trial presharpened Kite

[Dan Brown]

I have been sort of struggling with proper sharpening for this forum, so this is a trial. I presharpened this image with Nik Sharpener Pro, selective display at 100%, twice, flattened, resized, saved for web, reopened, added more selective sharpening at 20%. I'm liken what I see in the post:D. How bout you all?

P.S. the post seems to have lost color saturation?

Handheld
Camera Model: NIKON D300
Shutter speed: 1/1250 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 400
Lens: VR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D
Focal length: 400mm
VR Image Stabilization: On
AF mode: AF-C

[Gus Cobos]

Excellent Dan,
This is over the top. I like the landing position with the spread wings showing all of the fine details...the color rendition is very good...the eyes say it all...well done Sir. my hat off to you...:):cool:

[Paul Lagasi]

Dan sharpening looks very good to me, so does image. What did original look like? Maybe you could post it so we can compare...

[Katie Rupp]

Hi Dan, Wonderful wing position, eye contact and detail. I think your sharpening process worked...I always sharpen the resized jpeg and then convert to profile for web display, before posting.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

If you can get this at 400mm then well done! wonderful pose!

[Lance Peters]

Excellent - love that pose - no nits here - big Congrats :)

[Alfred Forns]

Just perfect for me Dan !!!

Not sure why are you struggling with the sharpening? Would make sure to do at the working resolution. Since you have PhotoKit would do a capture sharpening (high resolution digital, medium setting) Could also do a slight selective sharpening or dof then your output.

btw for output I normally don't use Photokit. Just make a layer sharpen then make a mask and erase the part you don't want.

.... also remember sharpening is done to taste and you will find comments either way ... never a consensus. Birds feathers will sometimes look too sharp or not sharp enough :)

[Harold Davis]

good info from al! your post looks great to me. i find that the slight sharpening after converting to jpeg and resizing is the key!!

[Oscar Zangroniz]

Great capture Dan. Excellent landing position and head angle. Looks sharp to me!!!!!

[denise ippolito]

Dan, Beautiful pose- details look good to me,nice eye contact. Well done!!

[Kerry Perkins]

Great capture Dan. The pose is perfect, good techs and the sharpening looks good to me.

[Jackie Schuknecht]

Looks sharp but without looking obviously sharpened. Very nice Dan, will have to check out NIK.

[Nonda Surratt]

Sharpening is just perfect, love that pose and the eyes..Really fine job

[Dave Phillips]

Dan, what do you feel that you are gaining by "saving for web" and reopening the
file and sharpening for the third time, and then saving for web again?

very unorthodox......enlighten me please, thanks

[Dan Brown]

Hi Dave. Thanks for asking! I don't know what I am gaining or losing by doing anything!:confused: That is why I mention that I am "struggling" and this was a "test". I have been using the practice of processing the images with ACR and various adjustment layers (levels, Hue/Sat. etc.). When I am happy with the look of the image, I flatten the layers, use the "file/automate/fit image" feature in CS3 to downsize the image to 1024X800, then click on "file/save for web" and "optimize to file size" of 200kb for this forum. I save this image and reopen it, sharpen with Nik or USM and save this. I have never "saved for web" twice? This process has been ok but I haven't been happy with the sharpness of my posts here compared to the sharpness that they exhibit in CS3 or Bridge.

So, I tried this new process of presharpening this image on layers (2 because 1 pass didn't seem to do it), flatten, automate/fit image, save for web, reopen, inspect and then add a bit more sharpening to the head and parts of the underwing. I thought that I would try the "sharpen before sizing for output" after reading the thread regarding sharpening that has been ongoing for some time here. Please give me any reccomendations on sharpening that you can!:)

[Dave Phillips]

I missed the sharpening thread Dan.
IMO, as regards PP and sharpening.....Less Is More.

I believe your 2 rounds of sharpening and saving for web, then reopening the image and sharpening
again the already compressed image is overkill and destructive, but that's just my opinion.

Was mostly just curious....thank you and good luck with your quest


and regards to your original question about image losing color sat,
It is in Adobe RGB colorspace....but so are many images on BPN. They will NOT display
properly in non color managed browers

[Ilija Dukovski]

OK, let me beat a dead horse:)
Is it absolutely a must to sharpen
at the resolution you plan to publish/print etc.
Is there any difference if you sharpen selectively
vs. sharpening of the entire image.

I almost never sharpen the entire image.
Most of the time I detect the edges, make a mask
and then sharpen the edges only. At first was doing this
at the highest resolution but lately (after much more
experience) I'm doing it at the working/printing/publishing
resolution.

So here's the question:
Should the edge sharpening be done at full resolution
(or any selective sharpening for that matter)
and then after re-sizing at working resolution
another go of sharpening of the entire image
or
should only a single run of selective sharpening be done
at working resolution and nothing else.

I understand it is a matter of taste, I'm just trying to get
your personal opinion.

Cheers, Ilija