What is the best way to view your image in cs2 to ensure proper sharpening for large Tiff files? This is not a problem for web posting as you can view the actual size of the image on your monitor and sharpen accordingly but I'm not sure about how to properly sharpen larger files for publication.
I do all my sharpening at 100% (View Actual Pixels) even for large files. This way, the image is not distorted by the sizing routine used for other views.
I usually pick a place in the image where I have edges (like a mountain ridge against the sky), and/or thin lines (like grasses). I then sharpen to taste. By using these areas I can see if I am getting halos and/or aliasing.
After doing this, I switch back to View>Fit On Screen to see how the entire image looks. I then repeat as necessary.
Since you are doing this for submission, I suggest you make a proof print just to see if your sharpening is OK.
-PB
Posted by Kent Staubus on January 7, 2007 at 1:39 PM
The two magazines I work with have just asked for RAW files, no sharpening. I do clean off any dust spots and do basic cloning etc., but they prefer to sharpen. A third magazine told me a little sharpening was OK, but they prefer to do the bulk of it.
I agree with Preston. Have your image at 100% so you can view the effect. You can easily scroll around the image by holding down the space bar and dragging the image to see the effect in various areas.
Follow the reco's of the entity you are submitting to. Some want no sharpening, others don't care, and still others have very specific criteria. As a matter of course I submit jpeg thumbnails along with my large files, and I do sharpen the thumbnails the same I do for the web. Even with all that I would include a note on your disc explaining whether or not you sharpened, and how you did it.
Posted by David Senesac on January 9, 2007 at 9:44 PM
Even if someone wanted a raw unsharpened file, it would serve some purpose to also including a file of your own processed version so they don't manage to muck it up. The larger a file required, especially for larger prints, the more careful and selective sharpening may need to be. While one can often get by with just running a single sharpening filter on a web sized file for monitor display, that is certainly not true for larger images. And each image and areas of images can require selective application. For instance I almost never sharpen my skies. They are selected out as an alpha mask to be eventually saved with the .psd file. I've seen large prints in galleries that have obvious oversharpening noise artifacts in shadows, selection halos, or grainy skies, so am quite aware there are fair numbers of even serious photographers that have not come up to speed with applying sharpening tools so printed images appear natural. ...David
Posted by Chris Ross on January 16, 2007 at 9:51 PM
A good trick to use is to zoom the image by using ctrl + and ctrl-, this zoomes to even increments 16.7, 25, 33.3 50, 66.7, 100 etc. I find 50% more useful for judging sharpness as it will appear on an A4 print. I find 100% shows up noise that doesn't show up in my prints and interferes with my judgement of sharpening. I swap views using ctrl + and - looking at the 50% and 100% views to judge the sharpening. Click down to 25% for an overall view. The intermediate steps like 33.3 have problems due to the interpolation used to display them on screen.
I use edge sharpening (not the edge sharpening tool in PS, I make up a mask using the find edges tool and use that on a layer that I then apply the USM to) first up, then high pass sharpening, which can be adjusted using a layer mask, just paint out over sharpened bits, for instance I normally don't sharpen skies. To achieve this select the sky with the wand invert selection then click the layer mask button while the layer with the high pass on it is selected.
Discussion
7 repliesI do all my sharpening at 100% (View Actual Pixels) even for large files. This way, the image is not distorted by the sizing routine used for other views.
I usually pick a place in the image where I have edges (like a mountain ridge against the sky), and/or thin lines (like grasses). I then sharpen to taste. By using these areas I can see if I am getting halos and/or aliasing.
After doing this, I switch back to View>Fit On Screen to see how the entire image looks. I then repeat as necessary.
Since you are doing this for submission, I suggest you make a proof print just to see if your sharpening is OK.
-PB
Kent in SD
Guy
I use edge sharpening (not the edge sharpening tool in PS, I make up a mask using the find edges tool and use that on a layer that I then apply the USM to) first up, then high pass sharpening, which can be adjusted using a layer mask, just paint out over sharpened bits, for instance I normally don't sharpen skies. To achieve this select the sky with the wand invert selection then click the layer mask button while the layer with the high pass on it is selected.