USM...what gives?

[aam1234]

Was preparing 50 photos for print. As a last step I was applying USM. Started with amount 100, 0.1, 0.0, but couldn't see a difference on screen. Kept on increasing the amount as I was preparing more pics, but still nothing. Kept on increasing the amount and tweaking the other parameters till for the last few pics it was 300, 0.3, 2.0 by then. Still nothing!

So could you tell me what I was doing wrong.

I was viewing the photos at 25%.

Thanks

[tommykjensen]

I was viewing the photos at 25%.


Thats probably the reason, try viewing them at 100% then apply the USM.

[jsgaudet]

I'm no photoshop expert, but in the meantime that a more experienced person gives you advice try 100(vary this one) 0.7 0 It worked on my pictures last night.

[aam1234]

Thats probably the reason, try viewing them at 100% then apply the USM.

But I've always used 25% and I can see a difference on screen.

Also, thanks jsgaudet.

[CyberDyneSystems]

aam..

As tommy mentioned.. for the sharpening step you really need to be at 100%...
You can "sometimes" get away with 50% (mind you it has to be 50% not 60% or anything else in between)

For settings try something more like

150-300%
.3 radius
0 threshold

Start with that .3 radius.. for uploading to the web.. maybe .4 and sometimes drop to .2...

I find you are better off with a low radius and high percentage than vice versa... to me though .1 is TOO low a radius,. and .7 is pretty aggresive..

[aam1234]

Thanks CDS, I'll try that next time.

Too bad I printed 2X50. I should've printed 50 first, check out the results & adjust, then make another copy. Oh well, you learn something everyday.

Thanks all for the help.

[RAitch]

FIRST OFF... the USM settings depend on the picture resolution.
To find the magic spot... set your amount to 175% and your radius to 0.0 (thresh=0). Then bring the radius up until you get an oversharpened (halo'd) image. Then bring the amount down to around 100 and fine tune.

If you take an image right off the camera and try to sharpen using less that 1.0 radius... I wonder if you'd really see a huge difference even at 100%.
Adjust the settings for your picture and save the USM until last (after resizing image). You can do some minor sharpening earlier... but always sharpen when your image is done.

There are NO magic numbers for USM. Play with them like I suggest and you'll get a good starting point. (regardless of image size)

[aam1234]

Thanks, will try that next time.

[CyberPet]

Actually, sharpening is not only depending on the resolution, but also the subject. So if you have a soft baby portrait, you might not want to sharpen it as much as you would want to sharpen an architectual structure. So there's many variables to take into consideration, including resolution and the end point of the image (web, print, etc).

[liza]

Good point, Petra. I'm not sure what your subject material is, but if you're sharpening sports shots, try 20,50,0. I learned that trick from one of the pro's on FM, and it works every time.

[PhotosGuy]

You DID have the "Preview" box checked, right? And you're on the correct layer, too? ;-)

[aam1234]

Yes, the preview was on, and didn't have any layers.

It's as Tommy and CDS suggested...view at 100% instead of 25%. Btw, the photos turned out great (except for monitor calibration issues).

[Hellashot]

Here's what I use for USM on RAW images for printing 4x6: ISO100 400,1,0; ISO200 330,0.9,0; ISO400 300,0.8,0; ISO800 300,0.7,0; ISO1600: 0.6,300,0

[tim]

For people I often use 120%, 2 pixels, threshold of 2 levels. If the picture has no noise i'll turn down the 2nd parameter.

[RAitch]

Good point, Petra. I'm not sure what your subject material is, but if you're sharpening sports shots, try 20,50,0. I learned that trick from one of the pro's on FM, and it works every time.

How big were your subjects on what sized image resolution wise?
This is what I'm talking about... you have to play with each image individually.

At a certain resolution, some 'magic numbers' might exists as a STARTING POINT... but you'll obvisouly have to play with it to get the results you want.


I didn't mention subject as a part of the equation since it's common sense to adjust the image appropiately for each situation. If anybody is just punching in numbers and trusting that saving that image will look good.... I've got news for you. As with any PS adjustment, it seems to be a high-low game of adjustments. Make it so it looks way too sharp... then way to soft... and keep going back and forth until you get the sweet spot.

[blue_max]

Try this tip – especially if you don't have a very fast machine.

Make a selection with the selection tool. Only make it reasonably small. Blow that up to 100% and make sure you can see the image round it – pick an interesting area.

Then apply the usm to that until you are happy. Then command z (on a mac, or undo or whatever) deselect and apply to the whole picture. It makes trial and error much quicker.

Graham