Input sharpening????

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zeb

zeb

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Trevor
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Has anyone got this book I find it is great and gives you (the 7 key techniques for taking your images from flat to fantastic) quote from the book

Scott Kelby's 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 (Amazon)
sorry don't know how to put the link in.

My question is
I have always been told to turn off the sharpening in the raw converter and do your sharpening as the last thing you do? In the book it says: We sharpen every single image, usually twice: once at the beginning, right within Camera Raw (which is called input sharpening), and once before we save the file (called output sharpening),

Was wondering if anyone has any opinions on this?
 
Well no doubt Mr Kelby has his reasons, and I don't doubt he knows what he's at, but I never sharpen in the RAW processor.

Conventional wisdom is that sharpening should be the last thing you do before you save an image. The reason for this is that sharpening digital images is achieved by increasing contrast in areas of adjoining contrast, so sharpening should be done after you've made all the necessary levels tweaks.

I don't see the point in sharpening the RAW image if you're about to make further levels/contrast adjustments and possibly have an adverse effect on the sharpening you already did.

Does he give a reason for using this technique?
 
To use an analogy, is it not a bit like using an undercoat of paint before the real thing? I mean, a photo could be sharpened first so that the processing you do afterwards is on an image as close to the image as you envision it at the end. Then a re-sharpen will sort out any points that the other processing has unsharpened again. Just a theory!
 
Nice theory Albedo - but never heard of it before

Only last week I attended a Wedding seminar where PP was discussed and sharpening was the LAST point again. The norm is that you sharpen after the last resize of an image for viewing/sale - as you don't know what size this will be normally, you don't do ANY until the order

Most stock agencies demand no sharpening as it's the clients' usage that determines any sharpening needed - i.e. it's different for a postcard than a poster than the side of an articulated lorry

As CT says, please pass on his reasoning in this regards

Interesting

DD
 
He doesn’t give any reason its just in the paragraph that he writes about his 7 techniques.
The full paragraph is below

We sharpen every single image, usually twice: once at the beginning, right within Camera Raw (which is called input sharpening), and once before we save the file (called output sharpening), where we sharpen based on whether you’ll be sending your photo to the web or if you’re making a print (the amount is also based on the subject matter of your photo). We use Photoshop’s unsharp mask filter for our sharpening, but then we add one extra little step that lets us apply more sharpening without damaging our photo. Besides which your going to learn how to add some one-click automation that lets you apply your sharpening like a pro by just pressing one button. Sweet!

Trev
 
I always apply "capture sharpening" during RAW conversion, I then use "photokit sharpener plugin" to apply the final output sharpening. There are several people in the PP world who suggest a "3 stage sharpening" - it made sense to me when I read it so I gave it a try !!

simon
 
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