Feb 27
Pro Sharpening in Photoshop CS3 using Smart Filters
2008 at 11.47 am posted by Veerle Pieters
In Photoshop CS3 you have the ability to use Smart Filters. Your layer turns into a Smart Object first and then when you apply filters to it you can modify them over and over, because they are non-destructive.
Step 1: Convert For Smart Filters
Make sure your photo is in a separate layer. Select the layer with your photo and select 'Convert For Smart Filters' in the Filter menu. There is a message window telling you your layer will be turned into a Smart Object. Click OK.
Step 2: Change color mode to Lab
Now go to the Image menu and choose Mode > Lab Color. Choose 'Don't Rasterize' in the next message window and choose 'Don't Flatten' in the second message.
Step 3: Select the Lightness Channel
Go to the Channels palette (Windows > Channels) and click on the Lightness channel. This channel contains only the detail and not the color in the photo.
Step 4: Apply Unsharp Mask Filter
Go to the Filter menu and choose Sharpen > Unsharp Mask.... Here is a rule of thumb I learned from Scott Kelby's book 'The Digital Photography Book' (Volume 1):
- For people : Amount 150%, Radius 1, Threshold 10
- For cityscapes, urban photography or travel : Amount 65%, Radius 3, Threshold 2
- For general everyday use : Amount 85%, Radius 1, Threshold 4
For my photo I used : Amount 150%, Radius 1, Threshold 10. Click OK.
Step 5: Change color mode to RGB
Choose 'Don't Rasterize' and next 'Don't Flatten' in the messages that follow, so the layer with the photo stays a Smart Object and the Unsharp Mask Filter is a Smart Filter. This way you can experiment with the Unsharp Mask Filter.
Applying the Unsharp Mask Filter a second time
Sometimes you can apply this Fitler a second time and then go to the Edit menu immediately after you've applied this filter and choose 'Fade Unsharp Mask' to reduce it back in case you use an older version of Photoshop. Be aware that this fading only works right after you've applied the filter. With the Smart Filters however you double click the Filter and edit from there.
You need to make sure you don't overdo and the photo doesn't get too hard around the edges. In my example I didn't do this, because it would have been too much as you can see in the image below.
The end result is subtle but nice
I've created an animated gif to show you the difference with and without the Unsharp Mask Filter applied:
For people using CS2 or older...
For people who uses an older version of Photoshop, you can use basically the same technique described here, except the only difference is that the Filters aren't Smart Filters. You just skip that part and use the 'Fade Unsharp Mask' under the Edit menu to reduce the filter effect if needed.
A tip I learned from reading 'The Digital Photography Book' (Volume 1) by Scott Kelby.
Want to learn more?
A good and not expensive source to learn more about Illustrator, Photoshop, or web design is by joining the Tuts+ sites. You get access to the source files for just $9 a month. So your ONE membership gives you access to members-only content for ALL the Plus sites. I've written a tutorial for the Vector Tuts section.
33served
1
I LOVE Smart Filters! It has made using filters so much easier.
But I hate that when you apply a mask, that mask isn’t scaleable or moveable with the layer. Or I’m I doing something wrong?
2
Another excellent tutorial from you Veerle. You are a filter or all knowledge. :)
3
Very nice Veerle, however a note about the sharpening numbers:
It depends entirely on the size of the image you are playing with as to what numbers should be punched in there, most especially in the ‘radius’ control.
A 1px radius sharpen in an 8mp file is going to produce a very different result to a 1px radius in a 4mp file or a 12mp file. There’s no set formulae, you need to play and see what works for the image in front of you.
[Edit by Veerle: That’s why it says in the article: You need to make sure you don’t overdo and the photo doesn’t get too hard around the edges. I didn’t want to write it for any MB size because that would take us too far and users have to see for themselves.]
As a rule of thumb, if you’re getting haloing on the edges that’s a good sign that the radius is set too high, try bringing it down until the halo’s vanish (your method of sharpening the luminance handily avoids colour fringing issues though, which is good).
Sharpening works best at contrast lines, so whacking a high number in the amount may sharpen up mid-tones to your liking but at the same time is likely to over-sharpen other points. It’s possible that a photo would benefit from two sharpening layers with differing values, masked.
All in all though, excellent tutorial and a great use of the new non-destructive filters.
4
Thank you so much veerle. That really spiced up my images. I absolutly love your design and I’m a big fan of yours.
Keep up the good work. :)
5
Wow - i use CS3 but have no idea about the Smart Filtres - its a great thing… I would deffently use it on all my pictures in the future…
Thanks man :D
Great Blog!
6
Good tip, great photo
7
Great tutorial. Its amazing what can be done with Photoshop. For one thing, no one ever needs to look bad in their photos.
8
You can forget the whole switching between RGB and LAB mode by simply setting your USM filter blend mode to luminosity (the filter blend mode - not the layer blend mode).
9
My point was more that ‘cookbook’ settings are not very reliable, there’s no reason whatsoever why one of those settings is better for people than it is for landscapes for example. More to the point it’s entirely possible that someone applying the same settings could get a totally different effect if the image they are sharpening is significantly different in size to the one used in your tutorial. So it’s a touch misleading to recommend any particular numbers as being good for a particular type of image.
You mention to check you don’t over-do it, good advice, I was attempting to clarify what step in the process is likely to cause the haloing and how to avoid it without fading the sharpening layer. In my mind it’s better to use the tools properly than to hack the layers.
10
i can’t find the animated gif you created to show the differences.
11
Philip Clement said:
It’s the last one but you have to look carefully to see it. Concentrate on the eyes.
12
THANK YOU. Great Stuff!
13
Very cool.
Is it possible to mask those filters. For something rather dramatic I quite like the eyes in the doubly filtered image, but it is a bit much for the skin. Can the second filter be masked to only show the eyes?
I don’t have photoshop (yet!) otherwise I would test it myself.
14
I have one question…when it’s better to use unsharpen mask, before setting up image adjustments or after?
And thx for this tutorial, dough I haven’t got CS3 :(
15
Will the switch to Lab and back have any effect on the image since it is a smart object and meant to be non-destructive?
Regardless, as was mentioned above, smart filters have the capability to be assigned blending modes, which opens up new possibilities, including the luminosity suggestion.
Nice photo. Did you take it?
16
Good tip Verle, but with respect, Scott Kelby is not the greatest on lots of photoshop stuff - a good publicist and great at tricks but not to be recommended for production work. That honour would go to Bruce Fraser (RIP) or Martin Evening (see his book ‘Photoshop CS3 for Photographers’)
After colour management, sharpening is one of the hardest topics for many to deal with (because the final result cannot be accurately judged on screen). However it is a critical stage in image production and one that many designers refuse to or are afraid to deal with.
Sharpening settings for production work should be using a pixel radius of 0.7 to 1.5 as a norm.
Thresholds should be in the region of 2-6 unless an image is very grainy / noisy or very little sharpening is needed and finally amount should be in the region of 150 - 350%
Normally, one will not bother with the lightness channel sharpening, but work directly on the image itself unless an issue such as noise made it necessary.
A brilliant tool for reliable, automated sharpening is Nik Sharpener Pro; not cheap, but pure quality.
HTH?
17
Dear Veerle, please learn how to use a new (free) file format called PNG - that animated picture (GIF) really takes the star off of the work you’ve done. :P
18
Sad to say that I wouldn’t recommend this at all..
Not that I would recommend anything that Kelby writes at all.
His work is far too destructive in many ways in the professional market but as many things it’s enough for the private market.
19
kristarella said:
You could duplicate the original image into a new layer. Apply the filter to the new layer and then add a mask on that layer so only the eyes or the parts of the faces you want to reveal in that layer. Unfortunately, there is a flaw: a mask can not be linked to a Smart Object. To solve this issue, you put the layer in a Layer Group and add the mask on the folder/Layer Group instead of on the layer. This is a workaround to link the mask to the Smart Object.
Barci said:
I’m really no expert in this but I would rather do the adjustments like contrast, levels or color balance etc. first and then apply the Unsharp Mask filter.
David Comdico said:
Yes, the change doesn’t have an effect on the original photo if you make it a smart object first.
Fredrik Wendt said:
My goal is to make everything on the web as accessible as possible and the animated PNG isn’t supported in all browsers. That goes against all my principles.
@ Nick and Daniel that have remarks about the Scott Kelby numbers for the settings, they are there for a guidance but they’re not written in stone.You are in control. You have to look what’s right for the image you’re working on. Just check the preview option and experiment. It’s always easier to criticize than being constructive imho.
20
Looks good, thanks for the tutorial as always!
21
The difference in the eyes makes quite a difference! Very cool
22
It’s not about the numbers. :)
It’s about the steps, unnecessary and acting like a demo for smart filters from some of his books.
So it’s the process that I wouldn’t recommend.
23
Fully aware that it is easy to criticise and harder to be constructive - hence my link to an article I wrote
on sharpening. Here it is again:
<http://tinyurl.com/3akdz3>
Alternatively, here is the original before editing, with my own images:
<http://tinyurl.com/2qjjne>
Not nearly long enough to cover the subject in detail, but hopefully enough to give an overview and provide a starting point if the subject interests you?
24
Awesome!
25
Still working on CS hehe…but will bookmark the tut for the future ;)
26
I don’t use any of the sharpening filters anymore, since I learned the joy of the High Pass Filter. Maybe you should look into that too.
27
filip said:
Veerle knows about the high pass filter, she wrote about it in 2005. I guess you missed the related posts section. It’s the first link there ;)
28
Another excellent tip Veerle! I’m going to master PS thanks to you ;-).
29
Thanks Veerle. Always good tips. Begin to enjoy read this blog
30
Great tips, thanks for it.
31
Thanks Veerle. Do you want to work with us in our training center at Lille ? I’m sure that will be fantastic…;-)
Your examples are so clean and so easy to understand.
32
Smart filters are supercool, but I would not hesitate putting Unsharp Mask in the archives and roll out Smart sharpen in this combo. It’s far better to control sharpening in shadows and highlights.
33
I never seem to get the unsharp mask filter right, I like photos that are edgy rather than soft, especially portraits when the client has great skin. I guess it’s just personal choice about how you apply it really but I personally would prefer something in between the last two, just an optinion though, some great tips!
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