How does sharpen tool work

In Photoshop, this filter lets you specify a threshold for determining differences between adjacent pixels, which increases or decreases contrast.

And it lets you increase or decrease the radius of the sampling area around edge pixels. If your goal is to create a printable image, keep in mind that the effects of the Unsharp Mask are more pronounced for on-screen vs. In other words, print samples before deciding on your sharpness settings. Adjust sharpness. Open an image and select Filter, Sharpen, Unsharp Mask.

This way the changes you make appear across the entire image, not just in the tiny sample window. The first slider determines the amount of sharpening. The Radius slider determines the number of pixels surrounding the high-contrast edge pixels the sharpening will affect.

The higher the number, the wider the band of pixels affected. A lower number ensures that only edge pixels will be sharpened. For many images, a radius between 1 and 2 is good. The Threshold slider determines how different adjacent pixels must be before they are considered edge pixels and therefore sharpened. The higher the Threshold value, the greater the contrast there must be between pixels. A Threshold value of 0 the default sharpens all the pixels in the image. The sharpen tool allows you to apply localized sharpening effects to an image.

Prior to Photoshop CS5 there were no circumstances where one would sugest using the sharpen tool since the outcome was pretty ugly looking sharpening artifacts. However, there is now a Protect Detail option in the sharpen tool Options bar see Figure 1 below. We can see a High Pass window opens with setting the radius range of pixels count adjusting can be done using scrolling the point of radius value.

And click on ok. This option will add scale to the image, and using blending modes of the photo; we can get a suitable look to the image; there are few recommended modes to use, such as Overlap, Soft light, Hard light, and linear light.

Based on the mode the appearance of the image keeps on changing. High filter sharpness adjustments can be done accordingly. There is a chance of having noisy and grained pixels if we go more reputation, so be careful. Use all layers to reduce work tool takes algorithms to fix the effect on all layers. The tool also adjusts the contrast level of the image at the effect portion. Proper details and enhancements can be given to an image by sharpening the tool.

This has been a guide to the Sharpen Tool in Photoshop. Here we discuss how to use Sharpen Tool in Photoshop and its Steps with appropriate Screenshots for better understanding. You can also go through our other suggested articles to learn more —. Submit Next Question. By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Forgot Password?