Discover the options for working with pure texture in your shots with High Pass

High Pass sharpening The High Pass filter seeks out edges while smoothing out everything else to grey. It’s a great tool for sharpening as it only affects the edges in the image – which is exactly what we want to sharpen – while leaving smoother areas untouched. The crisp details look very good for printing.

Preview Box Click and hold over the Preview box to temporarily disable the effect, and use the zoom buttons to move in or out. For a sharpening effect, we want an amount that makes the edges just visible in the preview. For a softening effect, we can use a higher value so the edges are much clearer. Use layers to control  strength If the effects of your sharpening or softening high pass layer are too weak, you can duplicate the layer with Ctrl/Cmd+J to double the strength. Conversely, if it looks too strong, use the layer’s Opacity slider in the Layers panel to tone it down until you’re happy.

Sm art Ob ject It can be helpful to convert the layer to a Smart Object. This keeps the filter non-destructive, and means you can tweak the settings afterwards by double-clicking the filter name next to the layer. You can also use the Smart Filter Mask to apply the effect selectively, just like a Layer Mask.

The right Radius The High Pass filter works by seeking out points where a light area meets a dark area. On the light side, the edge is made slightly lighter, and on the dark side it’s made darker. The Radius slider controls the distance from the edge in which the lightening and darkening occurs. The right amount of radius for a sharpening effect will vary depending on the content of your image, but start off around 4px and see how it looks, then adjust if necessary.

OVER LAY OR SO FT LIGH Ts As the High Pass filter transforms most of a layer to neutral grey, it’s usually best used in combination with either the Overlay or Soft Light Blend Modes. Both of these hide neutral greys and only display tones that are brighter or darker than neutral. Soft Light produces a subtler effect than Overlay.

LAYER MAS K Once the High Pass filter has been used on a duplicate layer, you can use a Layer Mask to selectively reveal the effect, which is especially useful when using the filter to soften skin. Simply add a Layer Mask to the layer, then paint with white to reveal, or black to hide, the effect.