Adobe Photoshop CS2 On Demand [Electronic resources]

Project 2: Creating a Sharper Image

Skills and Tools: Multiple Layers, Blending Modes, Layer Opacity, and Paint Brush

In the world of photography, not everything has to be in focus. In fact, smart photographers know that placing image elements out of focus will help to draw the eye to the focused areas. However, there are times when you will take a photograph and the image was accidentally, not intentionally, out of focus (I hate it when that happens). Photoshop has several filters that help you create a sharper image. As a matter of fact, Photoshop has five sharpen filters: Sharpen, Sharpen Edges, Sharpen More, Smart Sharpen, and Unsharp Mask. Of these filters, Smart Sharpen (), and Unsharp Mask are considered the two most powerful sharpening filters. Unfortunately, all the sharpen filters have one major flaw; they do not separate the sharpening effects from the image, as in an adjustment layer. So, when you click the OK button, you're stuck with the results. That's not necessarily a bad thing; however, there is another way. The technique you're about to learn for sharpening an image does not require any of the sharpening filters, its effect on the image creates a more believable sharpening effect, and the changes to the image are contained within a separate layer. That gives you the control you need to be creative, and get the best visibly pleasing sharpening results possible.

The Project

In this project you'll take an out-of-focus image and sharpen it by creating an editable sharpening layer. Separating the sharpening adjustments from the image, gives you creative control over the entire process.

The Process

Open the file

lighthouse_start.psd in Photoshop, and then save it as

my_lighthouse.psd .

Create a duplicate of the image by dragging the layer over the

Create New Layer button, or by selecting the layer and pressing Ctrl+J (Win), or (Mac).

Click the

Image menu, point to

Adjustments , and then click

Desaturate . The copied layer is converted into shades of gray.

Note: If the image is originally a grayscale image, you can skip step 3.

Create a copy of the desaturated layer and select it.

Click the

Image menu, point to

Adjustments , and then click

Invert . The image layer becomes a grayscale negative (leave the negative image selected).

Click the

Blending Mode list arrow on the Layers palette, and then click

Color Dodge . The image appears to change to white.

Note: If you see areas of the image that do not change to white, but are pure black, don't worry, those areas of the image were originally pure black, and they will never convert to white.

Click the

Filter menu, point to

Blur , and then click

Gaussian Blur .

Very slightly blur the image (just a few radius pixels) until you see a soft-ghosted outline of the image.

Click

OK .

Select the top layer in the Layers palette, click the

Layers Options button, and then click

Merge Down , or press Ctrl+E (Win) or (Mac).

You should now be left with the original image (the bottom layer), and the softly ghosted image (the top layer), which I've named, unsharp mask.

Click the

Blending Mode list arrow on the Layers palette, and then click

Multiply . The white areas of the ghosted image change to transparent, and the darker lines are blended in with the original image, creating the illusion of sharpness.

[View full size image]

[View full size image]

[View full size image]

The Results

Finish: Compare your completed project file with the image in

lighthouse_fnl.psd .

Tweaking the Image

It's possible that the sharpening effect is too intense. If that's the case, simply reduce the opacity of the top layer to reduce its effect on the image. If, however, the effect is less than you hoped for, simply create a copy of the top layer to double the effect. Additionally, if you want to remove some of the sharpening effects from portions of the image, just select your Paintbrush tool, and paint the top layer using white, in the areas you want removed.

Good to Know: It is actually impossible to sharpen a photograph. Photographs are two-dimensional representations of a three-dimensional world. Since there are no optics in a two-dimensional world there can be no sharpening. What happens in this technique is that the unsharp mask layer actually creates visible lines of force around the out-of-focus areas of the image, and the mind interprets those lines as being a sharper image.