Question on sharpness . . .

[Brad]

Shot with Nikon D2x 70-300 mm at f5.6 at 1/200

[StuHaluski]

The image you shot at 1/60 may be soft due lens shake even tho you shot with a flash, there is enough ambient light to to allow movement.

But I think the real culprit may be what JT mentioned.

Sharpening needs to be done to image as you bring it down in size. Photoshop resamples an image bicubically, so it looks at the pixel next to it. So resizing an image by half its size at a time (an 1/4 should work too) then you are allowing PS to do what it does best with bicubic processing.

So I start out with a 300dpi image and my first reduction is to go to 150 dpi then to 72 dpi and sharpening once after 150 dpi. Occassionally I resharpen at 72 but then back off 50% in fade.

Same thing happens in reverse when you extrapolate an image up you should go by 2x steps to allow the PS algorithm to work best.

Hope this helps

Stu

[TonyR]

Stan,

Looking at your images, I think that you are simply missing one simple step: after you have reduced size for the web, you need to apply a little USM to the reduced image. I did this to the shots you posted and they had much more pop (especially Kaylia).

The process I normally use is:

1. Shoot RAW, with color space set to Adobe RGB.
2. Use RAW converter to adjust white balance, exposure, contrast, and maybe a little sharpening. Convert to TIFF or PSD.
3. Edit your photo in PS. Use this file for prints.
4. Convert to SRGB.
5. Reduce size for the web. Consider adjusting saturation and contrast for the web.
6. Apply USM to the reduced image (not too much 50-70%).
7. Save as JPEG.

Note: Never upload any file to your GG portfolio that is larger than 600 pixels on the longest side, or it will be compressed again (you will not like it!).

I never reuse developer, fixer or stop-bath …… oops…..wrong decade!!

Remember to have fun…..always!

Tony

[kevgre]

I have struggled with sharpening, even though I shoot with all Canon L lenses (most of the time).. My 1D Mark II and 20D shoot soft.. My D100 shoots soft.. By soft I mean that compared to a 35mm slide, it always looks softer on the net. (after resize etc).

I went to Fred Miranda (http://www.fredmiranda.com) and found a Intellisharpen filter (for about 29 or so dollars).. I really like what it does..

I ran it on your pics.. I can see that it made a difference..

[n5wd]

Kevin,

Don't know if you read the complete thread... if not, go back and read my reply to the original.

The D100 is well known to "look soft" if you use the in-camera sharpening routines. The cure is to turn sharpening off in-camera and sharpen externally, preferably in RAW, using either Nikon's Capture or one of the third-party RAW softwares.

The results with Intellisharpen look good.. wish it worked with NEF RAW images.

[2112]

I usually try to sharpen my pics alot, especially since I use my kit lens still [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] However, glamour photos are supposed to be on the soft side. At least they were back in the day. I picked up an awesome Hurrell book and have been looking at alot of older glamour photography and all of it has a soft type of glow to it that defined the term "glamour photography", so why are we trying to do the exact opposite by sharpening so much?

[n5wd]

Michael,

You can't assume that everyone here on GG is shooting glamour, or, if they are, that they're aiming for the same "look" as you are.

But, if you had seen my original reply to this thread, you'd have seen me say:

[ QUOTE ]
Most of the time, I tend to soften the image a bit, especially when I'm photographing a woman with less than perfect skin (and I've yet to find one of those out there)... not too many ladies want all the pores and blemishes jumping out at them.

[/ QUOTE ]

But, it's interesting to note that I tend to get my best "glow" from images that are sharp to begin with... like this one of Amy...



Of course, not everyone shares my taste in soft, warm, fuzzy images. But that's what makes this place great. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[StanTom]

Thanks for the reply

I don't have any of the soft ones in my portfolio , so the ones you see should be fairly sharp.
The real problem I have is the amount of pics I toss because they aren't anywhere near " sharp "

I have thrown out some nice photos with great lighting and great poses just becuse when I start to zoom in on the original the image is blurry looking(grainy)
No amount of unsharpmask or noise despeckle would help that I know how to use

[StanTom]

I usually work on the image and hit the image size ( 600 x 400) for GG
then save as xx.jpg then upload to my gg portfolio

I REALLY meant to address the ORIGINAL image , not the shrunken one

I toss many straight out or the camera

Let's just say that in you 3 image jpg that you posted , if you consider ANY of those "soft" then the ones I toss out before attempting to fix are comparable to your BACKGROUND

[StanTom]

My communication skills suck!

I was trying to ask about the originals not the posted size ones

When I took you Akron shoot , I was impressed with the number of images I kept , studio light or outdoor reflector , did not matter
I had a TON of KEEPERS ! ( great workshop and models )

That was a lot of viewed images on this site since then and anything "I" have shot lately seems lousy

Not that I should be better than before , but then I should not be any worse than before ( I might be pickier now )

I KNOW it can't be my monitor (resilution/color) because everyones pics would look the same .

I am also thinking I might not be good with any PS skills but could I start with a soft/blurry image and end up like any of yours using any GLOW - SHARP - EDGE DETAIL type effect ... I don't think think so

( I have done my own test on my nikon lens and proved to myself that it is not focusing where it should [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img])
I will know more after next weekend , I have a shoot planned with a S3 and Tamron lens and model ( I HOPE )

How does this sound ..(haven't figured it all out yet )
100speed , auto white balance, fine, 6M , F2 ( off camera auto fill flash )

no matter what I set , it should not make it any more or less blurry unless I set the speed to 1600 right ?