Ideal settings for RAW to JPG conversion?

What does USM stand for? Unsharpen Mask?

edit, never mind, found it

Just finished the RSS tutorial on my image and was able to obtain very similar results! I'll definitely keep this for the future! Thanks for the excellent advice!

Quick follow up if I may. Can one perform the same RSS technique on a RAW image in PS and then re-import to lightroom? I prefer to use lightroom as my "source" for storing my RAW images and would prefer to not have to have JPG versions of my "favorites" if I can help it.

FastGT94 wrote in post #14323578
Just finished the RSS tutorial on my image and was able to obtain very similar results! I'll definitely keep this for the future! Thanks for the excellent advice!

Quick follow up if I may. Can one perform the same RSS technique on a RAW image in PS and then re-import to lightroom? I prefer to use lightroom as my "source" for storing my RAW images and would prefer to not have to have JPG versions of my "favorites" if I can help it.

If you do an Edit in Photoshop from Lightroom after doing all your Raw processing, by default LR creates a copy tiff or psd (according to your preferences) which is automatically incorporated into the library and is in the same folder with the Raw file. After the sharpening routine you can just Save, and the tiff will have the sharpening.

This process (working with a tiff/psd copy) is necessary because the Photoshop editor cant work directly with a Raw file and make changes to it.

It amazes me how little these two adobe products are able to work with eachother and how much they lack in similarity in their features. I understand PS was meant to have a lot more things built in, but you'd think that "smart sharpen" at the least would be standard in LR... Then there's the printing settings, but I won't get us started down that path...

Thanks again all, still reading up on those other links, this has been VERY helpful and informative!

I do like how there TIFF is incorporated back into LR. You then can set it up so the original CR2 file is not exported. You can also hide it under the new TIFF. Great feature.

This was the one thing that turned me off LR a few years ago. I invested so much time and energy perfecting sharpening techniques over the years and all of a sudden I just have a screen and a couple of paper selections followed by High, Standard & Low?

So far I when mass editing I am OK with screen and high for web sized images. That saves me a lot of time. Not sure how to handle larger images that will be printed yet. Still run the Jpegs through my sharpening actions in PS. Either way when working on one image at at time, regardless of which converter I use I always sharpen in PS.

So LR is really a mass editing/file management system for me and it has proven to be very good. When I'm goofing around I still use my old workflow. ACR or DPP depending on the image and my mood.

FastGT94 wrote in post #14323578
Just finished the RSS tutorial on my image and was able to obtain very similar results! I'll definitely keep this for the future! Thanks for the excellent advice!

Quick follow up if I may. Can one perform the same RSS technique on a RAW image in PS and then re-import to lightroom? I prefer to use lightroom as my "source" for storing my RAW images and would prefer to not have to have JPG versions of my "favorites" if I can help it.

I created two actions. One with sharpening at 300 and the other at 200. 300 for what you are doing and portraits @ 200. Using 300 sometimes comes out great and sometimes is over sharpened but then you just feather back. Here is another method that works good. Post #417. I still prefer the RSS technique as I'm not sharpening backgrounds, etc which just creates noise. Also because it edge sharpens it gives metal surfaces like the car a certain look. Surfaces look smoother/cleaner because they are not being sharpened and the areas of detail which you want sharpened are. I really noticed it when working on aircraft.

https://photography-on-the.net …hread.php?t=466​333&page=9

Take a look at the Adobe TV video tutorials for sharpening, they're free and very informative. In fact, if you're unsure about the whole LR workflow it will help you no end.

tv.adobe.com/

LR sharpening is a blend of unsharp mask and "smart" sharpening (i.e. deconvolution sharpening). The blend proportions are controlled by the Detail slider - 0 is all USM and 100 is all deconvolution.

I'm going to play around with the LR suggestions in this thread from Digital Paradise to see if it at least comes close to PS

http://photo.net …hop-tutorials/sharpening/

digital paradise wrote in post #14325626
I created two actions. One with sharpening at 300 and the other at 200. 300 for what you are doing and portraits @ 200. Using 300 sometimes comes out great and sometimes is over sharpened but then you just feather back. Here is another method that works good. Post #417. I still prefer the RSS technique as I'm not sharpening backgrounds, etc which just creates noise. Also because it edge sharpens it gives metal surfaces like the car a certain look. Surfaces look smoother/cleaner because they are not being sharpened and the areas of detail which you want sharpened are. I really noticed it when working on aircraft.

https://photography-on-the.net …hread.php?t=466​333&page=9

By actions, you mean a macro essentially right? Where it records your clicks, settings etc... and makes it into an action or workflow that automatically processes this sharpening sequence?

FastGT94 wrote in post #14326090
I'm going to play around with the LR suggestions in this thread from Digital Paradise to see if it at least comes close to PS

http://photo.net …hop-tutorials/sharpening/

I found that using screen - high settings when you export are pretty good for images around 800 to 1024 on the long side. Pretty close to PS USM 100, 0.3, 0. I won't even bother comparing to RSS. Not sure about larger files for print.

Lightroom, starting with V3 incorporates sharpening based on the technology and methodology developed by Bruce Fraiser and his associates at Pixel Genius.

There are three steps in sharpening, according to them, input, creative and output.
Lightroom incorporates the input sharpening by providing presets in the develop module that can be applied depending on the edge frequency in the image.

Output sharpening is selected in the export module and is specific to paper type, or screen and has three options, low, standard or high.
The underlying algorithms apply sharpening based on the output size of the image as set in the export dialog.

Spend a few minutes experimenting and I think you will find that the output is as good or better than you can achieve in Photoshop.

If you want to learn more go to the Luminous Landscape website and register for the forums. Jeff Schewe, one of the Pixel Genius guys hangs around there and will answer questions. He has worked extensively with Adobe to incorporate sharpening into Lightroom.
He and Michael, LL owner, have some informative video tutorials on Lightroom available on the site as well.

(BTW I have nothing to do with LL or Adobe, just a satisfied user.)

I have been playing with this, well before this thread too, and find that PS sharpening is still an improvement over LR. Maybe im doing something wrong