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Thread: High pass filter for sharpening?

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    BPN Member Sandy Witvoet's Avatar
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    Default High pass filter for sharpening?

    Hello all,
    I use PSE11... not the most capable, but still is pretty much PS engine-driven. That said...
    I generally refrain from using a ton of PP techniques and (other than the basics of straighten, crop, adjust in RAW, convert and check/adjust the various options)...
    As a simpler method of sharpening, I've rather stumbled upon the High Pass Filter.

    Our Traditional options:
    Unsharp Mask.
    Newer option: Adjust Sharpness
    Both of the above require what seems to be lots of +/- adjustments.

    High Pass Sharpening seems to work nicely without oversharpening (it shows you where you may be getting halos). I'm not into "layers" but this one is pretty simple...
    - Open photo
    - Duplicate layer
    - Filter-Other-High Pass (your image will look like a gray mudslide... but not to worry)
    - Move slider till you can barely see the outline of your subject.
    - Click ok
    - In Layers Panel, set Blend mode for Overlay. Sharpened photo shows up.
    You can save, merge or flatten (if desired) from there.

    Would love to know your thoughts on this process. Thanks!
    www.mibirdingnetwork.com .... A place for bird and nature lovers in the Great Lakes area.

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    Set the mode to Overlay FIRST, then you can see how much to move the slider. (Or Soft Light or Hard Light if Overlay isn't the best.)

    Don't merge or flatten -- why burn bridges?? You can make your final JPEG or print from a layered master file. If you do other adjustments (as adjustment layers where possible) you may wish you had done a different setting. Don't know about Elements but in PS you can make the High Pass layer a Smart Object which lets yo go back and modify it later without re-doing it.

    It's a good method but it isn't really sharpening -- it's more like a narrow-range contrast adjustment. But it can be very effective.

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    BPN Member Don Lacy's Avatar
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    I prefere smart sharpen in PS I have never really like the look of the high pass plus it really does to good of a job sharpening noise.
    Don Lacy
    You don't take a photograph, you make it - Ansel Adams
    There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs - Ansel Adams
    http://www.witnessnature.net/
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    Hi Don

    If you run NR on the grey High Pass layer before blending, none of the noise is sharpened.

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    BPN Member Don Lacy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shane shacaluga View Post
    Hi Don

    If you run NR on the grey High Pass layer before blending, none of the noise is sharpened.
    did not know about that trick thanks for sharing lately I have been using a two stage sharpening workflow where I first run a Gaussian blur layer then an aggressive smart sharpen layer. Really works well on landscape images but hit and miss on avian subjects sometimes I end just going with smart sharpen.
    Don Lacy
    You don't take a photograph, you make it - Ansel Adams
    There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs - Ansel Adams
    http://www.witnessnature.net/
    https://500px.com/lacy

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    BPN Member Don Lacy's Avatar
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    It appears I accidently closed the thread darn iPad it should be fixed
    Last edited by Don Lacy; 04-13-2015 at 11:05 AM.
    Don Lacy
    You don't take a photograph, you make it - Ansel Adams
    There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs - Ansel Adams
    http://www.witnessnature.net/
    https://500px.com/lacy

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    For anyone who is new to High Pass sharpening, for whom it may sound a little complicated, it really isn't. You can run the NR at any time on it - no need to do it before blending. It's just a separate layer and should remain so, malleable at any time. The Blend Mode only affects how the layer "appears to" interact with the layers below, it doesn't change the layer itself.

    I change the blend mode before moving the slider so I can see how much to move t.

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    BPN Member Sandy Witvoet's Avatar
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    Thanks Diane, and everyone.... I had neglected to put in the "overlay" step (duh me). Important to do that! And, thanks Shane.... I've not found it to sharpen the noise either. I do like how the slider works, so even if you don't choose to use the HP filter, it shows you a "gray scale" of the sharpest parts of your image.
    www.mibirdingnetwork.com .... A place for bird and nature lovers in the Great Lakes area.

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    For those of you that want an High pass sharpening action, Morkel has left a link in the 'sticky' section of the landscape forum.

    DON

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