It's called Smart Sharpen, and in Advanced More Accurate mode it uses state-of-the-art edge detection algorithms and a sophisticated deconvolving method to remove blur. In plain language, deconvolving means reverseit attempts to identify the root cause of the blur and "reverses" the effect.) It also takes "smarts" to use Smart Sharpen properly.
Fast sharpening or quality sharpening?
Smart Sharpen has two speeds: relatively fast and slow. When you deselect More Accurate you are basically crippling some of Smart Sharpen's most compelling technology, but things really speed up. Figure 6-24 From a technical point of view, the results are on par with what you'd get if you used the good old fashioned Unsharp Mask, especially if you choose Gaussian blur as your Remove option.
With advanced settings selected, you also gain control over highlight and shadow sharpening, which is something you don't get with Unsharp mask.
It's your choice, but since I'm advocating Smart Sharpen for those special imagesthe ones that deserve a lot of your time and attentionI recommend using Smart Sharpen in More Accurate mode. Figure 6-25
Even if you decide not to use More Accurate, all the following information on using the filter applies. Just keep in mind the required Amount percentage values will need to be slightly higher if you turn More Accurate off .
Ok, now let's throttle this baby to full power and see how to use it.
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Note: If you are working with multiple layers, be sure to make the layer you want active before selecting the Smart Sharpen filter.
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Several things cause image blur. It can be caused by a Gaussian blur applied during the assembly of the RAW data. Camera Raw and other RAW processing applications do this to some degree for every RAW file. It can also be caused by poor camera optics, or simply by poor focus. Figure 6-26 It can be caused by tiny micro lenses placed over digital camera sensors to minimize aliasing and color fringing. It might be caused by a subject or camera moving while the image is captured. Figure 6-27 The more you know about the source of image blurring, the better your chances of effectively undoing or removing the blur. This is where the different choices in Smart Sharpen come in. Unfortunately, image blurs are often caused by a combination of factors, so fixing them is not always that simple. You may find that, for some of your RAW images, the Gaussian blur option (with More Accurate selected) is the way to go. (Gaussian blur also processes much faster than Lens blur.) Other images may benefit from the Lens blur option. You just have to experiment to get it right. Remember, once you have found the optimal choice, save your settings for future images taken under similar conditions with the same camera.
Selecting Proper Smart Sharpen Settings
Let's walk through how to use the filter:
1. Use Camera Raw to process your RAW data. Be sure to turn off all sharpening by sliding the Camera Raw Sharpness slider to 0. Leave the Camera Raw Luminous Smoothing setting on 0 as well. For best results, keep your Depth set to 16 Bits/Channel. Figure 6-28
2. Click Open.
3. Select the Smart Sharpen filter (Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen) from the Photoshop menu bar.
4. With the filter open, select More Accurate for optimal quality. When you select More Accurate, the "intelligence" of Smart Sharpen is ramped up. As the engineers who wrote the software code explained to me, "you go from the capabilities of a 3rd grader to those of a college grad."
5. Next to "Remove", choose between Gaussian Blur and Lens Blur. (See sidebar "Gaussian Blur or Lens Blur?") Motion Blur, which is another Remove option, should be used only when the blur is caused by camera or motion blur, and isn't relevant to our discussion.) Figure 6-30
1) Enlarge your image using the + and - controls at the bottom of the preview window. Use your cursorwhich turns into a Hand icon when placed over the preview windowto navigate to an area of your image that contains both edge detail and continuous tones. Figure 6-31
2) Make your adjustments according to the characteristics and resolution of your image. Images with fine detail and average resolution generally take a Radius of approximately 0.92.0. Change the Radius value by sliding the slider or typing directly in the box. Higher resolution images require higher Radius values. Your changes are reflected in the image preview window. You can compare the new values with the original unsharpened image by placing your mouse over the preview window and clicking and holding. As soon as you release the mouse, the preview changes to reflect the current settings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Mac users: Don't forget to wait until the flashing bar at the bottom of the preview window disappears before deciding on the correct settings. (Window users should not experience a preview lag.) Figure 6-32
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3) Fine-tune the effect of the Radius settings with the Amount slider. Figure 6-33 Start at 100% and gradually increase the strength by moving the slider to the right (or by typing in a higher value). It's useful to go too far, to a point where noise appears in the continuous tone areas, and then back off.
Advanced Smart Sharpen Settings
For the ultimate in control, select Advanced Settings. Figure 6-34
When you do this, tabs containing the words Shadow and Highlight appear. With these controls you can determine exactly how much sharpening is applied to areas of shadow and highlight. Commonly, these are areas that more readily exhibit sharpening artifacts.
The user controls for these Advanced Settings are a bit confusing, so bear with me as I walk you step-by-step through the process:
1. Start by using the Sharpen controls to get your edge details correct. You'll be working on removing the noise from shadows and highlight areas, so concentrate on edge detail and don't worry about the rest.
2. Select either the Shadow or Highlight tab. Figure 6-35
3. Navigate to the part of your image containing prominent shadows (or highlights, depending on which tab is selected).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: If you previously used the Smart Sharpen filter and increased the Highlight and Shadow Fade Amount from 0 to a higher value in the Advanced mode, be aware! Values are sticky, meaning that whatever values you set last time will still apply the next time the filter is opened. If you increased the Fade Amount from 0 to a higher value, you may get unexpected results when you work in Sharpen mode. It's best to make sure the Fade Amount for both the Highlight and Shadow controls is set to 0effectively turning these controls offbefore working in Sharpen mode.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Set the Fade Amount to 100%. This lets you readily see the effects of the Radius and Tonal Width. Figure 6-36 You can always throttle the effects back later.
5. Pick a radius. This setting is determined by the nature of the shadow areas. Larger areas require larger radius. Smaller areas require a smaller radius. Throttle the Fade Amount back and forth from 0 to 100 % to see the effects of different Radius settings. Figure 6-37
6. The Tonal Width controls the diffusion of the tonal width as set by the Radius. The higher percentages spread the tonal borders. Smaller percentages shrink the tonal borders.
7. If necessary, repeat the above steps, using Highlight controls
Once you come up with an optimal setting, you can save your settings and later apply them to similar images.
To save a setting:
1) Click the disk icon, located near the Settings pop-up window. Figure 6-38
Figure 6-38.
2) In the resulting New Filter Settings dialog box, give your setting a descriptive name and select OK. Figure 6-39 The next time you go to the Setting pop-up menu, your setting will appear.
3) Save as many Settings as you wish. To remove a setting, select it and click the trashcan icon (it's next to the disk icon).
4) Share settings with others by making an Action, or sharing your entire Preset folder.
Fast sharpening or quality sharpening?
Smart Sharpen has two speeds: relatively fast and slow. When you deselect More Accurate you are basically crippling some of Smart Sharpen's most compelling technology, but things really speed up. Figure 6-24 From a technical point of view, the results are on par with what you'd get if you used the good old fashioned Unsharp Mask, especially if you choose Gaussian blur as your Remove option.
Figure 6-24.
With advanced settings selected, you also gain control over highlight and shadow sharpening, which is something you don't get with Unsharp mask.
It's your choice, but since I'm advocating Smart Sharpen for those special imagesthe ones that deserve a lot of your time and attentionI recommend using Smart Sharpen in More Accurate mode. Figure 6-25
Figure 6-25.
Even if you decide not to use More Accurate, all the following information on using the filter applies. Just keep in mind the required Amount percentage values will need to be slightly higher if you turn More Accurate off .
Ok, now let's throttle this baby to full power and see how to use it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: If you are working with multiple layers, be sure to make the layer you want active before selecting the Smart Sharpen filter.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gaussian Blur or Lens Blur?
Several things cause image blur. It can be caused by a Gaussian blur applied during the assembly of the RAW data. Camera Raw and other RAW processing applications do this to some degree for every RAW file. It can also be caused by poor camera optics, or simply by poor focus. Figure 6-26 It can be caused by tiny micro lenses placed over digital camera sensors to minimize aliasing and color fringing. It might be caused by a subject or camera moving while the image is captured. Figure 6-27 The more you know about the source of image blurring, the better your chances of effectively undoing or removing the blur. This is where the different choices in Smart Sharpen come in. Unfortunately, image blurs are often caused by a combination of factors, so fixing them is not always that simple. You may find that, for some of your RAW images, the Gaussian blur option (with More Accurate selected) is the way to go. (Gaussian blur also processes much faster than Lens blur.) Other images may benefit from the Lens blur option. You just have to experiment to get it right. Remember, once you have found the optimal choice, save your settings for future images taken under similar conditions with the same camera.
Figure 6-26.
Figure 6-27.
Selecting Proper Smart Sharpen Settings
Let's walk through how to use the filter:
1. Use Camera Raw to process your RAW data. Be sure to turn off all sharpening by sliding the Camera Raw Sharpness slider to 0. Leave the Camera Raw Luminous Smoothing setting on 0 as well. For best results, keep your Depth set to 16 Bits/Channel. Figure 6-28
Figure 6-28.
2. Click Open.
3. Select the Smart Sharpen filter (Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen) from the Photoshop menu bar.
Figure 6-29
4. With the filter open, select More Accurate for optimal quality. When you select More Accurate, the "intelligence" of Smart Sharpen is ramped up. As the engineers who wrote the software code explained to me, "you go from the capabilities of a 3rd grader to those of a college grad."
5. Next to "Remove", choose between Gaussian Blur and Lens Blur. (See sidebar "Gaussian Blur or Lens Blur?") Motion Blur, which is another Remove option, should be used only when the blur is caused by camera or motion blur, and isn't relevant to our discussion.) Figure 6-30
Figure 6-30.
1) Enlarge your image using the + and - controls at the bottom of the preview window. Use your cursorwhich turns into a Hand icon when placed over the preview windowto navigate to an area of your image that contains both edge detail and continuous tones. Figure 6-31
Figure 6-31.
2) Make your adjustments according to the characteristics and resolution of your image. Images with fine detail and average resolution generally take a Radius of approximately 0.92.0. Change the Radius value by sliding the slider or typing directly in the box. Higher resolution images require higher Radius values. Your changes are reflected in the image preview window. You can compare the new values with the original unsharpened image by placing your mouse over the preview window and clicking and holding. As soon as you release the mouse, the preview changes to reflect the current settings.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Mac users: Don't forget to wait until the flashing bar at the bottom of the preview window disappears before deciding on the correct settings. (Window users should not experience a preview lag.) Figure 6-32
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) Fine-tune the effect of the Radius settings with the Amount slider. Figure 6-33 Start at 100% and gradually increase the strength by moving the slider to the right (or by typing in a higher value). It's useful to go too far, to a point where noise appears in the continuous tone areas, and then back off.
Figure 6-33.
Advanced Smart Sharpen Settings
For the ultimate in control, select Advanced Settings. Figure 6-34
Figure 6-34.
When you do this, tabs containing the words Shadow and Highlight appear. With these controls you can determine exactly how much sharpening is applied to areas of shadow and highlight. Commonly, these are areas that more readily exhibit sharpening artifacts.
The user controls for these Advanced Settings are a bit confusing, so bear with me as I walk you step-by-step through the process:
1. Start by using the Sharpen controls to get your edge details correct. You'll be working on removing the noise from shadows and highlight areas, so concentrate on edge detail and don't worry about the rest.
2. Select either the Shadow or Highlight tab. Figure 6-35
Figure 6-35.
3. Navigate to the part of your image containing prominent shadows (or highlights, depending on which tab is selected).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: If you previously used the Smart Sharpen filter and increased the Highlight and Shadow Fade Amount from 0 to a higher value in the Advanced mode, be aware! Values are sticky, meaning that whatever values you set last time will still apply the next time the filter is opened. If you increased the Fade Amount from 0 to a higher value, you may get unexpected results when you work in Sharpen mode. It's best to make sure the Fade Amount for both the Highlight and Shadow controls is set to 0effectively turning these controls offbefore working in Sharpen mode.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Set the Fade Amount to 100%. This lets you readily see the effects of the Radius and Tonal Width. Figure 6-36 You can always throttle the effects back later.
Figure 6-36.
5. Pick a radius. This setting is determined by the nature of the shadow areas. Larger areas require larger radius. Smaller areas require a smaller radius. Throttle the Fade Amount back and forth from 0 to 100 % to see the effects of different Radius settings. Figure 6-37
Figure 6-37.
6. The Tonal Width controls the diffusion of the tonal width as set by the Radius. The higher percentages spread the tonal borders. Smaller percentages shrink the tonal borders.
7. If necessary, repeat the above steps, using Highlight controls
Saving Smart Sharpen Settings
Once you come up with an optimal setting, you can save your settings and later apply them to similar images.
To save a setting:
1) Click the disk icon, located near the Settings pop-up window. Figure 6-38
Figure 6-38.
2) In the resulting New Filter Settings dialog box, give your setting a descriptive name and select OK. Figure 6-39 The next time you go to the Setting pop-up menu, your setting will appear.
Figure 6-39.
3) Save as many Settings as you wish. To remove a setting, select it and click the trashcan icon (it's next to the disk icon).
4) Share settings with others by making an Action, or sharing your entire Preset folder.
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