old poet

Thanks for this thread. I've now learned about using HP filter for sharpening. I like it, added it to my never ending journey up the Photoshop learning slope.

hlk

This is my first post after lurking in the shadows for years and learning a great deal from many of you. I find that the conversations are pretty civil and people seeking knowledge which is obvious to many is answered with respect and consideration. Some of the photos I see are beautiful and require considerable skill. I have been an amateur photographer for over 50 years (how did that happen) and must say that the quality of my photography particularity at high ISOs after purchasing the Topaz suite last year has increased dramatically.
I just watched another Dave Kelly tutorial on YouTube regarding Sharpening AI where he ran Sharpening twice out of PS, not sure if it can be done out of LR. The initial photo was entirely out of focus, after the first pass it may have been satisfactory to many, but after the 2nd pass it would be satisfactory to most I believe. This software has invigorated me to be much more involved in shooting and printing. I feel so embolden that I may someday post a few of my photos. Covid caused me to stay at home a lot more that usual and the birds were very cooperative. Thanks to all of you who have collectively made many of us better photographers.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

Same Here!

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Here's what author Steve Laskevitch says about the high pass filter in his book, Adobe Photoshop - A Complete Course and Compendium of Features: "Some Photoshop old timers claim this method has virtues. However, there are many new ways to sharpen that are superior and more direct. That said, there are a few multi-filter processes where I've needed this filter to provide the stronger edge contrast I needed."

anotherview Loc: California

Yes:

bleirer

I sharpen in lightroom, which is sometimes called capture sharpening I think because processing a raw file leads to some softening by itself, then I do it again in Photoshop based on where the photo is going: web, small print, big print. If you convert the layer to smart object you can adjust at will anytime, and mask too.

Smart sharpen has choices that make it similar to unsharp mask vs. high pass vs. something else. Or you can go to filter /other for high pass or unsharp mask as standalone.

Amfoto gave me a very nice tutorial on high pass recently. https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/tpr?p=11526043&t=662350

bleirer

Here is a nice calculator based on print size and viewing distance, plus a comparison of methods https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/image-sharpening.htm

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I tend to use various methods as some work better than others depending on the camera I'm using. One of my favorite methods uses surface blur.
--Bob

11bravo

My most successful sharpening is my first step: putting on my eyeglasses, though sometimes I do find that cleaning the glasses increases sharpness further.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I use the high pass filter often and I admit that I was using the filter without full knowledge of how to use it. I am grateful to Chg Canon for the tutorial. I am sure I am going to do better from now on.
The other sharpening that I apply are the excellent ones in Affinity Photo and the AI Clear of Denoise, Topaz software.

Jeffers

Elements (and I assume Photoshop & Light Room) Camera Raw has a Sharpening Tool that I like much better than High Pass. It's on the Camera Raw second page. You can run virtually any image (JPEG, PNG, etc) into Camera Raw. Its Sharpening Tool has both Amount and Radius which means you can control not only how much sharpening you do, but also what actually gets sharpened. I usually set the Radius at 2.0 or higher which applies the sharpening strictly to the detail and not the whole image.

vbhargava Loc: San Diego

I am an engineer and my recommendation would be to always reduce noise first and then perform high pass filtering in all destructive image processing. This is a basic understanding in engineering and can be explained mathematically why this order is recommended. In general noise consists of mostly high frequency components, even though small in amplitude. In LR one can perform these in any order but the sequence, as I understand, will be to automatically reduce the noise prior to high pass filtering. In LR the order is not important because LR is non-destructive processing and the sequence of processing can be altered within the program. Hope this is helpful.

Jeffers

Much thanks to vbhargava for the definition of noise. I went to my Elements Manual and found Noise in it. There it told me that it occurs most often where low light exists and how to use the tool. I tried it on an image awaiting to be discarded and it made a positive difference. I've added it to my tool chest.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

In addition, in ACR or Lightroom, you can use local adjustments to sharpen in a specific area.

bleirer

I think that makes sense, why sharpen noise? Smart sharpen in Photoshop includes reduce noise in the filter, so you can see the impacts right there in the preview before applying.