I sharpen edges, not grain!!!

[tranquil222]

Hey, do you ever get frustrated with the THRESHOLD setting in the unsharp mask filter? I do. Its supposed to get rid of grain but what it really does is enhance the worst grain that more often than not has the same difference of brightness values as your edges [doh]. Heres your answer: an Edge Mask.
Here are the steps to get yourself a good edge mask:
1. Open your document.
2. Go to a channel that shows the best representation of the edges you want to enhance(and hopefully hide the ones you dont want). Copy this channel by pulling it over the page button on the bottom of the palette.
3. Paint black with a soft brush any noise or edges that you don't wish to sharpen(see attachment[i did this step after the next subsequent steps, it doesnt matter too much])
4. Go to Filter-->Find Edges
5. Hit ctrl+I.(Inverts the channel)
6. Go to Filter-->Other-->Maximum. Value should be about 2-4 depending on your resolution.
7. Go to filter-->noise-->median. Median is the opposite of Noise. Set this to the same value as your Maximum filter.
8. Do a Gaussian blur also with the same value.
9. Now load your channel as a selection, and sharpen away. The above techniques let you go crazy with the amount setting without enhancing noise/grain. Don't forget to get rid of those inevitable color artifacts by going to fade, and then chosing Luminosity from the list(keep it at 100%)right after sharpening. Invaluable technique for people like me who still use 35mm film. Hope you all like!!!

[kiwi]

Great tip



Also try USM with the History brush,its even better again using a tablet



Stu.

[Erik]

I use it since I first read about it in the PSBible.

Sometimes, none of the channels are ok because you always get some outlines ok in one, but not in another one. Then a real greyscale version would be even better.
This you can find by setting your image to LAB mode and grab the Luminosity channel. That is the only correct greyscale image of your full-coloured version.

You can also take a look at the other channels of course, also the CMYK ones.

[tranquil222]

Yeah thats where I got the technique(with a few modifications). Thanks for the tip on using the lab mode, thats a great idea. There are a lot of good ideas in that book...just thought i'd share them with some of the users in the forum!

[wbiss]

[stuned] Gonna have to try this too! B7 Very cool of you to share tranquil222!!!

Tx, too, Erik for the followup suggestion of converting to LAB mode. ;)

[Joy Foraker]

Tranq: Looks complicated but I think I'll try it. BTW I sent Acrobat after the this page and the background was so dark I couln't read the type. Any ideas on what can be done to capture white bg?)

Thanks

Joy ;)

[tranquil222]

You sent it to Acrobat?? Please reply with more details, as i don't understand what youre asking }P

[Rantin Al]

Joy If you are on a Mac using OSX, it is possible to Print to PDF straight from the Print menu. It is considerably quicker than Acrobat.
This page was PDF'd in a matter of seconds.(White background)

Don't know about this on PC, maybe some-one could jump in?

Al

[Joy Foraker]

Thanks Tranq I printed using selection and scale to fit. I'm on a PC. Looks interesting. Hows the cool weather in Portland? Is the storm making it Hot as here in Southern Calif?

[tranquil222]

Its pretty warm here, I hope it cools down, cause there are some raging forest fires burning up our wilderness :(| The technique above is not tooo complicated, the find edges filter really makes it alot easier than it would be otherwise.
stay cool!

;)