Sharpen the smart way
Discover how to use one of the most advanced sharpening tools Photoshop has to offer...
Most sharpening commands offer just a few simple controls – usually a strength or amount setting and a radius. By contrast, Photoshop’s Smart Sharpen command gives you a host of different options. It’s for those who want to apply controlled, methodical sharpening to their photos. In this tutorial I’ll explore the key settings and controls you need to know to get the most out of this advanced sharpening tool.
Smart Sharpen is one of the two best sharpening commands in Photoshop – the other is Unsharp Mask. Of the two, Smart Sharpen offers a greater range of features. As well as these two sharpening filters, there’s also the excellent Detail Panel in Camera Raw – but the Detail Panel should be thought of as a ‘capture sharpening’ tool, to be applied in the early stages of your workflow in order to correct the inherent softness in raw photos.
By contrast, Smart Sharpen is a tool that’s best suited to ‘output sharpening’, which should occur towards the end of your workflow. Apply Smart Sharpen after your image has been worked on and resized for a specific output, whether that’s for a print or for viewing on-screen. It’s a task at which this powerful command excels…
1 The Smart Sharpen command
Access Smart Sharpen under Filter > Sharpen. Before doing so it’s best to either duplicate your current layer, or right-click it and choose Convert to Smart Object: this will keep the effects editable. Tick More Accurate under the cog dropdown at the top. This setting means the sharpening will take longer, but the results will be worth waiting for.
2 Amount slider
In essence, sharpening is localised contrast, applied along the edges within an image. (An edge is anywhere where lighter pixels meet darker pixels.) Amount controls the strength of the change in contrast: it determines how much brighter the pixels on the light side of the edge will go, as well as the darkness of the pixels along the dark side of the edge. This contrast heightens detail, giving a sharpening effect.
3 Radius slider
This determines the distance from edges in which sharpening occurs. If it’s set to 2px then the sharpening will spread two pixels away from edges in the image. This is why it’s important to resize your image to a chosen output (like a print or a screen): the effects of the sharpening should be tailored to the resolution of the image. If you begin to see unsightly haloes, try reducing the radius.
4 Reduce Noise
This is a handy addition to Smart Sharpen that lets you apply noise reduction while you are fine-tuning your sharpening. It can be useful for reducing grainy image noise, especially with any images taken using a high ISO setting (as these will display increased noise). Sometimes the act of sharpening can amplify image noise, so if you see this happening, try using the Reduce Noise slider to reduce the impact of the effect.
5 Remove Blur
This allows you to change the way the photo is sharpened. Gaussian Blur applies sharpening along edge details. Lens Blur detects sharp edges and details in an image and can result in fewer haloes, especially at stronger sharpening strengths. Motion Blur attempts to reduce the effects of camera shake or subject movement. The Angle control is enabled, which lets you specify the direction of the motion blur.
6 Shadows and Highlights
These let you reduce the sharpening effect at either end of the tonal range – useful if you see haloes appearing. Use Fade Amount to reduce the strength of the sharpening. Radius controls the area around each pixel that is sourced to determine whether it’s a highlight or shadow. Tonal Width lets you zero in on part of the tonal range – smaller values restrict the effect to the very darkest or lightest tones.