Hi Boyd :)
When you follow the link, you might see a notice saying that the site is being updated. You can click on the link to get to the old site - the action is on there. I have attached it to this post though, just in case...
In terms of sharpening, I will assume that you are using Photoshop, rather than Elements - Greg is a much better source of advice about Elements than I am. Sharpening an image can create weird colour artifacts along high contrast edges (it looks like chromatic aberration), if you apply your sharpening to a coloured layer. Also, it is safer to create a specific sharpening layer (this enables you to fade back the opacity if you decide that the effect is too strong).
Therefore, when you want to sharpen your image you should create a new layer which combines all of the layers that your file already has (I call this a composite layer); you can do this by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Shift + E.
Having created this layer, we need to remove all of its colour. You can do this by choosing 'Fill...' from the Edit menu (Edit > Fill...). This will open a dialog box that will ask you which colour you want to fill the layer with - choose 50% Gray. Underneath this choice you will be asked which blending mode you wish to use - choose 'Saturation'.
These steps will give you a new B/W layer that combines the layers that you already have. I have attached an action that does this for you. Download it, open Photoshop, and then double-click it to install it. Let me know if it gives you any trouble.
Having a B/W layer also makes it easier to choose your sharpening settings. I would recommend using the Unsharp Mask filter to sharpen. Lots of other people like the High Pass filter, but it was never designed to be used for sharpening, and although it can look quite good, it is very destructive - it's best to avoid it (I will add a link to a website that will explain why at the end of this message). Nevertheless, the High Pass filter is the best place to go (in Photoshop) to visualise the 'Radius' value that will result in the best sharpen. So, my process is this:
- Run my action to create a sharpening layer.
- Select: Filter > Other > High Pass...
- Choose an appropriate value in the High Pass dialog - more on this below.
- Click cancel, to leave the High Pass dialog without making any changes.
- In the Layers panel/palette, change the blending mode of the 'Sharpening' layer to 'Luminosity' - my action doesn't do this because it makes it more difficult to do the High Pass steps...
- Select: Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask...
- Type in the value you decided upon in the High Pass dialog box into the 'Radius' field.
- Select an appropriate 'Amount' value - usually you can ignore the 'Threshold' setting (for the sake of space, I won't explain it in this post, but please do ask if you're curious).
Ok, so how do you choose an appropriate value in the High Pass dialog box? This depends on whether you are trying to emphasise shape, or detail. There is no rule that you can't emphasise both. For instance, in the bridge image, the trees require greater emphasis. Emphasising shape basically means that we want to be able to see that one tree is in front of another, to create the sensation of depth. To make this happen in the High Pass filter, you need to use a large value - somewhere between 10-30 most of the time. In the case of this image I chose 17 - any higher and the trees start clumping up, with shadow regions loosing shape. Pick a value that is as high as possible without shape disappearing.
To emphasise detail (tree leaves and branches in this example) we need to do the opposite. Choose the lowest possible value in High Pass that makes these details appear (if the value is too low, for instance 0.1, the whole image will be 50% gray). In this image I chose 0.3. Don't be tempted to choose a larger value, even if it looks better in the High Pass dialog box preview.
Having chosen these values, open Unsharp Mask, and apply them in the 'Radius' field. Now you can choose an 'Amount' - which basically means the strength of the emphasising effect. When emphasising shape, the amount value should be low (the effect will be noticeable to you, since you are concentrating on it - but it shouldn't be obvious to viewers of your images) - in this case '30' worked well. When emphasising detail you can use larger amount values. The strength of the effect will depend on your output conditions. If you are going to be printing the image, the strength will need to look too high on screen (because ink spreads on the paper); if the file is for screen only just make it look as good as possible.
The caveat to all this is that the magnification level of the image preview should be 100% (unless you are using Photoshop CS4 or higher).
I'm more than happy to tell you more, but I'll add a few links in the meantime. Good luck ;)
Lee.
Why High Pass is no good for sharpening:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thread_id=439098Lynda.com Sharpening Video Training:
http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=543The best sharpening technique that I know
http://www.bigano.com/index.php/en/consulting/40-davide-barranca/90-davide-barranca-notes-on-sharpening.html - be warned that this one is not for the faint hearted!