4 Replies Latest reply: Nov 28, 2010 8:45 PM by Tai Lao RSS

    When is it best to sharpen an image?

    *Rich* Community Member

      I'm a little confused about when is the best time to sharpen your image. I shoot RAW, do some global editing in ACR 6, local editing & manipulation in Photoshop CS5 and then print.

       

      I have heard that its best to sharpen your image as a RAW file in ACR 6, before going into PS for editing and then printing.

       

      I have also heard that its best to wait and sharpen your image in PS after all editing has been completed and the image has been sized for printing.

       

      Which is better, or are both? Thanks.

        • 1. Re: When is it best to sharpen an image?
          Chris Cox Adobe Employee

          Both can be needed, for different reasons.

           

          The book Real World Sharpening goes into the theory.

          • 2. Re: When is it best to sharpen an image?
            *Rich* Community Member

            Thanks Chris. I have put that book in my Amazon wish list for next payday and look forward to taking a week to read it.

             

            In the meantime, anyone have a suggestion that will cover most sharpening scenarios. I primarily work with landscapes comprised of a lot of detail, shot in RAW w. a 10MP DSLR. Print sizes range from 11x17 to 17x25. Thanks.

            • 3. Re: When is it best to sharpen an image?
              Chris Cox Adobe Employee

              I can't suggest the best settings, but the summary of the book would be:  sharpen a little on capture to make up for blurriness on your lenses and camera, sharpen more before printing to make up for the loss of sharpness when halftoning, and optionally sharpen in between for creative purposes.

              • 4. Re: When is it best to sharpen an image?
                Community Member

                Both are necessary steps:  Capture Sharpening and Output Sharpening.  The latter has different modalities that are dependent on the resolution of the image and the output media:  web, inkjet, contone…

                 

                Look into PhotoKit Sharpener by PixelGenius.  Just reading the blurb or a review of the set of plug-ins will make a bunch of things clear to you.

                 

                 

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                Wo Tai Lao Le

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