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Selective Sharpening

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For the best image quality, focus your sharpening on the areas that need it most

To make it simple, I use Unsharp Mask (Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask in Photoshop). This control has three sliders: Amount (intensity of the effect), Radius (how far the effect works across what the program sees as a difference) and Threshold (the level of detail at which the effect works—this affects noise). For general sharpening, I tend to use an Amount of 120 to 180 (depending on the subject and scene), a Radius of 1.0 to 1.5 (larger for photos from higher-megapixel cameras) and a Threshold of 2 to 6 (for most cameras, but I go as high as 12 if there's a lot of noise; if that isn't enough, you need noise-reduction software, not more Threshold).

An easy and more intuitive sharpening control is Nik Sharpener Pro (www.niksoftware.com). This is a plug-in for most image-processing programs and works inside them. It offers a high quality of sharpening focused on a specific output, such as a particular printer brand.

Keep Just The Sharp Parts
Now you need to keep just the sharp parts of your top layer and allow the unsharpened bottom layer to appear in the rest of the photo. There are two ways of doing this: using the Eraser tool and adding a layer mask.

Erasing the out-of-focus parts of your top sharpened layer is easy to do and doesn't require learning layer masks if you don't know them. It has a lot less flexibility than layer masks, but it works and it's simple. Here's how to do it:

1. Turn off the bottom layer. Click on the Eye icon at the left side of the layer in the Layer palette. This allows you to better see what you're doing with the top layer.

2. Be sure you're on the top layer. Click on it in the Layer palette if you're not sure. It should be highlighted in blue.

3. Select the Eraser tool and choose a good-sized brush. You don't need a soft-edged brush, but a hard-edged brush isn't ideal either. Choose a hardness setting in the middle of the range.

4. Start erasing the out-of-focus parts of your photo. Because the bottom layer is turned off, you'll see exactly where you're erasing on the checkerboard pattern that appears in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements (this indicates there's nothing there).

5. You can use the Undo command (Ctrl/Cmd + Z) as needed when you go too far. Change the brush size for the Eraser, too, to deal with details close to your subject.

6. When done, turn the bottom layer back on and flatten the layers (Layer > Flatten Image).




Using A Layer Mask
Layer masks help this process by allowing you to remove parts of a layer from view, yet you can bring them right back whenever needed. You can remove and bring back as much as you want in order to refine your control. Layer masks aren't available for pixel layers in Photoshop Elements. Here's how to use layer masks in Photoshop:

1. Turn off the bottom layer as done with the erase method.

2. Be sure the top layer is selected.

3. Add a layer mask to the top layer. You can do this through the Layer menu, but it's much easier to use the Layer Mask icon at the bottom of the Layer palette. It's the gray rectangle with the white circle in the middle.

4. Paint black into the layer mask where you want to remove the sharpening. A layer mask works its magic by blocking or allowing a layer to appear or make some adjustment. If black is used in the mask, it blocks the layer effect. If white is used, it allows the effect.

In this case, we want to block the effect on the out-of-focus areas and allow it where the sharp areas are sharpened on this top layer. Use a large, medium-hardness brush, just like the Eraser tool, and be sure that black is selected as your foreground color in the color picker at the bottom of the Tool palette. The top color in the color picker is the foreground color, the bottom is the background color. You can toggle quickly between the two with the X key.

5. Paint black and white alternately to refine where the sharpness in the top layer remains. You can go back and forth between black and white as much as you want. There's no quality effect on the photo.

6. When done, turn the bottom layer back on and flatten the layers (Layer > Flatten Image).

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