Clarity?

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Betty

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I see a lot of people mentioning clarity on their images, but I am struggling to find it in CS3, am I being thick? Or is it known as something else?

I need a step by step guide people, imagine you are talking to an idiot here :lol:
 
On my PSPPx2 it's found under the 'Brightness and Contrast' tab, as 'Clarify'. Maybe it's somewhere similar on CS3 :shrug: HTH :)
 
Hmmm, nothing but "Brightness and Contrast" under that tab :( Thanks anyway Jo :)
 
Sorry John, that hasnt helped one bit :D

I just need to know where to find this option in CS3 :)
 
You'll find it in ACR rather than Photoshop itself so, in CS3, it will be available when you open a RAW file in ACR.

It increases local contrast particularly in the midtones and is a very useful tool. Increasing clarity adds punch and is a good presharpener. Reducing clarity is a great skin smoother too... a very good alternative to any of the blurring methods for skin smoothing I think.
 
Hi Betty

it is an option available when using ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) to import raw files into CS3.

It is also an option in Adobe Lightroom for Jpeg and Raw files.

So, to get to it in CS3 you need to shoot in raw.

HTH

John
 
Go to unsharp mask and put in Amount 20 Radius 60 and Threshold 0. It gives the same effect (more or less) as clarity in Lightroom.
 
Hey Dee... alternately, get yourself Lightroom :) It's a clearly marked slider in there and really does a great job of adding punch to an image by (if increased) increasing contrast in the mid-tone areas of an image, and softening an image if reduced. Lightroom allows you to selectively apply this to areas of an image too - so this (as already pointed out) is especially good for portrait work.
 
Thanks Mister E, Ill give that a go! And John, I have had my eye on Lightroom for a while, maybe soon ;)
 
where have you seen people mention this betty...:shrug:


md:thumbs:
 
MisterE said:
Go to unsharp mask and put in Amount 20 Radius 60 and Threshold 0. It gives the same effect (more or less) as clarity in Lightroom.
Click to expand...

Great tip! just gave it a go and it made such a difference to the photo:thumbs:
 
I think clarity is basically midtone contrast. You can find it in CS3 image>adjustments>shadow/highlight

you can also apply the same affect by using a high pass filter with a large radius...similar to sharpening at a large radius but can use different blending options for more control:

duplicate layer and select top layer
filter>other>high pass
set radius
destaurate layer (seems to give better results)
set layer to overlay (or other) and play around with opacity

you can also sharpen the finer details by using a smaller radius
 
I think you'll find "Clarity" as an adjustment if you shoot in raw and open in PS Elements or CS3. I don't have CS3, but have read that you can open a jpg file in raw by selecting that option under "open as"...but can't swear to that.
 
watch out using clarity slider with contrasting blocks and light/dark shades, by its very nature of operation increasing the 'clarity' will create artifacts in the form of dark halos along the edge between shade contrasts...so a white wedding dress will suddenly appear to have a dark shadow around its edges if you're not careful.
most instances the clarity slider can be wacked up a fair way to bring out the details from a raw image - essentially acting in a similar way to USM with a touch of contrast boosting thrown in for good measure
 
To open a jpeg or tiff in ACR you need to open them in bridge first, highlight the image and file open in camera raw, obviously it will open a compatable raw image as well. Wayne
 
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