Hi Dennis, my caveat is: that what I do works for me, others may have a different take, but there are IMHO, some fundamental basics that are cross platform.
Basically if the image has the focus in the right spot, i.e. as per here, between the eyes at the top of the bridge of the nose,
(hope I'm clear) and you have the correct DoF, then all is well, but the ultimate question is,
is the original sharp? If it's not,
BIN, as no matter what you try and do, with even the best software,
it is still going to be soft!
Personally I will/may do some
'pre sharpening' (personal choice), after I have made all the require steps in LR
(again my preferred choice, you may choose another RAW converter), but before I export to PS, there I will do some more
'refined' adjustments depending on what is required for that image, as IMHO no two images are the same. Once the file is
'finalised' I will crop to the final output size, but
ALWAYS retain the master at full res for future outputs, so I am cropping from a full 16bit tiff. Once resized I will flatten, duplicate and sharpen that, apply a layer mask etc. However, I now tend to adopt another route that suits my own Workflow. Also, be clear in DPI & PPI.
There have been so many threads written on this subject, and I do think understanding what
'sharpening' really means will put you in good stead, but I would say, apply any sharpening in small increments. IMHO no screen monitor will display the 'true' nature of sharpening, only when you print the file will you actually see the end result, and I am using that in very loose terms. Also, avoid heavy cropping and what I term pixel bashing, there are some folk who crop so much you can clearly see the IQ vanishes.
Dennis, if you want more help drop me a PM, there are more people on here that are better than me, all I'm concerned from my perspective is, if is sharp when printed, or meets their required IQ specifications for Agencies then that's fine, on screen if in looks less or more I'm less crucial, but within reason LOL.
Ultimately, if I post on four websites with differing sizes, the same sharpening is applied to ALL four images at F
Hope this helps.
Steve
