Help…..I would like to learn how to use the Unsharp Mask filter properly. This is a photo of Julia…. always giving me the begging look but not sharp.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Terry

Terry, that's a nice composition!

The primary reason the sharpness is off in this photo is probably 'camera shake'. The EXIF data embedded in the photo shows that the shutter speed you used (no doubt set for you by the camera!) was only 1/5 second - that's generally too slow for a hand-held shot (I'm guessing you didn't use a tripod for this candid gem!). When the shutter is open for that long, any slight movement is exaggerated in the photo.

A second factor - related to the first - is that the aperture was nearly wide open at f/3.3. This reduces the 'depth of field' - the degree to which the photo is in focus from front to back. Probably not as large a factor as the slow shutter speed, but a contributor nonetheless.

Bottom line: if shutter speeds are much below 1/30 second, consider using a flash or stabilize the camera on a tripod.

Back to your original question: how to use Unsharp Mask to improve sharpness. I would make a duplicate of the background layer, then apply the Unsharp Mask to the duplicate layer; experiment with different values of the Amount slider in particular, sliding way to the right while watching the preview, then backing off to a point where it looks realistic. Not sure the other two sliders will have a lot of impact here, but you can experiment with them as well. Once the USM is applied to the duplicate layer, you can switch on and off the visibility of that layer to see the after and before of sharpening, and you can reduce the opacity of the layer if you decide you've oversharpened.

Hope that helps...

Thanks Chuck...I will follow your instructions and see what happens!

I'll send the finished result..

Thanks again.

Terry

The settings in Unsharp Mask - i.e. the ranges on each value - would lead most people to think that some quite high numbers are required, but you'll be surprised how low the numbers should be.

Do we need to sharpen digital images? Sorry, but yes, always - until we are using 30Mp sensors, at least.

Here are a few settings for regular pictures..........

Portraits Amount 75%, Radius 2, Threshold 3.

Moderate A 200%, R 0.5, T 0.

Maximum A 65%, R 4, T 3.

All Purpose A 85%, R 1, T 4

Web A 300%, R 0.3 - 0.5, T 0

A very standard setting that you won't go far wrong with...... A 90%, R 1, T 10.

Two 'rules' we should abide by:
If you think you've overdone the sharpening, you almost definitely have, so reduce it.
Only sharpen once on an image, and do it last of all (Once and Last)

PS - Try the "Adjust Sharpness" if you're with PSE6 - it's very good! Also give the High Pass Filter a go.

I used the standard setting A 90%, R 1, T 10.

Does it look better?

Terry

Terry. there are as many methods of sharpening as there are stars in the sky. Here is what I do:
duplicate layer..use Rusty's method (unsharp mask, setting 20, 60, 0) lower opacity is needed.
then I do all my tweeking
when finished I merge all layers, duplicate that layer and run high pass at about 3-5, soft light blend, lower opacity on that layer if needed.

In addition to the other good suggestions I recommend to lighten the image and increase contrast and saturation some. This seems to make the overall image look "clearer". I did sharpen with Adjust Sharpness, set to Motion Blur, also played a little with the High Pass filter. I think the main culprit for the blurriness (which really is not too bad) is the aperture.

Now some noise reduction may be in order...

Juergen