Customer Reviews

Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop CS2

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There are plenty of books by Photoshop gurus that explain the software's tone and color controls and most users can usually master these functions if they make a serious effort. But one function that always seems rather inexact is the detail function, as exemplified by the sharpening tools. This still seems to be a rather hit or miss proposition, and there has long been a need for more detailed instruction on this function. Fraser takes the function on, and even if you don't agree with all his recommendations, this book should clarify what sharpening is about.

The book spends more time explaining how and why to sharpen than actually showing the reader how to sharpen pictures and that's as it should be since using the sharpening tools is relatively simple once you understand what is happening.

Fraser agrees with most experts that output sharpening should be the last thing you do to an image before you print or create a web page. However, he convincingly argues for sharpening in several passes for source and content before output sharpening. However to avoid the problems created by over-sharpening an image, he strictly controls source and content sharpening through the use of image masks in the earlier stages.

He also recognizes that dealing with digital noise before sharpening is critical to avoid actually enhancing the noise. He recommends doing this in the raw processing stage where possible, and recommends the use of plug-ins where noise is really serious.

Fraser's writing is clear and unambiguous. The first time he describes a procedure he includes all the steps involved. Fraser explains the use of smart sharpening, but generally dismisses this Photoshop tool in favor of unsharp mask. As a final chapter he includes a number of examples from media as different as a large format transparency and the scan of a print, with a list of steps. The book is profusely illustrated. In many cases we see that the recommended procedures make barely noticeable but positive changes.

The real test is whether the author's multi-pass approach to sharpening really works. I tried it on several pictures and all of them looked better with the multi-pass approach. On the other hand, a question arises as to whether the benefits to be derived from multi-pass processing are worth the effort. Even though Fraser provides you with instructions on created actions to accomplish these tasks, the effort may not always be worth it. On the other hand, for the gallery quality print it probably is worth while.

This book is not for the beginning Photoshop user, but rather for the experienced user. This is not only because Fraser assumes the reader knows how to use Photoshop tools like blending modes and masks, but also because the reader must have enough experience to know when and whether Fraser's recommendations should be adopted. But for the experienced user, I consider this book essential reading.

This book nicely compiles all of the information regarding multi-stage sharpening workflows Mr. Fraser has previously published in various articles over the years. If you've never read any of them, then this is a definite must buy. If you've read all of them, you won't find a lot of new information here aside from the highly welcome detailed explanation of CS2's Smart Sharpen filter. Adobe's own documentation has always been pretty ambiguous as to what all the little checkboxes and sliders do in the new dialog.

My main complaint about the book is the size of the images and quality of the paper used in its printing. It is often times impossible to see any difference whatsoever between two variations of a single image. I understand that many of the examples are meant to differ only subtly (the reader is certainly beaten over the head with this information enough times throughout the first few chapters), but it would make it a lot easier to see those subtle differences if the images were larger and printed on a heavier, glossier stock. My copy also suffered from a large number of printing boo-boos (looks like the ink wasn't drying and smeared all over the place) which is no doubt exacerbating the problem.

Overall, it's an excellent book, I just think the price is a little steep considering the quality and size of the product coupled with the fact that most of the information is available free of charge on the web. Please stop printing books about photography on such flimsy stock, Peachpit.

As a photographer and owner of a photo-restoration business, this was a very important topic for me. I regularly get out of focus images to restore and often the basic sharpening methods in Photoshop simply aren't sufficient.

There is a lot of theory in the beginning of the book, which is good; helpful especially if you don't have a solid understanding of digital sharpening, but then comes the real meat. Fraser goes into many different ways to achieve the effects you need with detailed instruction. It's sometimes hard to see the changes in his photo illustrations, but trust him and try what he says. My copy is FULL of post-it tabs. Superb book for the professional.

This book rather nicely covers What sharpening is, why it is needed, and how to do it. Whats nice about this book it it breaks up the types of sharpening needed based on the the photos and the type of details in the photo. It cover raw pre-sharpening to conteract the softening introduced by a digital camera, and then goes on to suggest detail sharpening and then final output sharpening.

Despite appearances, this book is fairly slim and a quick read. Fraser's central tenets are multipass sharpening (to retain your output options plus fit with an automated approach) and the use of masks to isolate sharpening to real edges (to reduce halo width and/or not exacerbate grain/noise).

In practical terms, a lot of what Fraser says just has to be taken on faith as he doesn't engender a methodology for the reader to evaluate overall image sharpness (up until the output pass) on screen. Given the recent changes to the Details tab in ACR 4.1 I suspect a lot of readers will be on their own though as the only guidance this book has is on radius. Still, the creative/output sharpening approaches are proven and just as valid.

Curiously I find most of the "optimally" sharpened half-toned images presented in the book to be somewhat over-sharpened. The digital revolution would seem to have brought about a change of emphasis in maximizing the potential of the file rather than presenting a real world similitude. But maybe all this is a personal thing. I don't think anyone has a mortgage on "optimal" sharpness.

The only other book that I'm aware of that treats sharpening with any depth is Dan Margulis' "Professional Photoshop" which is aimed more on getting images out the door. In my experience, both approaches can achieve similar results on the page.

This book shows the workings of Fraser (and co's) popular Photokit Sharpener commercial product which embodies the approach presented in this book. In fact, there's sufficient detail herein to write your own routines which will give identical results ... at least for the specific examples given. I was curious why he would do so but with foreknowledge of his impending death I think his wisdom was that knowledge lives on longer than products. For this I am grateful.

If you own Ansel Adam's classics "The Negative" and "The Print", then you'll want to read and own this digital classic on sharpening techniques. Bruce Fraser gives you the motivation, the proof and the workflow to sharpen images so that a single master file can be used at many different resolutions. This book is a must read if you want to make 13x19 or larger prints from you digital camera or scanned images.

Have learned many digital image procedures from Mr. Fraser's books. Have tried and used a number of sharpening techniques, but have not been pleased with the results in general. Mr. Fraser's approach in the book is different and provides good results. The book may be longer than necessary and the sharpening workflow requires the the synthesis of steps from different chapters. The author appears to work in a "halftone" world and more information about inkjet printers, where most digital photographers live, would be helpful.

A great book. Very highly recomended.

I bought this book about 6 months ago and it has become a "bible" of sharpening for me. I shot with 6mp and 8mp (now 10mp) dSLRS and had previously used a single pass of UnSharp Mask or Smart Sharpen for sharpening. (all digital photos need sharpening -- *all* of them -- and in-camera sharpening is not desirable for many reasons)

My photos never came out as sharp as others I had seen published and I kept asking myself, "what am I doing wrong?! Is it my equipment, my photo technique, ...?". Now I know that at least part of it was my *sharpening* technique. Also, I needed to learn that photos properly sharpened for output (printing) will likely *not* look good on the screen (esp at 100%), and how to better judge output sharpness when viewing on the screen. Hints: (1) don't get freaked by apparent sharpening ugliness when viewing at 100% or greater; (2) only view at even zoom factors like 25% and 50%; and (3) 50% is often a fair zoom to use when judging sharpening for output.

The results I've seen from the sharpening techniques in this book range from "great" to "oh-my-god-this-is-*fabulous*". I'm finally producing photos that are as sharp as I had always hoped for, comparable to anything I've seen published.

Bruce Fraser starts at the beginning, explaining the need for sharpening, and proceeds to build a case for why a three-level sharpening process is so effective (Source Sharpening, Content/Creative Sharpening, and Output Sharpening). After you're convinced by his sound reasoning that this is a good idea, he details *how* to implement this 3-pass sharpening process. I codified the three passes into Photoshop Actions, which now take no more time for me to run than the single-pass sharpening I had previously done.

I keep this book in my car or on my shelf, with dozens of post-it tags sticking out where I added my own indexing to all the good parts. I'm sure that this book will become ragged with use, over the years. It is without a doubt the most useful photography book I've bought in the last 10 years.

This is an example of a book written on a very important subject that cannot fill the number of pages the publisher required. Fraser's previous books on Camera RAW were very good. This one is labored and has way too many chapters that just repeat the same things over and over again. You keep hoping that he will get to the really important stuff, but he never really does. Look this subject up on-line, you will find much better information in a more concise presentation.

This book is well written and understandable if you have a bit of technical expertise. Though I would have liked to seen a small section devoted to how to sharpen my work in the beginnig (I like to read the ending of mysteries first), Bruce Fraser eventually give you this workflow. He is, of course, right to give you the theoretical foundation, which he does superbly.
I took the easy way out and bought the sharpening tools from Pixel Genius, which do 80% of what Bruce talks about, but I wouldn't have understood what that software does nearly as well if I hadn't read this book.