How to Sharpen an Image in Photoshop – Guide

When it comes to sharpening images, most Photoshop users use one of two filters: Unsharp Mask or Smart Sharpening. But the high-pass filter is also great for sharpening images and is much easier to use without the confusing options you find with these other two filters. In this tutorial, I’ll explain what it means to sharpen an image in Photoshop and why the high-pass filter is such a powerful tool for sharpening. You’ll learn how to find the best settings for your image and I will show you how to Apply the high-pass filter non-destructively so you can enhance your image without permanent changes. I’ll be using Photoshop CC, but everything you’ll learn is fully compatible with Photoshop CS6. ..

When you sharpen an image in Photoshop, the program increases the contrast along the edges of the image. This makes the light side of the edge lighter and the dark side darker. Your brain then interprets this increase in contrast as “sharper”. The more we increase the edge contrast, the sharper the image appears. ..

In the Actions panel, click on the Sharpen button. The sharpening process will start automatically. As the sharpening process is going on, you can change the settings as needed. When the sharpening process is finished, your image will look much better.

I duplicated the background layer and then hid the new layer so that we could quickly compare versions.

Now that you have a basic sharpen layer, let’s add some filters. To start, add a Radius filter to the Basic Sharpen layer. This will adjust the radius of the filter. Next, add a Curves filter to the Basic Sharpen layer. This will adjust the shape of the filter. Finally, add a Gaussian blur to the Basic Sharpen layer. This will blur the image slightly.

To sharpen your images, go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen. This filter adds a sharpening effect by increasing the contrast of the edges. Drag the sliders until the edges start to glow, then lower the effect a bit to find the perfect spot. ..

You can pause the action now and compare your current result with the original. It’s already visibly sharp, but we can make it even better! Continue recording and duplicate the Basic Sharpening layer. Right-click and select Clear Smart Filters. Name this layer Sharpness Detail.

This layer has been set to Overlay, which will cause the colors to be burned in.

To filter out only subtly white lines in an image, go to Filter > Other > High Pass and adjust the Radius to see only white lines. ..

If you compare the results now, the difference is quite impressive! But we can do one more thing. Duplicate this layer again and increase the High Pass, exaggerating the effect a bit. Name this layer Inner Sharpening.

This layer will sharpen the out-of-focus areas of your image, while also enhancing the in-focus areas. Name this layer Outer Sharpening and change its Blend Mode to Soft Light.

To create a hidden layer, first add a layer mask to the topmost layer. Then fill the layer mask with black using the Paint Bucket Tool (G). This will make the topmost layer invisible and leave the other two layers visible. ..

Now, take the Hard Round Brush and paint black over the areas you don’t want to sharpen. This will create a mask that will hide the areas you’ve already sharpened. ..

Apply the Outer Sharpening layer to the out-of-focus area. Paint over the out-of-focus area to make it less blurry.

To add sharpening to your photos, you can use filters or layers to adjust the strength or subtlety of the effect. You can also change the opacity of a layer to make it weaker or stronger quickly. There is no one perfect way to achieve this effect, so experiment to find what works best for you.

If you need your image to look good at its highest resolution, you can do one more thing. Select the top layer and press Control-Shift-Alt-E to create a blended layer. Then go to Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise. Experiment with these settings – try to strike a balance between blurring noise and losing detail. ..

To delete the most important details of an effect, hold Alt and drag the layer mask from the Inner Sharpening layer to the current layer. Invert it with Control-I to delete the details. ..

Final note

If you’re looking to improve your Photoshop skills, then this guide is for you. In this article, we’ll take a look at how to sharpen an image in Photoshop. If you have any questions about this guide or if you just want to share your love for the software with others, feel free to let us know!