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BrushCarver
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What is the best way to sharpen using both Lightroom_4 and Photoshop CS6?

Feb 13, 2013 5:49 PM

Tags: #cs6 #lightroom_4 #sharpening

I want to learn the best way to sharpen various subjects.  I have Martin Evening's latest Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS6 books, but no mention of which methods are better,  or better for which subjects/conditions.  It seems that Camera Raw and Lightroom are the same, so I'm tempted to just do it all in Lightroom with the Develop module Detail panel, and the adjustment brush for local sharpening. But can I be doing more with Photoshop CS6, or Lightroom and Photoshop together?

698 Views   6 Replies   Latest reply: cymbals, Apr 9, 2013 12:30 PM
 
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  • Willi Adelberger
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    1. Willi Adelberger,
    Feb 14, 2013 12:50 AM   in reply to BrushCarver
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    In Photoshop/Bridge you can apply corrections to selected areas. That is an advantage.

    But for very special sharpening tasks it might help to open the file in Photoshop and apply different sharpening to different parts of an image.

     
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  • BrushCarver
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    2. BrushCarver,
    Feb 14, 2013 7:20 AM   in reply to Willi Adelberger
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    Thank you.  I think you are right in that in Photoshop you can select a more specific area to target.  In Lightroom you can use the brush tool for small areas, but you can't mask it off like in Photoshop..

    Separate from WHERE you sharpen, is there any part of the sharpening PROCESS unique to Photoshop only?

     
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  • JJMack
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    Jan 9, 2006
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    3. JJMack,
    Feb 14, 2013 8:15 AM   in reply to BrushCarver
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    Lightroom and Photoshop have different capabilities.  Photoshop power lies in layers so sharpening in Photoshop is best done using a sharpening layer which can be blended and masked into layers below.  Lightroom is more a image developer then and editor and does not have layer support.  Both Lightroom and Photoshop use Adobe RAW conversion engine to develop images.  Adobe RAW Conversion Engine has very good sharpening and noise reduction capabilities. Sharpening and Noise reduction is more or less a balancing act to much sharpening enhances noise to much noise reducing loose details and add softness.  Though both Photoshop and Lightroom use the same Adobe RAW conversion engine they use different user interfaces when they use Adobe RAW conversion engine.  Lightroom also lacks Layer support.

     
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  • BrushCarver
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    4. BrushCarver,
    Feb 14, 2013 2:02 PM   in reply to JJMack
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    I use the detail pannel to sharpen in Lightroom the same as Photoshop.  I use the brush tool to apply the selected detail panel settings to a specific area, which in effect increases the amount.  If I want to instead use photoshop to mask an area and apply new camera raw  detail settings to that area, how can I do it?

     
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  • BrushCarver
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    5. BrushCarver,
    Feb 15, 2013 10:53 AM   in reply to BrushCarver
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    I just found some really good tips in the video "Tack Sharp, Sharpening in photoshop and lightroom" on Kelby Training.  It is for CS5 and LR3, but I emailed them and they say the tools for sharpening have not changed.

     
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  • cymbals
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    6. cymbals,
    Apr 9, 2013 12:30 PM   in reply to BrushCarver
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    In Lightroom, you may not even need the adjustment brush for sharpening once you try holding down the ALT key, and move the masking slider in the sharpening section. It allows you to adjust how much of an edge is being sharpened. That is really nice.

     
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