Sharpening, how do you do it?

[Tristin]

I think it could be really informative to share how we all approach sharpening.  What are your go to settings/guidlines?  How to you adjust it?  Tell us your philosophy/attitude towards sharpening, then tell us the details!

I use sharpening to make fine detail more crisp, but leave the overall sharpness to the lens itself.  I used to sharpen globally, but have come to enjoy a more natural look.  The way I sharpen now is not very apparent unless printed/viewed at a decent size, but downsizing 24mp's I feel adds enough edge acuity to make up for it on regular web sized images.

I do my sharpening when processing the raw, I have ACR 9.  I view the image at 100% looking at an area containing fine detail and some are containing as little detail as possible while still having some texture if possible.  Close up on the eye and cheek, or a my focal point and some bokeh does well.  I nearly always have the Radius at .5 and Detail set ~12.  I then adjust the Amount to crispen detail without going close enough to cause jaggies or even the most minimal of halos.  Depending on the image, this can put the Amount at 30-90.  After that, I adjust the Masking as high as possible without effecting the sharpening on the fine detail of the image to ensure I do not accentuate grain or make skin texture more apparent.  It amounts to moderate sharpening on only the finest hard detail.  From there I do no extra sharpening, and never use luminance noise reduction, only color.

[Andy]

Tristin,
what is the in-monitor sharpening setting of the Monitor connected to your PC? Or are you using a notebook ?

Most PC monitors these days process the video signal and apply among other things local sharpening by the monitor CPU - independent what you do with your application on your PC. I'd be careful to compare impressions between users remotely.
 
It's like having a good debate about the colors of a photo between 2 remote users und both have non-calibrated monitors (or printers).

Independent of the point mentioned above my sharpening workflow is super simple. Turning off all in camera shareping to reduce halo artefacts, slight sharpening in CNX when needed for monitor usage, a bit more for print usage. With regards to the monitor settings, my approach is based on minimum (but not set to zero) in the monitor. All monitors of same type are set on same settings. If somebody knows a "calibration tool" for sharpening setting, I'd appreciate any pointer.

rgds,
Andy
 

[Tristin]

I have a 2005 model monitor, I don't think they were incorporating stuff like in monitor sharpening at that time.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

However you consider the 'art' of sharpening, the way it ought to be done depends entirely on the intended usage of the image. Thus no setting is 'correct'. Every use or new scaling requires the process to start all over gain. Save yourself a lot of work by not sharpening anything until it is necessary for a particular application. Work from a master file (or clean RAW file).

A photo for printing can be awful to scrutinise on your monitor but print beautifully. An image appearing stunningly sharp on your monitor can print as mush.

[pluton]

In general, Bjørn wrote the response that I was thinking of.
Mostly, I process toward making an inkjet print.  Depending on the size, paper, and pixel count of the finished picture, I may or may not employ sharpening.
Good question about monitor sharpening....is it present?
It is generally present on television sets, but I've never seen it mentioned for computer monitors.  I don't think I'm seeing it on my NEC 27" PA-series monitor. 

 

[Tristin]

I have already learned much of that which I did not know!  I will do some research on sharpening for print.  Anyone have knowledge to impart on it?

[Seapy]

I always reserve sharpening for the last process on any image, if I even apply it.

This particularly applies if the image is to undergo any re sizing, reshaping or cloning because usually they will upset any sharpening applied.

If I want to sharpen a special image I sometimes use this procedure, using layers in Photoshop, the  example is a bit old but the principles can still be applied today although to be honest I haven't used it for some time.

http://www.wildsnaps.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/new_page_40web%20sharping.htm

[Bjørn Rørslett]

High-pass filtering for sharpening is old as the use of printed photographs.  You can do it globally or locally, brushing in only the areas you feel require the extra bite.

[Frode]

However you consider the 'art' of sharpening, the way it ought to be done depends entirely on the intended usage of the image. Thus no setting is 'correct'. Every use or new scaling requires the process to start all over gain. Save yourself a lot of work by not sharpening anything until it is necessary for a particular application. Work from a master file (or clean RAW file).

A photo for printing can be awful to scrutinise on your monitor but print beautifully. An image appearing stunningly sharp on your monitor can print as mush.

Bjørn; usually I start my PP in Capture NX- 2/D and then might take it further to ACR/PS CC (as 16 bit TIFF).

Am I better off sharpening in PS as the last step (setting all sharpening in CNX-2/D to zero)? What about the so- called "Capture sharpening", creative sharpening and output sharpening = three step sharpening process?

[BW]

Sharpening seem like a science of its own I often use a bit global (+5-10) sharpening in ACR, and if the picture is not intended for a print I find downscaling and save for web more than enough for sharpening. If its a print, I use selective high pass and smart sharpening as the last steps after setting the image size. Others might use USM but that feature has never been a part of my workflow.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Bjørn; usually I start my PP in Capture NX- 2/D and then might take it further to ACR/PS CC (as 16 bit TIFF).

Am I better off sharpening in PS as the last step (setting all sharpening in CNX-2/D to zero)? What about the so- called "Capture sharpening", creative sharpening and output sharpening = three step sharpening process?

Of the three steps, only the last is required. And it applies when the parameters of the output file are set for a given usage. Never in advance "just to be on the safe side".

[stenrasmussen]

This is my process in general:
In ACR I set amount in the region of 5-20 and masking very high (often 95-100%). This ensures I don't enhance noise in larger, smoother areas.
In Photoshop I use High Pass where I sometimes apply noise reduction to the high pass layer if I'm dealing with images with high iso noise.

[Frode]

Of the three steps, only the last is required. And it applies when the parameters of the output file are set for a given usage. Never in advance "just to be on the safe side".

Thanks, Bjørn, I'll give it a try!

[Frank Fremerey]

Bjørn is right. Sharpening is for output.

Which brings us to the difficult question of unknown output devices.

As in: How to sharpen an image for the presentation on the internet?

[John Geerts]

The subject of sharpening is also relevant for the shooting-format, RAW or JPG (and the settings applied for that). And the used camera and lens. There are also a number of situations were 'de-sharpening' is required.