DevelopLightroom Tips

Sharpening is all in the Details

 

Lb 1

Original file with no sharpening

Sharpening is one of those things that we all do, but we are never really sure if we are doing too much or too little. This tip helps you have a little more control.

L7

Full sharpening (so you can see it)

I have cranked the sharpening all the way up so you can see it… but you will want to probably not be this heavy handed. 😀

Most of us can kind of figure out what Radius and Detail sliders do under Sharpening by moving the sliders back and forth, but Masking seems a little sneaky and hard to see. If you use The Option/Alt key while moving the masking slider you will now be able to see what areas are being affected. The white lines represent where the sharpening is being applied and the black areas are left untouched.

Lb3

Basic beginning level of Masking… everything is being sharpened

Lb4

Moving the slider right masks out areas that you don’t want sharpened

Once you let go of the Opt/Alt key, the image goes back to normal. Now you can be a little more confident to crank up the sharpening more than you may have in the past because you are only applying the sharpening in the key spots without messing up the skin and other areas.

Lb5

Full sharpening, but only in the key spots

 

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