We have reached a point in 2024 where sharpness in images has become quite a hot topic for photographers of all skill levels, and the topic continues to be drastically blown out of proportion, one confusing guide after another, thanks mostly to the Internet. People often tend to overdo certain things in photography, as I’m sure they do in other fields as well. Sharpening is one of those things that has been overdone far too often in current years, and more often than not, is just poorly explained. Just as we did with overly-processed HDR images around 2007-2012, we are doing today with sharpening in our photographs. As I’ve mentioned again and again, there’s no such thing as a wrong way to create, and you should do whatever you enjoy doing. If you like punching things up to 10,000% then go for it. I know I did quite a bit when the heavy-handed HDR trend was going strong…ehh.
Anyway, if you’ve found an audience that also enjoys whatever it is you’re doing, then great! I’m simply writing this just in an attempt to properly educate on the general three steps of sharpening.
We can see the trend rising in recent years, and with it come the many YouTube videos, blog posts, and more about why you NEED to sharpen your images, and why it is a NECESSITY that you do this to make your images ‘pop’ and stand out to be their best and sharpest they can be. With these comes plenty of misinformation, or overload of information. I’m sure many of us are familiar with the clickbait YouTube titles like “Why You NEED To Sharpen ALL OF YOUR PHOTOS.”
Shut it.
Okay, it’s…maybe…partially true in one way (we’ll go over that later), but still.
"Sharpness is a bourgeois concept" - Henri Cartier-Bresson
So am I saying sharpening is bad? Am I saying we shouldn’t be sharpening our images? Well, no. Sharpness can often be very important for an image. I play with it quite a bit in my own images. What I’m saying is, that we can easily overdo the use of any tools when we become excited about them, and as we’re able to sharpen images better and in more ways, with more pieces of software today than we were years ago, we can get lost in the sauce (BBQ), and, well, it becomes one of those instances of “too much of a good thing.” Though, you can never have too much BBQ sauce.
This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
What we need to remember is that sharpness is not everything, and this claim is easily backed up when we look at some of the greatest photographs in history, or even some of our own favorite photographs (unless you only enjoy super sharp photos, that are so crispy they put ice cold McDonald’s Sprite to shame). A lot goes into what makes a photograph great, and sharpness is just one small aspect that can make or break a photo. Step back and think, before doing any sharpening, if an image even needs it. Does it make it better? Maybe it makes it ‘pop’ a bit more or accentuates a part that you really want to draw more detail and attention to. Or does it just ruin the aesthetic and overall feel/emotion that the image evokes? If so, then leave the fucking photo the way it feels best. Don’t sharpen the damn image. Easy as that…well, for the most part.
Interestingly, there has been a small trickle back into the world of film photography, which has been a refreshing break from a lot of this sharpening madness that the photography world has been caught up in, but we’re not here to go over that.
Lately, I’ve read numerous meandering articles on the topic of sharpening, each one over-complicating the process more than the last. In fact, by the time I was through reading somewhere around 10 articles, I was left lost and confused on a topic I’m actually knowledgeable about. I can’t imagine what I’d feel if I went into reading these with no prior knowledge of how sharpening truly works, or when/how to use it. I’d be feeling kind of intimidated by the whole process and left feeling like I’ll probably just never get it. I’m not sure why so many topics in photography are pushed to such extreme limits of over-complication, but I’m writing this now to assure you, especially those of you who feel lost after reading numerous misleading articles or watching YouTube videos of someone’s 25-step process, that the topic of sharpening does not need to be that complex, nor does it need to be as much of a time waster as some of these guides make it out to be. Honestly, if I see one more guide where a person exports and saves a copy of an image 7 different times just during the sharpening stage, I’m going to scream. That being said, I do appreciate all of the work people put into creating educational content, and there’s a lot out there that’s great! Thank you to those people.
But yes, often sharpening is an important tool in your post-processing workflow, so let’s go over the process, and take a look into the concept of sharpening as a whole. I’ll do my best to go over the important parts, and hopefully not leave you feeling as though you’re staring down this daunting task in your post-process workflow.
Again, subscribing helps out a lot, so consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
The Importance of Sharpening Your Photographs
Understanding the Need for Sharpening
First, we need to understand the general need for sharpening in the age of digital photography. Many photographers, both amateur and professional, often wonder why their images do not possess the crispness and clarity observed in professional-grade photographs, despite investing in high-quality cameras and lenses. I mean, the more money you spend, the better of a photographer you’ll be, right? I think that’s how it works. This question, however, underscores a fundamental aspect of digital photography: the “necessity” of sharpening images.
Why Many Images Require Sharpening
Surprisingly, the sharpness of images directly from the camera can be intentionally compromised by the manufacturers. What? Sony is sabotaging my photos? After I spent all of that money on a camera? Why?
Well, no, they’re not degrading the sharpness of the images just because.
This softer image produced by a camera is primarily due to the inclusion of an anti-aliasing (AA) filter situated in front of the camera's sensor. Its purpose is to slightly blur the image to prevent moiré patterns, which can occur when capturing detailed patterns, such as types of fabrics. The AA filter is a deliberate choice to balance image quality with flexibility across varying photographic scenarios.
The distinction between JPEG and RAW formats also plays a crucial role in image sharpness. Cameras typically apply some degree of sharpening to JPEG images automatically, as they’re edited in-camera using pre-built profiles. RAW files are stripped of that information, retaining the full, though flat, image data, and require manual sharpening during post-processing to bring back that sharpness you saw on your camera’s screen. This manual control allows photographers to tailor the sharpening to suit the specific needs of each image.
The presence or absence of an AA filter varies across camera brands and models. Some professional-grade cameras from leading manufacturers like Nikon, Fujifilm, Pentax, Canon, and Sony often do not include AA filters to maximize image sharpness. However, this approach comes with its trade-offs, such as the potential for moiré patterns as mentioned earlier.
Sharpening can be a crucial step in the photographic workflow, regardless of whether the camera used has an AA filter. It enhances the perceived sharpness and clarity of images by emphasizing edge contrast, making details more pronounced, and giving the photograph a more defined look.
How does sharpening work?
Understanding Edge Sharpness in Digital Photography
In digital photography and photo editing, the concept of edge sharpness is pivotal to enhancing the overall clarity and detail of an image. Edge sharpness, fundamentally, pertains to the clarity of the boundaries that separate different elements or sections within a photograph. This clarity can be crucial when you’re looking to define the texture, detail, and depth of an image. Other techniques, as I’ve mentioned before relate to dodging and burning, which surely can go hand in hand with sharpening. While dodging and burning can also bring attention to parts in a photograph, it’s of course not the same as sharpening.
The Essence of an "Edge"
One thing that is important to understand is what exactly qualifies as an “edge.” How does my software know where an edge is? An "edge" in the context of photo editing software simply refers to the transition zone between different color or brightness values within an image. These transitions can be abrupt, such as the boundary between a silhouette and a brightly lit background, or gradual, like the subtle shift in hues on a sunset sky. Edges are critical for defining shapes and textures in an image, contributing to its perceived sharpness and depth. When thinking about edge contrast, we can look at these images of a dark grey circle on a 50% grey background.
The above image is just the circle on the grey background, without any sharpening applied. In the next image, you’ll see how sharpening affects the edges.
In this image, I’ve applied quite a bit of sharpening to the image and increased the sharpening radius to 30 pixels. It’s good to remember that the “radius” setting in sharpening tools applies to one side of the edge. So for example, since I’ve set it to 30 pixels, it’s now applying 60 pixels overall of light and dark, adding lighter pixels to the lighter areas, and darker to the darker, essentially increasing the contrast between the two areas.
Here, I’ve zoomed in to the edge of the circle so you can see a bit more detail of how it’s actually affecting it. You’ll see lighter pixels added on the lighter side outside of the circle, and darker pixels added on the inside.
How Photo Editing Software Identifies Edges
Photo editing software employs sophisticated algorithms to identify edges within an image. These algorithms scan the image to find these areas with significant changes in color or brightness levels. By analyzing the pixel values across the image, the software can differentiate between areas of contrast, effectively identifying where edges occur. This process is foundational for various editing techniques, including sharpening, as it allows the software to apply adjustments selectively along these identified edges. Sure, there are tons of different techniques that can pull you into a rabbit hole when it comes to how you can select specific edges, select edges based on brightness values, color values, etc., and having this knowledge of how edge contrast works and how edges are identified definitely helps. We can target small details, medium details, and large details, and there is even AI software available now to help us do this faster, and sometimes more effectively than we could before. We aren’t going to go over any of that right now though. We’re just going to focus on the main three steps, which I’ll get to in a minute.
The key takeaway here is that sharpening techniques in photo editing are designed to enhance the perceived sharpness of an image by increasing the contrast along its edges. Edge contrast, as mentioned earlier, refers to the difference in brightness or color between the two sides of an edge. By amplifying this difference, sharpening tools make the edges more pronounced, thereby enhancing the overall detail and clarity of the image.
Side note: I’ve been working on a photography guide, and you can get a sample of it HERE for FREE.
The Impact of Sharpening on Image Quality
While sharpening can significantly improve an image's clarity and detail, it is a tool that requires judicious use. Over-sharpening can lead to unwanted artifacts, such as halos around edges or an unnatural, overly crisp appearance. As I mentioned earlier, photographers and editors must balance the degree of sharpening with the natural aesthetics of the image, ensuring that enhancements serve to complement, rather than detract from, the original vision.
By understanding how edges are defined and manipulated within photo editing software, we can more effectively employ sharpening techniques to enhance our images. The goal is always to achieve a balance that elevates the visual impact of the photograph without compromising its natural beauty and realism. Well, unless of course that’s just what you’re going for, then go as heavy as you want on it. I always just go with what I feel works best for the image. Don’t trick yourself into thinking “oh no, I’m overdoing it, aren’t I?” just because the values on your sliders are so much higher than normal. If it looks good, it looks good. There’s definitely something to be said for pure photojournalism vs fine art, and that’s a conversation to have away from here.
The Three Steps to Sharpening:
This is the exciting part. I know some of this may seem complicated at first, and a lot to learn, but in the end, it’s really not so bad. Let’s go over the three main steps to applying sharpening. By the end of this, you’ll probably be saying “wow, that’s a lot less complicated than all of these other things have made it out to seem.” The sharpening process can be divided into three main stages: input sharpening, creative sharpening, and output sharpening. Each stage serves a specific purpose and is applied at different points in the image editing workflow to achieve the best possible result. Understanding when and how to apply these sharpening stages is crucial for optimizing images for various display mediums.
Stage 1: Input Sharpening
Purpose and Application
Input sharpening is the initial step applied to an image to counteract the inherent softness introduced by the digital sensor and anti-aliasing filter of a camera as explained earlier. This type of sharpening is subtle and aims to restore the fine details lost during the image capture process.
In Lightroom, you can simply use the detail panel, and dial in your input sharpening. I tend to stick with a radius of around 0.8 - 1.2 pixels, but I don’t often push it further than that, as that can create some weird edge glow (haloing). For Amount, Detail, and Masking, it’s pretty subjective per image.
If you hold down alt on PC or option on Mac, and drag the masking slider, you’ll see the image mask, with white areas showing you the edges where sharpening is being applied. This is helpful, allowing you to make sure that noise, grain, or other areas in the image are not accentuated unnecessarily by sharpening. Again though, if you like that super crispy look all around, go for it.
Input sharpening is typically applied in the raw processing stage using software like Adobe Lightroom or Camera Raw, though there is tons of other software available today that works great. At this point, the sharpening adjustments are made on the raw file, allowing for a non-destructive editing process. The usual goal is to achieve a natural-looking sharpness that enhances the image's details without introducing artifacts or excessive noise.
Stage 2: Creative and Selective Sharpening
Purpose and Application
Creative sharpening, or selective sharpening, is used to emphasize specific elements within the image according to the photographer's vision. This stage is more subjective and allows for targeted adjustments to bring attention to certain areas, enhance textures, or convey a particular mood. There are so many ways this can be applied, so I won’t go over too much here, but I want to leave you with this:
This is an entirely creative part of the process. You don’t even NEED to do this. Alternatively, you can do whatever you feel is right.
During this stage, you might want to selectively sharpen certain areas of an image while leaving others untouched to create depth or highlight focal points. Tools like adjustment brushes or layer masks in Photoshop are commonly used for selective sharpening. The key here is usually moderation and precision to enhance the image's aesthetic appeal without overdoing the effect.
Paint a mask over a part of the image you want to increase clarity on and crank the clarity slider in Lightroom. Maybe just tweak it a tiny bit. Whatever you want to do is up to you. Maybe just increase clarity or structure over the entire image all at once. Use curves or contrast sliders to help accentuate it all even more. Increase clarity on only someone’s eyes in a photo. Pop the image into some software like Topaz Photo AI, let it work some AI magic as you drag some sharpness sliders around, or let it analyze and give you suggestions. Use Luminar Neo and the smart contrast tool or AI structure tools to give your image more punch. It’s all up to you.
Side note: the clarity slider in Lightroom is essentially just increasing edge contrast at varying degrees between the small, medium, and large detail areas in an image. Hopefully, this article has helped that tool make a bit more sense now!
A Couple Bonus Techniques for Enhancing Edge Contrast in Photoshop
Unsharp Mask: Despite its name, the Unsharp Mask is a powerful tool for sharpening images. It works by creating a slightly blurred version of the original image and subtracting it from the original, amplifying the edge contrast where the most significant differences occur. While not often used anymore, as we have access to so many different tools in different software, some do still use this, and it’s nice and simple.
High Pass Filter: This technique involves isolating the high-frequency details (i.e., edges and fine textures) of an image by filtering out the low-frequency areas (i.e., smooth or uniform regions). The high pass layer is then blended with the original image to enhance edge sharpness. This allows for nice, clean sharpening that can be easily adjusted by changing layer opacity in Photoshop, or experimenting with different layer blend modes.
Here’s a quick guide to using a high pass filter for sharpening. If you want to skip over this, simply move to Stage 3 below this.
Step 1: Open Your Image
Start by opening the image you wish to sharpen in Adobe Photoshop.
Step 2: Duplicate the Background Layer
Go to the Layers panel. If it's not visible, you can open it by going to Window > Layers.
Right-click on the Background layer and select Duplicate Layer, or simply drag the Background layer to the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, or even press ctrl+J to duplicate. This creates a copy of your image layer that you'll apply the High Pass filter to.
Step 3: Convert to a Smart Object (Optional but Recommended)
Right-click on the duplicated layer and select Convert to Smart Object. This allows you to apply the High Pass filter non-destructively, meaning you can adjust the filter settings later if needed.
Step 4: Apply the High Pass Filter
With the duplicated layer selected, go to Filter > Other > High Pass. A dialog box will appear with a slider for adjusting the radius.
The radius determines the size of the edges you want to enhance. A good starting point is between 1.0 to 10.0 pixels, depending on the size and content of your image. Lower values are generally better for images with fine details, while higher values can be used for images with larger, more defined edges.
As you adjust the radius, you’ll see a grayscale preview of the effect. You want to set the radius so that the edges you wish to sharpen are visible, but without applying excessive contrast to the image.
Step 5: Blend the High Pass Layer
To blend the High Pass layer with the original image and reveal the sharpening effect, change the blending mode of the duplicated layer. You'll find the blending mode dropdown menu at the top of the Layers panel, just above the layer list.
Set the blending mode to Overlay, Soft Light, or Hard Light. Overlay is a balanced choice that significantly enhances sharpness, Soft Light provides a more subtle effect, and Hard Light offers a more intense sharpening effect.
Experiment with these blending modes to see which one best suits your image.
Step 6: Fine-Tune the Effect (Optional)
If the effect is too strong, you can adjust the layer’s opacity to reduce the intensity of the sharpening.
If you converted your layer to a Smart Object, you can double-click the High Pass filter effect listed under the layer in the Layers panel to reopen the High Pass dialog and adjust the radius if needed.
Step 7: Mask the Effect (Optional)
If you want to apply the sharpening effect selectively, add a layer mask to the High Pass layer by clicking the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
Use a soft black brush to paint on the layer mask over areas where you don’t want the sharpening effect to be applied. Painting with white will reveal the effect if you need to correct any areas.
Stage 3: Output Sharpening
Purpose and Application
Output sharpening is the final adjustment made to an image before it is shared online or printed. This stage is somewhat crucial because it considers the medium through which the image will be displayed. Again though, it’s not ENTIRELY necessary. None of these steps are. This is just a guide. Different output mediums—such as screens, glossy, lustre, or matte papers—affect how the sharpness of an image is perceived by the viewer.
Factors Influencing Output Sharpening
Display on Web: Images intended for web display are generally sharpened more aggressively to compensate for the resolution limitations of various screens. However, caution must be taken to avoid over-sharpening, which can lead to artifacts visible on high-resolution displays.
Printing Considerations: The type of paper and printing process significantly impact the perception of sharpness in printed images. Glossy papers reflect more light and typically show sharper details, while matte papers absorb more ink, leading to a softer appearance. Understanding ink bleed—the tendency of ink to spread slightly on paper—is essential for adjusting the sharpening level. More porous papers require more sharpening to counteract the ink bleed effect.
Glossy Papers: Require less sharpening due to their reflective surface, which naturally enhances the appearance of sharpness and detail.
Matte Papers: Need more sharpening to compensate for the ink bleed and the paper's texture, which can soften the image details.
Adjusting Parameters for Output Sharpening
When applying output sharpening, key parameters such as the amount of sharpening, radius, and threshold must be carefully adjusted based on the output medium:
Amount: Dictates the intensity of the sharpening effect. Higher values increase sharpness but can introduce noise.
Radius: Refers to the size of the edges to be enhanced. A smaller radius sharpens fine details, while a larger radius affects broader edges, useful for larger prints or lower-resolution outputs.
Threshold: Controls the minimum brightness change that will be sharpened, helping to avoid sharpening noise in uniform areas.
In Lightroom, things are pretty straightforward when dealing with output sharpening. You can tick the little checkbox that says “Sharpen For” and choose between screen, matte paper, and glossy paper, and set the amount to low, standard, or high. Experimentation is key, as it will vary between images, papers, etc. but it’s not a complicated process, and there is no need to export and reimport a bunch of different images at different sizes. There is however a way you should be resizing your exports for sharing on web, and I’ll provide my settings below. Think of it as a little cheat sheet I suppose:
For images I’m sharing to the web, I have my export folder set to a Google Drive folder for wherever I’ll be sharing. My folder name is Instagram 2024, but I really should have just called it Web 2024…eh, oh well. It doesn’t matter.
I keep the file name the same as it is in Lightroom, after I’ve already renamed it. This cuts down on clutter a LOT. Trust me, when you have over 400,000 photos, things get pretty messy if you have poor organizational skills like I did for years.
I save them as a JPEG, quality 100%, and sRGB color space. I resize the long edge of the image to be 2048 pixels and set the resolution to 72 pixels per inch. For screen display there is no difference between 300 (used for print, but we can go over that another time) and 72.
Finally, I sharped for screen, and I just keep it at standard, because that has seemed to work fine for me. I also remove any location info from the file. This is good to do because you never want to unintentionally give out something like your home address or anything like that.
At the bottom left of the panel, you can click where it says “add” and simply add this as your own user preset, which you can then recall later, rather than setting it all up again. I have different presets for printing, screen viewing, and high-quality export settings so I can save those to a portfolio at the end of the year, and back those up on another hard drive.
Best Practices for Sharpening
When sharpening images, it is essential to view the image at 100% zoom to accurately assess the adjustments. Again, not every image requires sharpening, and it can be easy to over-apply this effect, leading to unnatural-looking photographs. Therefore, it is generally advisable to apply sharpening judiciously, focusing on areas that benefit from enhanced detail while avoiding over-sharpening elements that do not require it.
As mentioned earlier, there are many different pieces of software in 2024 that you can use for editing your images, and they’re all worth looking into to find out what you’re most comfortable with, and what fits your editing style best.
Software in 2024:
Lightroom and Lightroom Classic
Photoshop
Topaz Photo AI
Luminar AI and Luminar Neo
Nik Collection
DXO Photo Lab
DXO Pure RAW
Capture One
Hopefully this helped a little bit for any photographers out there. If you’d like more posts like this, just let me know in a comment below what you want me to go over, and as long as it’s something I know a little bit about, I can do my best. Oh, and again:
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The Three Steps to Sharpening Your Images
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We have reached a point in 2024 where sharpness in images has become quite a hot topic for photographers of all skill levels, and the topic continues to be drastically blown out of proportion, one confusing guide after another, thanks mostly to the Internet. People often tend to overdo certain things in photography, as I’m sure they do in other fields as well. Sharpening is one of those things that has been overdone far too often in current years, and more often than not, is just poorly explained. Just as we did with overly-processed HDR images around 2007-2012, we are doing today with sharpening in our photographs. As I’ve mentioned again and again, there’s no such thing as a wrong way to create, and you should do whatever you enjoy doing. If you like punching things up to 10,000% then go for it. I know I did quite a bit when the heavy-handed HDR trend was going strong…ehh.
Anyway, if you’ve found an audience that also enjoys whatever it is you’re doing, then great! I’m simply writing this just in an attempt to properly educate on the general three steps of sharpening.
We can see the trend rising in recent years, and with it come the many YouTube videos, blog posts, and more about why you NEED to sharpen your images, and why it is a NECESSITY that you do this to make your images ‘pop’ and stand out to be their best and sharpest they can be. With these comes plenty of misinformation, or overload of information. I’m sure many of us are familiar with the clickbait YouTube titles like “Why You NEED To Sharpen ALL OF YOUR PHOTOS.”
Shut it.
Okay, it’s…maybe…partially true in one way (we’ll go over that later), but still.
"Sharpness is a bourgeois concept" - Henri Cartier-Bresson
So am I saying sharpening is bad? Am I saying we shouldn’t be sharpening our images? Well, no. Sharpness can often be very important for an image. I play with it quite a bit in my own images. What I’m saying is, that we can easily overdo the use of any tools when we become excited about them, and as we’re able to sharpen images better and in more ways, with more pieces of software today than we were years ago, we can get lost in the sauce (BBQ), and, well, it becomes one of those instances of “too much of a good thing.” Though, you can never have too much BBQ sauce.
This is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
What we need to remember is that sharpness is not everything, and this claim is easily backed up when we look at some of the greatest photographs in history, or even some of our own favorite photographs (unless you only enjoy super sharp photos, that are so crispy they put ice cold McDonald’s Sprite to shame). A lot goes into what makes a photograph great, and sharpness is just one small aspect that can make or break a photo. Step back and think, before doing any sharpening, if an image even needs it. Does it make it better? Maybe it makes it ‘pop’ a bit more or accentuates a part that you really want to draw more detail and attention to. Or does it just ruin the aesthetic and overall feel/emotion that the image evokes? If so, then leave the fucking photo the way it feels best. Don’t sharpen the damn image. Easy as that…well, for the most part.
Interestingly, there has been a small trickle back into the world of film photography, which has been a refreshing break from a lot of this sharpening madness that the photography world has been caught up in, but we’re not here to go over that.
Lately, I’ve read numerous meandering articles on the topic of sharpening, each one over-complicating the process more than the last. In fact, by the time I was through reading somewhere around 10 articles, I was left lost and confused on a topic I’m actually knowledgeable about. I can’t imagine what I’d feel if I went into reading these with no prior knowledge of how sharpening truly works, or when/how to use it. I’d be feeling kind of intimidated by the whole process and left feeling like I’ll probably just never get it. I’m not sure why so many topics in photography are pushed to such extreme limits of over-complication, but I’m writing this now to assure you, especially those of you who feel lost after reading numerous misleading articles or watching YouTube videos of someone’s 25-step process, that the topic of sharpening does not need to be that complex, nor does it need to be as much of a time waster as some of these guides make it out to be. Honestly, if I see one more guide where a person exports and saves a copy of an image 7 different times just during the sharpening stage, I’m going to scream. That being said, I do appreciate all of the work people put into creating educational content, and there’s a lot out there that’s great! Thank you to those people.
But yes, often sharpening is an important tool in your post-processing workflow, so let’s go over the process, and take a look into the concept of sharpening as a whole. I’ll do my best to go over the important parts, and hopefully not leave you feeling as though you’re staring down this daunting task in your post-process workflow.
Again, subscribing helps out a lot, so consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
The Importance of Sharpening Your Photographs
Understanding the Need for Sharpening
First, we need to understand the general need for sharpening in the age of digital photography. Many photographers, both amateur and professional, often wonder why their images do not possess the crispness and clarity observed in professional-grade photographs, despite investing in high-quality cameras and lenses. I mean, the more money you spend, the better of a photographer you’ll be, right? I think that’s how it works. This question, however, underscores a fundamental aspect of digital photography: the “necessity” of sharpening images.
Why Many Images Require Sharpening
Surprisingly, the sharpness of images directly from the camera can be intentionally compromised by the manufacturers. What? Sony is sabotaging my photos? After I spent all of that money on a camera? Why?
Well, no, they’re not degrading the sharpness of the images just because.
This softer image produced by a camera is primarily due to the inclusion of an anti-aliasing (AA) filter situated in front of the camera's sensor. Its purpose is to slightly blur the image to prevent moiré patterns, which can occur when capturing detailed patterns, such as types of fabrics. The AA filter is a deliberate choice to balance image quality with flexibility across varying photographic scenarios.
The distinction between JPEG and RAW formats also plays a crucial role in image sharpness. Cameras typically apply some degree of sharpening to JPEG images automatically, as they’re edited in-camera using pre-built profiles. RAW files are stripped of that information, retaining the full, though flat, image data, and require manual sharpening during post-processing to bring back that sharpness you saw on your camera’s screen. This manual control allows photographers to tailor the sharpening to suit the specific needs of each image.
The presence or absence of an AA filter varies across camera brands and models. Some professional-grade cameras from leading manufacturers like Nikon, Fujifilm, Pentax, Canon, and Sony often do not include AA filters to maximize image sharpness. However, this approach comes with its trade-offs, such as the potential for moiré patterns as mentioned earlier.
Sharpening can be a crucial step in the photographic workflow, regardless of whether the camera used has an AA filter. It enhances the perceived sharpness and clarity of images by emphasizing edge contrast, making details more pronounced, and giving the photograph a more defined look.
How does sharpening work?
Understanding Edge Sharpness in Digital Photography
In digital photography and photo editing, the concept of edge sharpness is pivotal to enhancing the overall clarity and detail of an image. Edge sharpness, fundamentally, pertains to the clarity of the boundaries that separate different elements or sections within a photograph. This clarity can be crucial when you’re looking to define the texture, detail, and depth of an image. Other techniques, as I’ve mentioned before relate to dodging and burning, which surely can go hand in hand with sharpening. While dodging and burning can also bring attention to parts in a photograph, it’s of course not the same as sharpening.
The Essence of an "Edge"
One thing that is important to understand is what exactly qualifies as an “edge.” How does my software know where an edge is? An "edge" in the context of photo editing software simply refers to the transition zone between different color or brightness values within an image. These transitions can be abrupt, such as the boundary between a silhouette and a brightly lit background, or gradual, like the subtle shift in hues on a sunset sky. Edges are critical for defining shapes and textures in an image, contributing to its perceived sharpness and depth. When thinking about edge contrast, we can look at these images of a dark grey circle on a 50% grey background.
The above image is just the circle on the grey background, without any sharpening applied. In the next image, you’ll see how sharpening affects the edges.
In this image, I’ve applied quite a bit of sharpening to the image and increased the sharpening radius to 30 pixels. It’s good to remember that the “radius” setting in sharpening tools applies to one side of the edge. So for example, since I’ve set it to 30 pixels, it’s now applying 60 pixels overall of light and dark, adding lighter pixels to the lighter areas, and darker to the darker, essentially increasing the contrast between the two areas.
Here, I’ve zoomed in to the edge of the circle so you can see a bit more detail of how it’s actually affecting it. You’ll see lighter pixels added on the lighter side outside of the circle, and darker pixels added on the inside.
How Photo Editing Software Identifies Edges
Photo editing software employs sophisticated algorithms to identify edges within an image. These algorithms scan the image to find these areas with significant changes in color or brightness levels. By analyzing the pixel values across the image, the software can differentiate between areas of contrast, effectively identifying where edges occur. This process is foundational for various editing techniques, including sharpening, as it allows the software to apply adjustments selectively along these identified edges. Sure, there are tons of different techniques that can pull you into a rabbit hole when it comes to how you can select specific edges, select edges based on brightness values, color values, etc., and having this knowledge of how edge contrast works and how edges are identified definitely helps. We can target small details, medium details, and large details, and there is even AI software available now to help us do this faster, and sometimes more effectively than we could before. We aren’t going to go over any of that right now though. We’re just going to focus on the main three steps, which I’ll get to in a minute.
The key takeaway here is that sharpening techniques in photo editing are designed to enhance the perceived sharpness of an image by increasing the contrast along its edges. Edge contrast, as mentioned earlier, refers to the difference in brightness or color between the two sides of an edge. By amplifying this difference, sharpening tools make the edges more pronounced, thereby enhancing the overall detail and clarity of the image.
Side note: I’ve been working on a photography guide, and you can get a sample of it HERE for FREE.
The Impact of Sharpening on Image Quality
While sharpening can significantly improve an image's clarity and detail, it is a tool that requires judicious use. Over-sharpening can lead to unwanted artifacts, such as halos around edges or an unnatural, overly crisp appearance. As I mentioned earlier, photographers and editors must balance the degree of sharpening with the natural aesthetics of the image, ensuring that enhancements serve to complement, rather than detract from, the original vision.
By understanding how edges are defined and manipulated within photo editing software, we can more effectively employ sharpening techniques to enhance our images. The goal is always to achieve a balance that elevates the visual impact of the photograph without compromising its natural beauty and realism. Well, unless of course that’s just what you’re going for, then go as heavy as you want on it. I always just go with what I feel works best for the image. Don’t trick yourself into thinking “oh no, I’m overdoing it, aren’t I?” just because the values on your sliders are so much higher than normal. If it looks good, it looks good. There’s definitely something to be said for pure photojournalism vs fine art, and that’s a conversation to have away from here.
The Three Steps to Sharpening:
This is the exciting part. I know some of this may seem complicated at first, and a lot to learn, but in the end, it’s really not so bad. Let’s go over the three main steps to applying sharpening. By the end of this, you’ll probably be saying “wow, that’s a lot less complicated than all of these other things have made it out to seem.” The sharpening process can be divided into three main stages: input sharpening, creative sharpening, and output sharpening. Each stage serves a specific purpose and is applied at different points in the image editing workflow to achieve the best possible result. Understanding when and how to apply these sharpening stages is crucial for optimizing images for various display mediums.
Stage 1: Input Sharpening
Purpose and Application
Input sharpening is the initial step applied to an image to counteract the inherent softness introduced by the digital sensor and anti-aliasing filter of a camera as explained earlier. This type of sharpening is subtle and aims to restore the fine details lost during the image capture process.
In Lightroom, you can simply use the detail panel, and dial in your input sharpening. I tend to stick with a radius of around 0.8 - 1.2 pixels, but I don’t often push it further than that, as that can create some weird edge glow (haloing). For Amount, Detail, and Masking, it’s pretty subjective per image.
If you hold down alt on PC or option on Mac, and drag the masking slider, you’ll see the image mask, with white areas showing you the edges where sharpening is being applied. This is helpful, allowing you to make sure that noise, grain, or other areas in the image are not accentuated unnecessarily by sharpening. Again though, if you like that super crispy look all around, go for it.
Input sharpening is typically applied in the raw processing stage using software like Adobe Lightroom or Camera Raw, though there is tons of other software available today that works great. At this point, the sharpening adjustments are made on the raw file, allowing for a non-destructive editing process. The usual goal is to achieve a natural-looking sharpness that enhances the image's details without introducing artifacts or excessive noise.
Stage 2: Creative and Selective Sharpening
Purpose and Application
Creative sharpening, or selective sharpening, is used to emphasize specific elements within the image according to the photographer's vision. This stage is more subjective and allows for targeted adjustments to bring attention to certain areas, enhance textures, or convey a particular mood. There are so many ways this can be applied, so I won’t go over too much here, but I want to leave you with this:
This is an entirely creative part of the process. You don’t even NEED to do this. Alternatively, you can do whatever you feel is right.
During this stage, you might want to selectively sharpen certain areas of an image while leaving others untouched to create depth or highlight focal points. Tools like adjustment brushes or layer masks in Photoshop are commonly used for selective sharpening. The key here is usually moderation and precision to enhance the image's aesthetic appeal without overdoing the effect.
Paint a mask over a part of the image you want to increase clarity on and crank the clarity slider in Lightroom. Maybe just tweak it a tiny bit. Whatever you want to do is up to you. Maybe just increase clarity or structure over the entire image all at once. Use curves or contrast sliders to help accentuate it all even more. Increase clarity on only someone’s eyes in a photo. Pop the image into some software like Topaz Photo AI, let it work some AI magic as you drag some sharpness sliders around, or let it analyze and give you suggestions. Use Luminar Neo and the smart contrast tool or AI structure tools to give your image more punch. It’s all up to you.
Side note: the clarity slider in Lightroom is essentially just increasing edge contrast at varying degrees between the small, medium, and large detail areas in an image. Hopefully, this article has helped that tool make a bit more sense now!
A Couple Bonus Techniques for Enhancing Edge Contrast in Photoshop
Unsharp Mask: Despite its name, the Unsharp Mask is a powerful tool for sharpening images. It works by creating a slightly blurred version of the original image and subtracting it from the original, amplifying the edge contrast where the most significant differences occur. While not often used anymore, as we have access to so many different tools in different software, some do still use this, and it’s nice and simple.
High Pass Filter: This technique involves isolating the high-frequency details (i.e., edges and fine textures) of an image by filtering out the low-frequency areas (i.e., smooth or uniform regions). The high pass layer is then blended with the original image to enhance edge sharpness. This allows for nice, clean sharpening that can be easily adjusted by changing layer opacity in Photoshop, or experimenting with different layer blend modes.
Here’s a quick guide to using a high pass filter for sharpening. If you want to skip over this, simply move to Stage 3 below this.
Step 1: Open Your Image
Start by opening the image you wish to sharpen in Adobe Photoshop.
Step 2: Duplicate the Background Layer
Go to the Layers panel. If it's not visible, you can open it by going to Window > Layers.
Right-click on the Background layer and select Duplicate Layer, or simply drag the Background layer to the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel, or even press ctrl+J to duplicate. This creates a copy of your image layer that you'll apply the High Pass filter to.
Step 3: Convert to a Smart Object (Optional but Recommended)
Right-click on the duplicated layer and select Convert to Smart Object. This allows you to apply the High Pass filter non-destructively, meaning you can adjust the filter settings later if needed.
Step 4: Apply the High Pass Filter
With the duplicated layer selected, go to Filter > Other > High Pass. A dialog box will appear with a slider for adjusting the radius.
The radius determines the size of the edges you want to enhance. A good starting point is between 1.0 to 10.0 pixels, depending on the size and content of your image. Lower values are generally better for images with fine details, while higher values can be used for images with larger, more defined edges.
As you adjust the radius, you’ll see a grayscale preview of the effect. You want to set the radius so that the edges you wish to sharpen are visible, but without applying excessive contrast to the image.
Step 5: Blend the High Pass Layer
To blend the High Pass layer with the original image and reveal the sharpening effect, change the blending mode of the duplicated layer. You'll find the blending mode dropdown menu at the top of the Layers panel, just above the layer list.
Set the blending mode to Overlay, Soft Light, or Hard Light. Overlay is a balanced choice that significantly enhances sharpness, Soft Light provides a more subtle effect, and Hard Light offers a more intense sharpening effect.
Experiment with these blending modes to see which one best suits your image.
Step 6: Fine-Tune the Effect (Optional)
If the effect is too strong, you can adjust the layer’s opacity to reduce the intensity of the sharpening.
If you converted your layer to a Smart Object, you can double-click the High Pass filter effect listed under the layer in the Layers panel to reopen the High Pass dialog and adjust the radius if needed.
Step 7: Mask the Effect (Optional)
If you want to apply the sharpening effect selectively, add a layer mask to the High Pass layer by clicking the Add Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
Use a soft black brush to paint on the layer mask over areas where you don’t want the sharpening effect to be applied. Painting with white will reveal the effect if you need to correct any areas.
Stage 3: Output Sharpening
Purpose and Application
Output sharpening is the final adjustment made to an image before it is shared online or printed. This stage is somewhat crucial because it considers the medium through which the image will be displayed. Again though, it’s not ENTIRELY necessary. None of these steps are. This is just a guide. Different output mediums—such as screens, glossy, lustre, or matte papers—affect how the sharpness of an image is perceived by the viewer.
Factors Influencing Output Sharpening
Display on Web: Images intended for web display are generally sharpened more aggressively to compensate for the resolution limitations of various screens. However, caution must be taken to avoid over-sharpening, which can lead to artifacts visible on high-resolution displays.
Printing Considerations: The type of paper and printing process significantly impact the perception of sharpness in printed images. Glossy papers reflect more light and typically show sharper details, while matte papers absorb more ink, leading to a softer appearance. Understanding ink bleed—the tendency of ink to spread slightly on paper—is essential for adjusting the sharpening level. More porous papers require more sharpening to counteract the ink bleed effect.
Glossy Papers: Require less sharpening due to their reflective surface, which naturally enhances the appearance of sharpness and detail.
Matte Papers: Need more sharpening to compensate for the ink bleed and the paper's texture, which can soften the image details.
Adjusting Parameters for Output Sharpening
When applying output sharpening, key parameters such as the amount of sharpening, radius, and threshold must be carefully adjusted based on the output medium:
Amount: Dictates the intensity of the sharpening effect. Higher values increase sharpness but can introduce noise.
Radius: Refers to the size of the edges to be enhanced. A smaller radius sharpens fine details, while a larger radius affects broader edges, useful for larger prints or lower-resolution outputs.
Threshold: Controls the minimum brightness change that will be sharpened, helping to avoid sharpening noise in uniform areas.
In Lightroom, things are pretty straightforward when dealing with output sharpening. You can tick the little checkbox that says “Sharpen For” and choose between screen, matte paper, and glossy paper, and set the amount to low, standard, or high. Experimentation is key, as it will vary between images, papers, etc. but it’s not a complicated process, and there is no need to export and reimport a bunch of different images at different sizes. There is however a way you should be resizing your exports for sharing on web, and I’ll provide my settings below. Think of it as a little cheat sheet I suppose:
For images I’m sharing to the web, I have my export folder set to a Google Drive folder for wherever I’ll be sharing. My folder name is Instagram 2024, but I really should have just called it Web 2024…eh, oh well. It doesn’t matter.
I keep the file name the same as it is in Lightroom, after I’ve already renamed it. This cuts down on clutter a LOT. Trust me, when you have over 400,000 photos, things get pretty messy if you have poor organizational skills like I did for years.
I save them as a JPEG, quality 100%, and sRGB color space. I resize the long edge of the image to be 2048 pixels and set the resolution to 72 pixels per inch. For screen display there is no difference between 300 (used for print, but we can go over that another time) and 72.
Finally, I sharped for screen, and I just keep it at standard, because that has seemed to work fine for me. I also remove any location info from the file. This is good to do because you never want to unintentionally give out something like your home address or anything like that.
At the bottom left of the panel, you can click where it says “add” and simply add this as your own user preset, which you can then recall later, rather than setting it all up again. I have different presets for printing, screen viewing, and high-quality export settings so I can save those to a portfolio at the end of the year, and back those up on another hard drive.
Best Practices for Sharpening
When sharpening images, it is essential to view the image at 100% zoom to accurately assess the adjustments. Again, not every image requires sharpening, and it can be easy to over-apply this effect, leading to unnatural-looking photographs. Therefore, it is generally advisable to apply sharpening judiciously, focusing on areas that benefit from enhanced detail while avoiding over-sharpening elements that do not require it.
As mentioned earlier, there are many different pieces of software in 2024 that you can use for editing your images, and they’re all worth looking into to find out what you’re most comfortable with, and what fits your editing style best.
Software in 2024:
Lightroom and Lightroom Classic
Photoshop
Topaz Photo AI
Luminar AI and Luminar Neo
Nik Collection
DXO Photo Lab
DXO Pure RAW
Capture One
Hopefully this helped a little bit for any photographers out there. If you’d like more posts like this, just let me know in a comment below what you want me to go over, and as long as it’s something I know a little bit about, I can do my best. Oh, and again: