sharpening?

[Erik_L]

I am about to give my "client" (friend) his photos that I took the other day. Should I give them to him as they are, or apply some output sharpening?

Here's an example of unsharpened:
http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af339/smrndmguy/People/Crop_1000-1-13.jpg

and sharpened:
http://i1021.photobucket.com/albums/af339/smrndmguy/People/Crop_1000-1-3-1.jpg

it's a lot more evident at 100%

They will probably be printing some of these at Target - do the kiosks apply sharpening? will it end up being OVER sharpened if I give them sharpened pics?

[RPCrowe]

I would not sharpen, rather I would soften,,,

[CombatCamera13]

I agree, sometimes people don't want to see their pores. I tried this in the past.

[Gatorboy]

If you are giving him full-res images, don't sharpen, for you don' t know the final use. However, if you are creating low or medium res images to view on the PC, then sharpen.

[kent andersen]

I would do both, I would soften most of him to, but sharpen only his eyes. Using a layer mask and paint in the sharpening. like this, combined both pictures, could have done it more accurate, but I think you get the point. But I would also be careful with softening and PP. If a person has lots of pimples or freckles, I would soften them but try to not make it obvious that I have cloned them away. If I make alot of cloning, I would put on part of the original skin on a new layer and use transparency to bring back enough of the "uncleanes" to make it look real again. I would try to avoid to make the skin to clean, it looks more natural then. Pores, pimples, freckles, hair, wrincles are part of human skin. It shouldn't be the first thing people see, but still some of it needs to be there to make the person be who he is. If it is a person with just one or two pimples, I off course clone them away.

Mybe its a taste question, but I always want the eyes to be sharp in portraits like this.

429279

[Josef Geisler]

I would do both, I would soften most of him to, but sharpen only his eyes. Using a layer mask and paint in the sharpening. like this, combined both pictures, could have done it more accurate, but I think you get the point. But I would also be careful with softening and PP. If a person has lots of pimples or freckles, I would soften them but try to not make it obvious that I have cloned them away. If I make alot of cloning, I would put on part of the original skin on a new layer and use transparency to bring back enough of the "uncleanes" to make it look real again. I would try to avoid to make the skin to clean, it looks more natural then. Pores, pimples, freckles, hair, wrincles are part of human skin. It shouldn't be the first thing people see, but still some of it needs to be there to make the person be who he is. If it is a person with just one or two pimples, I off course clone them away.

Mybe its a taste question, but I always want the eyes to be sharp in portraits like this.

429279

I have do agree with Kent. Soften and sharpening the eyes. Hold back a little sharpening on the eyes. It locks a little to sharp.

Joe

[drdiesel1]

My try at it.

[Todd Lambert]

I dunno... I think the original shot posted is fine, myself. I definitely don't like the retouched versions posted, as they all look fake and blurry. The skin doesn't look real and having everything out of focus or blurry except for the eyes is creepy.

I think the original unsharped version is the best, and definitely if you're not being paid to PP, then don't.

[suecassidy]

Interesting question. sharpen or not? smooth or not? One thing I always advise male clients is to do a good shave a couple of hours before hand. This guy may have thought he was well shaven, but.... I would definitely sharpen the eyes, and soften/lighten the dark bags under the eyes. The goal for a guy in post processing is going to be different for a woman, so I would not over soften his entire face. You just want him to look like his BEST SELF on a given day, not to have someone say, "you NEVER looked like THAT..." I would certainly attend to the details like the tuft of hair behind his ears that should have been taken care of with a good haircut. I think you did a great job of the photo itself, background is a nice white, great light in the eyes etc. Great expression, very natural, I suspect that is how people see him. As others have said, on a smaller version like a business card or online pic, you can get away with more than on a large 8X10 shot.

[DocMike]

I am about to give my "client" (friend) his photos that I took the other day. Should I give them to him as they are, or apply some output sharpening?

We have to remember here that we're working with a male and not a female subject. Personally, I think overprocessing of skin looks bad, even on women. Plus, this is a gentleman who has some freckling of the skin and is a redhead...these traits should not be taken away, but perhaps made a little more subtle. Also, for this particular subject, I think the eyes are sharp enough, but they should lighten a tad. Finally, the bags have to go.

My 5-minute edit:

[Stirfried]

... this is a gentleman who has some freckling of the skin and is a redhead...these traits should not be taken away, but perhaps made a little more subtle.

Red hair - nothing some desaturation can't cure :-)

Joking aside, exactly right. The PP on this kind of shot should be a tidy-up, not turning him into a CGI version of himself.

As for what to give him, give (or offer) both.

[corey.b]

Heres my attempt.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd266/goldninja101/mall-1-2.jpg

Skin smoothing on lightroom (used at level 20, skipped passed the eyes, lv 10 on lips, eye brows and facial details like under the nose [ actually 50% flow eraser ], skipped ears and hair)
Darkened around the eye lid to bring out the eyes a bit (20% exposure burn, single pass)
Darkened around the retinas (20% exposure burn)
Sharpened the eyes (for this image used 1 px high pass filter)
Reduced the bags under the eyes (10% exposure dodge, double pass).

Took less than 2 minutes to open all the programs and adjust.

[Kelsc824]

Cory and Kent have got it. Its not overdone but looks finished and sharp. I wouldn't soften the eyebrows too much either. Like Kent said hair freckles ect... are part of the person. I personally think subtlety is key in 90% of portraits.

[Bob_A]

My choices would either be the second one (overall sharpening) or the original with only the eyes sharpened.

The blurred ones just look wrong IMO.

[corey.b]

Would the slight softening of the eyebrows I edit be too much or is it just within range?

[Kelsc824]

I like ur eyebrows the best. lol I think yours looks the most natural with softening.

[whirligig]

i like natural, but if you feel you must have touch-ups, i would go with kent's rendition.

[lhughey]

I usually go for a very light skin soften for guys (unless they are toddlers or younger), then a sharpen of the eyes and hair. I'm of the opinion that a sharpening of the hair can help even out the sharpening of the eyes.