Unsharp Mask Question

ED
Posted By
Eva_Deck
May 13, 2004
Views
235
Replies
12
Status
Closed
I am never quite sure how to use the unsharp mask and so I experiment but end up "undoing" it. One thing that puzzles me is the radius. It is measured in pixels but fractions of pixels are allowed. Maybe if I understood pixels better, I might begin to understand the sharpening procedure. How can you have .5 pixel?

Thanks, Eva
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J
jhjl1
May 13, 2004
The radius is the width of the edge created by sharpening. By having the radius set to .5 you would not have a half of pixel but you would have an edge that is as wide as half of pixel.

—
Have A Nice Day, 🙂
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
wrote in message
I am never quite sure how to use the unsharp mask and so I experiment
but end up "undoing" it. One thing that puzzles me is the radius. It is measured in pixels but fractions of pixels are allowed. Maybe if I understood pixels better, I might begin to understand the sharpening procedure. How can you have .5 pixel?
Thanks, Eva
J
jhjl1
May 13, 2004
An example for you to visualize.
http://www.pbase.com/image/28935523

—
Have A Nice Day, 🙂
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
wrote in message
understand the sharpening procedure. How can you have .5 pixel?
Thanks, Eva
KL
Kenneth_Liffmann
May 13, 2004
Eva,
The values one uses depend on the image. For architecture I use a radius of 2-3, with threshold at 0. For images such as a face, I use radius between 0.5-1.0, but increase the threshold. The whole thing is quite empiric.
You may want to try another technique:
1. Flatten image
2. Duplicate background. Change mode to luminosity and rename "luminosity"
3. Duplicate luminosity layer. Change mode to hard light and name it "high pass"
4. Group High pass and luminosity layers. Luminosity layer should be at base of group
5.Apply high pass filter to high pass layer. Adjust opacity to suit
Ken
BB
Barbara_Brundage
May 13, 2004
You can also do a simpler high pass sharpen by duplicating your image (assuming it’s already flat), Go to Filter>other>high pass and move the slider till you can just barely see the outline of your subject (probably below 3.5, maybe as little as 1.5), then change the mode of that layer in the layers palette to anything in the list in the mode pulldown menu from Overlay down to Vivid Light (you’ll get a different effect with each.)
BB
Barbara_Brundage
May 13, 2004
Oops. meant to say duplicate your layer, assuming your image is already flat.
J
jhjl1
May 13, 2004
This is one of my favorite methods Barbara. I normally end up using hard light for blend mode. AmphSoft’s Convolution Shaman filter (free) also has an excellent High Pass sharpening algorithm included. On some photos this seems to work better than PS 7 or Elements High Pass filter.

—
Have A Nice Day, 🙂
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
wrote in message
Oops. meant to say duplicate your layer, assuming your image is
already flat.
BB
Barbara_Brundage
May 13, 2004
Hi, James. Yes, for photos from the Minolta I prefer it, also. You have so much more control over what you get and it’s not as gritty as the unsharp mask is sometimes.

Thanks for the Amphsoft mention. (With my luck it will be win only, but I’ll check it out.)
BB
Barbara_Brundage
May 13, 2004
Yep, it’s an .exe file. Oh well.
ED
Eva_Deck
May 14, 2004
This is a really great group! Not only did I receive a direct answer to my question (thanks James) but indirect answers that expand my knowledge of PE2 (thanks Kenneth and Barbara).

Hanging my head in shame, I have to admit that I have never really looked at any of the filters except the unsharp mask. They all seemed so daunting. So I am very grateful for the explanations for the specific help in that area. I can feel my brain expanding.

Eva
BB
Barbara_Brundage
May 14, 2004
I have to admit that I have never really looked at any of the filters except the unsharp mask.

Oh, but Eva, the filters are the funnest thing in photoshop. Make a copy of a photo and just play. It’s really amazing what you can do, especially if you stack them up.

Nobody can tell for sure what will happen when you apply filters to a particular photo. That’s part of the fun.
WE
Wendy_E_Williams
May 14, 2004
Eva,

As Barbara says filters are amazing … give them a try and you will get some great results.

Wendy
EW
Ed_Wurster
May 15, 2004
Eva_Deck wrote:
I am never quite sure how to use the unsharp mask and so I experiment but end up "undoing" it. One thing that puzzles me is the radius. It is measured in pixels but fractions of pixels are allowed. Maybe if I understood pixels better, I might begin to understand the sharpening procedure. How can you have .5 pixel?

The following link is a very good one-page tutorial about sharpening.

http://www.espressographics.com/Sharpening.pdf

Explains the settings, but does not go too far.

—
Ed Wurster
http://www.ewurster.com/blog/

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