What is a simple and effective method to sharpen for web output in Photoshop?

Question

In Photoshop, I've got a master PSD image file with all mask and adjustment layer treatments, but no sharpening at all. I save for web and create a JPG at 1200px. Now, I bring that file back into Photoshop for some sharpening.

What's a quick and effective way to sharpen? I've read that using Filter -> Sharpen twice is good, but to me the outcome looks a bit over-processed. Is Smart Sharpen a better tool than just Sharpen? What about Sharpen More, Unsharp Mask, and Sharpen Edges?

Asked by RaffiM

Answer

There are a number of different lines of thought on this issue, and it seems that each one vehemently defends itself as the "one true way" to sharpen your image. In my experience, it comes down to personal preference and the specific image that you're working. Keep in mind that "sharpness" is really just an area of high contrast along an edge or line in your image. There are three primary methods that people use, but each have the fundamental effect of increasing this contrast:

1. Unsharp Mask - As I understand it, this was the "old" method for sharpening photos. Without going into too much detail, this method creates a blurred copy of the image and compares it to the original to determine where the edges are that need to be sharpened. This method has three options, Amount, Radius, and Threshold. Amount controls the intensity of the sharpening, radius controls the distance from edges that will have the sharpening applied, and the threshold controls how "different" two pixels have to be to be considered for sharpening. The unsharp mask in my experience tends to have a stronger effect than other methods, which I prefer, but some people don't.
2. Smart Sharpen - This method is the newer method for sharpening photos, with a bunch of different options. The Gaussian Blur option behaves similarly to the unsharp mask, but it also has the option to remove lens blur and motion blur. It has similar options to the unsharp mask method. I use this when I want to try to remove lens or motion blur, but I find that its Gaussian Blur sharpening isn't quite as pronounced as the unsharp mask.
3. High pass filters - This method is different than the other methods; it actually creates a second layer, and uses blending options to get a sharp effect on the edges. I don't like the appearance that the high pass filter gives to images, but I know a lot of other people prefer them.

The other filters (Sharpen, Sharpen More, and Sharpen Edges) I find to be less useful, because you have much less control over how they are applied to your image. But in some circumstances they may be appropriate.

This website has a really nice comparison of the high pass filter to the unsharp mask, and Ron Bigelow has a really detailed series of articles on each of the different sharpening methods. But I think the best thing to do is open up a few different copies of an image, apply different sharpening methods to each, and see which ones you like best.

Answered by David

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