Beginner LR Sharpening?

Thatchapthere

Thatchapthere

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Name
Don
Edit My Images
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Howdy,

I touch with LR very lightly as shoot RAW (highlights/shadows/saturation/lens correction). I have never touched the sharpening tool, however hear a lot of chat about people using it.
Is this part of the worfklow for most, or is it just something that doesn't hold that great deal of import?

Your pearls of wisdom and bone throwing would be useful :)
Thanks!
 
I use it but not very often and usually with a high masking value..
 
I would say that it is much easier to ruin a picture by over zealous use of sharpening than to ruin a picture by not. I typically use a little but with lots of masking.

It definitely has a place but you need to also understand how the final image will be viewed to apply it well.

You can hold down the Option key whilst moving the masking slider to see what effect it is having.
 
Don't use it on every shot.
When you do use it, apply it selectively with a brush- not to the whole image.

I use it to bring out some detail in plumage and the like.
I could me mis-remembering but I think Lightroom might apply some sharpening by default unless you turn it off.
 
I would offer a contrary position and say you should use it frequently. Set to a high value, hold down ALT and move the threshold slider so you can see which edges it is applying itself to, and set an appropriate threshold. Then zoom in and do back the strength until you're happy. I think pretty much every image for screen display needs an element of sharpening.
 
landwomble said:
I would offer a contrary position and say you should use it frequently. Set to a high value, hold down ALT and move the threshold slider so you can see which edges it is applying itself to, and set an appropriate threshold. Then zoom in and do back the strength until you're happy. I think pretty much every image for screen display needs an element of sharpening.
Click to expand...
This ^. Demosaicing of RAW files softens the image. You need to counter this softening. Best is to sharpen twice - input sharpening when you convert the RAW file and output sharpening as the last step in editing to suit the output device: either screen or print.
 
I use it all the time. Remember those dull raw files are not sharpened at all. Its always in my workflow.
 
Since adopting LR as my primary file handler rather PS I use sharpening on every image!

This is my input sharpening step. I then take into PS for resizing as needed and then output sharpening.

If I had a wish it would be if LR had more controllable output sharpening especially the Smart Sharpening tool.
 
Look at the image: does it need sharpening? Yes? Sharpen it. No? Don't.

It need be no more complicated than that.
 
Sharpening is a bit like adding salt into your cooking, most meals benefit from a little while some need much more than others, in the end its mostly about personal taste; and, as others have suggested, just as not every part of the food on your plate needs salt not every part of an image needs sharpening :)

My personal taste for shots where a person is the main subject is to apply sharpening to every image but with a large masking value, landscapes etc. tend to be sharpened during the rest of my PP processes so its not a good idea to start out with any

Dave
 
IMO with 12+ MPX images then you should be looking at the image 1:1 when assessing how much sharpening to use. When you've found the right amount (for me, between 50 and 80 in LR5.7) then go back to fitting the image in your screen and use alt-mask to reduce sharpening in the areas that lack crisp detail. I normally sharpen a little (and LR sharpens to 25 usints by default) but I'll also use Perfect Effects dynamic contrast a little instead to crisp things up, often pained on or in a gradient.
 
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