Lightroom won.t export my sharped images!

[mihaela1988]

Hello! Since few days ago Lightroom won.t export my sharpening effect, even more i think it.s blurrs the images more after export..  I haven.t made any changes to my computer settings or to Lightroom export settings. The difference between the images is big. I.ve reinstalled the app and it.s still not ok. The image from the left is the exported one and from the right is in Lightroom before export.HELP!

[Todd Shaner]

In the Export module settings you may have selected 'Original' under the 'File Settings' panel. This creates a copy of the original file with NO LR settings applied. The other possibility is that you are using 'Resize to Fit' in the Export module 'Image Sizing panel without applying an 'Output Sharpening' setting. When a file is resized it is necessary to apply output sharpening to restore the edge sharpening. Here are typical Export settings for resizing the image file:

[Abambo]

mihaela1988  wrote

I haven.t made any changes to my computer settings or to Lightroom export settings.

That seams to be quite impossible. May be you have changed something and you are not aware of the change. Please show your export settings. That is the best method to find out what is wrong.

[mihaela1988]

I can.t think of something that might have caused this change. i have used the settings i always use. And even if i would have changed something, shouldn.t reinstalling the program fix the problem?

[Abambo]

Reinstalling the program rarely helps fixing this type of problems, as most programs still keep the old configurations and in MHO it’s a config problem.

The good points:

• Quality is at 100%
• no resisize
• no limit

The bad point:

• no output sharpening.

May be you should set the output sharpening either to screen or print.

I you could share your RAW file an your final output file would be of great help. Convert (export) the RAW file to a DNG file. This will keep your dev parameters inside the file, an the one taking the file to look after it, will see your parameters set. Take a file you can share or shoot a picture specially for this. you will be sharing your filr with the workd and may be yo do not want getting control out of your hands fir your masterpiece.

Sharing needs to be done via dropbox, wetransfer or similar.

[mihaela1988]

Thank you for your answer and suggestions. I.ve tried setting the output sharpening to screen , its slightly better but still not the result i used to have before the problem appeared.  I also changed the photo viewer but that.s wasn.t the problem. I.ve mixed all the possible export settings but nothing changes. Some images seem sometimes even more blurred than the original.  i.ve attached two examples of different exported files :  WeTransfer

[Per Berntsen · Accepted solution]

To evaluate and apply sharpening and noise reduction, you must view the image at 1:1 (100%) -  any other view will be inaccurate and misleading, because the image has been scaled. At 1:1, one image pixel is represented by one screen pixel, and this is the only true representation of the image on screen.

I downloaded your files, and imported them in Lightroom.

The screenshot at 1:1 below shows that the dng is sharper than the nef, but it is also grossly oversharpened (Amount 148 and Detail 95). And since the masking slider is set to zero, everything is sharpened, also the noise in the sky.  Setting Masking to a high value would eliminate the pattern in the sky, but the underlying problem is that the image wasn't sharp from the camera. Most kit lenses, like the 18-55 you used don't produce very sharp images, and you also shot the image at f/4.5. Stopping down to f/8 or 11 would have improved image quality.

When sharpening an image in Lightroom, setting Amount to a higher value than 50 should be avoided, and a high Detail value generally requires a low Amount value. And the Masking slider is very useful for avoiding sharpening of noise in smooth areas. Hold down the Alt key while dragging the slider to see the effect. White areas will be sharpened, black areas will not be sharpened.

The jpg that was sharpened for screen looks even worse than the dng, because the sharpening has made the noise more pronounced. When you start out with a low quality image like this, no amount of sharpening is going to make the image look good, so just use a little sharpening, and try to avoid creating artifacts and sharpening of noise.

Here are screenshots of the moon image, also at 1:1

[Todd Shaner]

mihaela1988  wrote

Hello! Since few days ago Lightroom won.t export my sharpening effect, even more i think it.s blurrs the images more after export..  I haven.t made any changes to my computer settings or to Lightroom export settings.

Per Berntsen's observations are right on target concerning proper adjustment of the Detail panel's Sharpening and Noise Reduction controls.

However, there's something else causing the "softness" observed in the two posted NEF files. In both NEF files it appears the lens focus setting is incorrect and focused on the foreground (front focusing). In addition the DSC1238.NEF shot of the Moon I see motion blurring. If shot hand-held at 300mm (1.5 Crop Factor x 300mm = 450 mm effective focal length) 1/00 sec. that would do it!  I checked the EXIF data for both files:

File Name	: DSC_1238.NEF
Camera Model Name	: NIKON D3300
Lens	: 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6
Exposure Time	: 1/100
F Number	: 5.6
ISO	: 100
Focal Length	: 300.0 mm
Focal Length In 35mm Format	: 450 mm
Focus Distance	: 29.85 m
Depth Of Field	: 2.20 m (28.79 - 31.00 m)
Field Of View	: 4.5 deg (2.36 m)

The Depth of Field (i.e. the range of sharp focus) is from ~29 m to 31 m. The Moon is over 340,000,000 m from Earth!

SUGGESTION

For long focal length you have two options: 1) Use a shutter speed setting that is the reciprocal of the effective 35 mm focal length (i.e. 450 mm) or faster. For this shot use 1/500 sec. or higher. OR 2) Use a sturdy tripod and perhaps mirror lockup. In addition for low-light shots I suggest using your cameras 'live-view' mode with manual focusing.

File Name	: ORIGINAL RAW FILE.NEF
Camera Model Name	: NIKON D3300
Lens	: 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Exposure Time	: 1/2000
F Number	: 4.5
ISO	: 100
Focal Length	: 18.0 mm
Focal Length In 35mm Format	: 27 mm
Focus Distance	: 5.31 m
Depth Of Field	: inf (2.15 m - inf)
Field Of View	: 67.2 deg (7.05 m)

This shot shows a 'Depth of Field' extending out to infinity, but in the picture only the foreground is in sharp focus. In addition the Nikon 18-55mm kit lens used for this shot is going to be challenged to produce a sharp 1:1 view image on a 24 megapixel body. In the future you could try using the single center focus point with half-shutter depression to lock the focus on  a more distant point and/or use a smaller aperture like F8. I believe the D3300 also has the capability to correct focusuing errors if you find this this lens is "front focusing" at all focal length settings:

https://www.nikonimgsupport.com/ni/NI_article?articleNo=000004089&configured=1&lang=en_US

In summary the primary issue appears to be due to focusing errors and perhaps lens quality, which on a 24 megapixel body become much more obvious at 1:1 view.

[mihaela1988]

thank you very much for your observations and advice. i know and understand the focusing issues of the pictures , and don.t deny that that is part of the problem. But i still must add that i.ve been taking pictures in the same way for half year already and correct them in lightroom, oversharping them as i did now, as i.ve always done it , just that since two weeks ago the result is different that it used to be before.

[Todd Shaner]

The Moon NEF file is clearly out of focus as revealed by the EXIF data, but probably due to subject auto focus error. The mountain scene NEF file has limited depth of field (front focus) probably due to the camera focusing on a close object AND the relatively wide F4.5 aperture. The two kit lenses you're using should perform better when stopped down to F8 or F11, which will also increase the depth of field (range of sharp focus). You can check their performance at different aperture settings and compare them to other more expensive lenses here:

Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR DX Nikkor Lens Image Quality

I'll be glad to examine some of your previously edited images that are sharper to determine what might have changed. Export the NEF file with your LR settings applied to DNG file format as shown below and provide the share link.

[Abambo]

All lenses I know about have their sharpest moment at around f8.

I'm generally not a fan for live view, but moon pictures are rarely getting sharp by using the auto-focus of your camera. Live view is here of great help. I suppose, however, that you can securely assume that the moon is in the infinite range of the lenses distance.

[Per Berntsen]

trshaner has given you some very good advice on focusing.

To further improve image quality, I would recommend that you always check Remove chromatic aberration and Enable profile corrections in the Profile tab of the Lens corrections panel. You can make a Develop preset for these two items, and apply it in the import dialog.

Chromatic aberrations are color fringing (usually green or magenta) around high contrast edges in the image, like spruce trees against snow. Again, this is something that may not be visible in Fit view, but will be obvious at 1:1.

Enable Profile corrections will correct for lens distortion and vignetting (dark corners)

[Abambo]

Chromatic aberration could be on by default. Lens profile correction is a matter of taste and can be "dangerous" when applying to a peoples group picture taken with a wider lens. The people on the border get "fatter" then they get with the wide lens effect and the correction adds to the distortion problem. That is the reason for me to place ladies always to the middle :-). Vignetting can be corrected manually if necessary.

And as it has been indicated before: Pictures that got handheld just fine with lower resolution cameras need at higher resolution a shorter exposure time. Small vibrations can easily swap over the light to the next pixel(s).

But to be honest: the 24Mps are rarely used in print or on screen... I'm often disappointed, when looking at my pictures in full resolution, but when printed they are crisp and sharp and imperfections are greatly introduced by the printing technology.

[Per Berntsen]

Abambo  wrote

Chromatic aberration could be on by default. Lens profile correction is a matter of taste and can be "dangerous" when applying to a peoples group picture taken with a wider lens. The people on the border get "fatter" then they get with the wide lens effect and the correction adds to the distortion problem. That is the reason for me to place ladies always to the middle :-). Vignetting can be corrected manually if necessary.

Although I rarely photograph people, I have never seen lens corrections causing any distortion at the edges - it's meant to remove distortion. So I always keep Enable profile corrections checked. In fact, one of my cameras (Fuji GFX) applies lens corrections directly to the raw files, so the corrections are done whether you want them or not.

[Todd Shaner]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Per+Berntsen  wrote

Although I rarely photograph people, I have never seen lens corrections causing any distortion at the edges - it's meant to remove distortion. So I always keep Enable profile corrections checked.

We're starting to get off-topic–My apologies to the OP mihaela1988 if of no interest.

The 'Remove Chromatic Aberration' should be checked for best results, but I believe the LR default setting is unchecked. I have not seen any image affected negatively and suggest changing your LR Default Develop Settings with it checked.

When applying Lens Profile Corrections there's no free lunch, which takes a bit of explaining as Abambo already stated. Lenses that have a small amount of distortion and vignetting will benefit very slightly using 100 Amount Distortion and Vignetting corrections so not of much benefit! Lenses with a large amount of distortion and vignetting rarely benefit using 100 Amount Distortion and Vignetting corrections. In fact they can become degraded as Abambo mentioned.

GEEK WARNING: The following long-winded explanation may contain more information than you want to know....you've been warned!

Distortion Correction Cons

1) When the image is corrected it is cropped to fit the frame border–You lose the image peripheral area that is corrected. Wide and ultra-wide zoom lenses generally have significant barrel distortion. Applying 100% correction "effectively" increases the focal length, which means that expensive 12-24mm zoom lens may provide something closer to a 14-26mm lens (ouch!).

2) Wide angle lenses generally exhibit barrel type distortion, which actually helps to reduce corner and edge "stretching." Correcting this distortion to make it 100% "geometrically correct" can create very noticeable edge and corner elongation. As Abambo mentioned this can make people near the image edge look fat or simply distorted.  In fact there is software available that applies "non-rectilinear correction" (volume anamorphosis) to wide angle images to remove this very same elongation. This "added distortion" can actually improve certain images (i.e. people pictures). Good information here:

http://forums.adobe.com/message/4516863#4516863

http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_family/topics/correct_stretchi ng_effect_from_an_ultra_wide_...

Suggestion: Change your Lens Profile Distortion Amount default setting from 100 to 0 as shown below in the Lens Corrections 'Setup' selector. When reviewing import files if specific images exhibit noticeable geometric distortion increase the Distortion setting upwards to 100 to correct it. You can then Sync just Lens Distortion to other similar images in this import file group. Architectural shots typically benefit from correction, but landscapes or other images with no defined "straight-line" edges rarely do. In fact as already mentioned they may look worse with Distortion correction applied. Try it for your self using images of these two types. Another option is to use the PS Adaptive Wide Angle Filter with constraint lines to correct geometric distortion without "stretching" the image. This even works well for fisheye lens rectilinear correction.

Vignetting Correction Cons

1) Most people are accustomed to seeing some vignetting in photographs and in fact vignetting is sometimes "added" to images to focus attention on the central subject. Removing ALL of the vignetting with a 100 Amount setting can make the image look less natural.

2) Wide and ultra-wide angle lenses usually exhibit significant vignetting especially at wide apertures, which can be as much as -3EV. You will need to apply +3EV of exposure compensation in the extreme corners to achieve 100% vignetting correction. This will significantly raise shadow noise and can also reduce image quality due to making lens defects such as astigmatism, and coma more obvious.

Suggestion: With telephoto, macro, and other lenses that have low amounts of vignetting you can keep the Vignetting Amount 100 default setting since very little correction is required. For all other lenses use a default setting of 50-75 that produces a "natural" looking image without excessively brightening the corners. When making the evaluation use images that were shot at lens maximum aperture since that produces the most lens vignetting.

Whew–That's enough to chock a horse!