Of course there are a lot of things to consider when sharpening. But rule number one is don't oversharpen. Boris' numbers from the RAW converter in combination with additonal sharpening almost certainly point to a considerable amount of oversharpening.
> Paul, Boris ... > > There are so may techniques to sharpening that to be familiar with only one > or two is like only using one or two f-stops on your lens. Boris, I highly > recommend that you learn more techniques and become proficient with them. > And remember that sharpening usually increases contrast, so plan on that > when finalizing the image before the final sharpening. Also, it's not a > bad idea to sharpen on a layer rather than the flattened image. You can > then adjust the opacity and fill. Also you may want to consider selective > sharpening, for example, use a greater degree on the eye, a somewhat lesser > degree on the face, and perhaps none for the background. In PS there's a > sharpening brush which allows for a lot of additional control as well. > Learn your tools. Take your time. Becoming good at it is not something > you can "hurry up and do." > > I was just talking with one of my printers today, as well as the PS expert > at the same lab. They both suggest sharpening at high magnification as > Paul suggested. And you have to sharpen based on the final output: Print, > web, photograph, or inkjet, and the size of the final result. > > Shel > > > > [Original Message] > > From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: <[email protected]> > > Date: 4/27/2005 11:08:02 AM > > Subject: Re: Boris' workflow (was Concerned) > > > > It sounds like you have a good grasp of the RAW conversion process. My > main suggestion would be to use the Sharpness slider carefully. A setting > between 75 and 100 is a lot of sharpening. Blow your image up to 100% or > 200% when sharpening to see what it does to the edges and transition areas. > I find that I usually can't go above 65 without causing damage and > frequently end up in the 50s. You're also applying even more sharpening > after conversion. Without a doubt, you're oversharpening. This will tend to > significantly reduce the plasticity of the image in that the transition > areas will be "notchy" or abrupt. I also think that if you get everything > right with exposure, brightness, shadows, and contrast before you convert, > you shouldn't often have to fuss with curves or limites. I sometimes add a > minor tweak after processing, usually just as a final contrast adjustment > with the rgb curve, but most of the time the RAW converter gets it right. > Too much is frequently too much. > >
