, go to Filter> Convert For Smart Filters (Filter> Convert for Smart Filters) and press the OK button. Photoshop will automatically convert the normal layer to a smart layer and apply a Smart filter to it (Smart filter). Smart Objects retain the original content of an image with all of its original characteristics, allowing you to make gentle layer edits. To expand or collapse smart filters in the layers palette, click on the triangle next to the smart filter icon located on the smart layer on the right. Expanding the smart object, you will see that the so-called filter mask is already connected to this layer, which can be used to selectively correct the effects of smart filters by painting on it with a black brush. The advantage of smart filters is that you don't have to use a separate layer with a mask to adjust the sharpening effect on it later.

However, in this tutorial, in order to convey the essence of the topic under study to the vast majority of users, we will use the traditional approach, which involves copying the background layer and applying a filter to the duplicate. But you can go by creating a Smart Object and then applying Smart Filters.

Photoshop's Arsenal of Sharpening Tools

Let's take a look at some of the sharpening tools available to us in Photoshop.

Sharpen Tool

Actually tool "Sharpness" (Sharpen Tool) is on the general toolbar.

Sharpen Filters:

In the filter menu (filter) there is a submenu sharpen (sharpening), in which the following sharpening filters are available to us: Sharpen (Sharpness), Sharpen Edges (Sharpness at the edges), Sharpen More (Sharpness +), Smart Sharpen ("Smart" sharpness ) and Unsharp Mask (Contour sharpness).

Another powerful filter used to enhance sharpness, but unknown for its abilities in this regard, is the High Pass filter (Color contrast), hidden in a group of filters with an indefinite name Others (Other).

Sharpen Tool

The Sharpen tool enhances contrast along lines to emphasize elements that are not sharp enough. The more you hover over the drawing, the stronger the sharpening effect becomes. The main advantage of this tool is the ability to use it locally, like Brush Tool (Brush).

Using the Sharpen tool

Open in photoshop image faces. Right-click on the background layer and select the command Duplicate layer (Create a duplicate layer). Name the copy layer "Sharpen". Enable on the toolbar Sharpen tool (Sharpness). In the settings panel, select a soft brush (brush), change its blending mode to “Brightness” (Luminosity) and check the box Protect Detail (Protect details) to emphasize details and minimize mosaic artifacts. Now move or hold the cursor over the area of ​​the image where you want to sharpen.


In our example, we use the Sharpen tool with opacity of 100%, but ideally it should be lowered and sharpened gradually. The Sharpen tool tends to produce a "halo" effect, or colored fringing around lines and borders, and the Luminosity blend mode is applied to avoid this. When blending in Luminosity mode, only the brightness data of the blended colors is used, and color information is not taken into account.

The screenshot below shows the color fringing (Color Fringing) visible in the normal (normal) blending mode on the left, and the result in the Luminosity mode (Brightness) is visible on the right.

Sharpness Filter Group

Sharpening filters focus blurry images by enhancing the contrast between adjacent pixels. Let's look at each of them.

Preparing filters for use

Never apply filters directly to the image itself. Always duplicate the image by copying the background layer and apply the filter to the newly created duplicate. The advantage of using a copy is obvious, as we can later experiment with different blending modes on it, as well as apply a mask to adjust the effect if necessary.

Filters Sharpen (Sharpening) and Sharpen More (Sharpness +)

The "Sharpen" filter focuses the selected area and improves its clarity. The "Sharpen More" filter, while sharpening, creates a stronger effect than "Sharpen". Both filters have a one-time effect and have no settings to further adjust the effect.

Applying Sharpen and Sharpen More Filters

Select the layer, then go to Filter (Filter)\u003e Sharpen (Sharpness)\u003e Sharpen (Sharpness) or Sharpen More (Sharpness +). To intensify the effects, apply the filters again by pressing Ctrl + F.

Filter Sharpen Edges (Sharpness at the edges)

The "Sharpen Edges" filter finds areas of color contrast in an image and sharpens them. As the name suggests (edge ​​sharpening), this filter only enhances the sharpness of the edges, leaving the overall image smooth. Here there is the same drawback as the previous two filters, where we cannot influence the strength of the effects due to the lack of a settings function.

Using the Sharpen Edges filter

Select the layer, then go to Filter (Filter) > Sharpen (Sharpening) > Sharpen Edges (Sharpness at the edges). To intensify the effect, apply the filter again by pressing Ctrl + F.

Smart Sharpen Filter

Filter Smart Sharpen, using the same algorithms as the filter Unsharp Mask (Contour sharpness), allows you to remove (remove / delete list) the effects of previously applied blur filters Gaussian Blur (Gaussian Blur), Lens Blur (Blur with a small depth of field) and Motion blur (Blur in motion). You can adjust the sharpening algorithm or perform the correction separately in shadows and highlights.

Using the Smart Sharpen filter at work

Open the fish image in Photoshop and duplicate the background layer. Then go to Filter> Sharpen> Smart Sharpen (Filter> Sharpen> Smart Sharpen). Select the main (basic) mode of operation, if it is not selected, increase the effect (amount) to 300% and set the radius to 3 px. Then expand the drop-down list Remove (Delete) and select Lens Blur (Blur at a shallow depth of field) to eliminate blurring caused by the movement of the camera lens. Selecting the Gaussian blur algorithm (Gaussian Blur) will give a result similar to the effect of the Unsharp Mask filter (Contour sharpness), the Lens Blur option is most effective for images with an abundance of detail. For a slower but sharper effect, check the More Accurate line, and without this option, the Smart Sharpen filter will essentially behave like the Unsharp Mask filter.

Features of Smart Sharpen Filter Settings

Turning to the advanced settings, you can adjust the sharpening effect separately for light and dark areas using the Shadow (Shadow) and Highlight (Light) tabs, but first select the Advanced mode at the top under the Preview checkbox (View). Light and shadows are regulated by three general parameters called Fade Amount (Weakening the effect), Tonal Width (Width of the tonal range) and Radius (Radius).

Fade Amount

The Effect Reduction setting, by definition, will attenuate the sharpening effect separately in the shadows and highlights. The stronger the sharpness, the greater the loss in the amount of fine detail in the shadows and highlights, which is precisely what the Fade Amount setting can protect against.

Tonal Width (Width of the tonal range)

This parameter sets the percentage of the tone range that will be affected by the "Fade Amount" control. Smaller values ​​will only affect the highlights, while higher values ​​will affect a wide range of shadows and highlights.

Radius (Radius)

Radius sets the size of Shadows/Highlights. Essentially, it defines the amount of data to be sampled to be used in determining the tonal width.

The screenshot below shows the result of sharpening without shadow correction, which resulted in grain in dark areas.


And here the sharpness is increased with shadow correction. Setting Fade Amount (Weakening the effect) allowed to remove the grain in the dark areas.


Sharpness without highlight correction. Notice the graininess in the highlights caused by the sharpening.


Sharpness with highlight correction. As a result of applying the setting Fade Amount (Weakening the effect), the grains disappeared from the bright areas.