Using a sharpening workflow in Photoshop CS2
We’ll be the first to admit that taking a workflow approach to sharpening is a fairly radical idea, but the more we use it, the more we find that makes sense. We’ve done a great deal of testing—Bruce reckons he sharpened about 5,000 images to build and fine-tune PhotoKit sharpener—but plenty of work remains to be done.
The results of two- or three-pass sharpening often justify the extra pains, especially with images we plan to reuse for several different types of output. However, if you’re in a hurry, and you’re preparing an image for one reproduction (particularly with a low screen frequency that can only show a limited amount of detail anyway), one-pass sharpening may make just as much sense.
We don’t claim to have solved every conceivable sharpening problem. The techniques that follow are ones that we use every day in our sharpening workflow, and as we describe them, we’ll tell you how we use them. But feel free to pick and choose, and to adapt them to your own work.
Requirements
To complete this article, you will need the following software:
Adobe Photoshop CS2
Prerequisite knowledge:
Basic knowledge of Adobe® Photoshop CS2
About the authors
Bruce Fraser was an internationally recognized authority on digital imaging and color image reproduction. In addition to speaking and consulting on these topics, he was co-author of the best-selling Real World Adobe Photoshop, Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS2, and Real World Color Management, the definitive guide to color management systems. A contributing editor for photoshopnews.com and creativepro.com, Bruce was also a principal and founder of Pixel Genius LLC, a collaboration of industry experts dedicated to creating leading-edge products and services for the photographic and digital imaging industries.
David Blatner is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books, including Real World InDesign, Real World Scanning and Halftones, InDesign CS/CS2 Breakthroughs, Real World Photoshop, and Moving to InDesign. He is also a contributing editor for creativepro.com and the editorial director of InDesign Magazine. His books have sold more than a half-million copies worldwide and have been translated into 15 languages.
Excerpted from “Real World Adobe Photoshop” by Bruce Fraser and David Blatner © 2005 Peachpit Press. Published by Peachpit Press. To buy this book, visit www.peachpit.com.
