too sharp??

[rdtindsm]

Am learning to work with my images in raw mode, and have tutorials which describe how to use the sharpening in acr. I understand the process. I've also been getting by using the unsharp filter. I like the acr tool; I don't know if that's just my naivete. But I don't have always have the judgement or fully understand some of the concepts.

I don't really know how much sharpening is too much, and suspect that I tend to use too much sharpening. The two displayed photos will show a 100% crop of the photo in question w / wo sharpening. The differences can be clearly seen, some subtly, some less so. Looking at the edge of the fish mouth in the center, is what I am seeing a halo? Is it too much? The advice that I hear is to avoid creating a halo. The picture actually looks pretty good on screen.

I also realize that the level of sharpening depends on the output. I believe prints get more than images for a monitor. Since I will be working both in print and slides for camera club monthly compititions, I am looking for comments on adjusting this level of sharpening
for either medium.

 

[Steve]

The photo is a bit out of focus and sharpening it like you did helps cover that up a little but the sharpened image is a little to much, if for nothing else, the noise the sharpening introduced.
Look at the upper lip on the center and lower fish.
It's in a fewer other places too, but most noticeable on the lips.

You're right about sharpening more for print than the web.

 

[tricky500]

Way too much sharpening. It looks blurry possibly because your shutter speed wasn't quick enough.

 

[rdtindsm]

Thanks for the input. The first image was direct from the scanner without sharpening, and my understanding is that a digital image requires a certain amount of sharpening. I let the scanner do the work and it improved the image.

The irregular polygonal highlits still seemed a little soft, the bubbles on the surface of the water were better.

I am not sure how sharp I would expect this to be. There aren't any hard lines on the fish which is also underwater. I've generally found this type of subject to be a little soft at best. Don't mean to disagree, just an observation

 

[tricky500]

Why are you printing a picture, then scanning it back in and modifying it? I thought you said you were working in RAW?
What was your shutter speed?
I would focus more on taking a good picture then worrying about the amount of sharpening applied to an image after the fact. If you have a good camera, good subject and a good understanding of basic photo shooting techniques that's what makes a good photo.

 

[rdtindsm]

Never said it was a print - it was scanned on my ls-4000 scanner from a slide. Only a step in converting to a print, or even a digital slide.

and the question was only about the sharpening. I was looking for an image that showed the colors of koi carp in a feeding frenzy. Just grabbed one off the pile. I don't need a lecture on learning the craft. That's why I'm here.

 

[Steve]

I personally don't think the sharpened image was over the top, it may be the right amount for printing.
The noise I pointed out though means you went to far, for that image.
You have the same noise in the water too.

Some of the flatness of the original probably comes from the fact it's a scan and not an out of the camera image.

 

[tricky500]

Well if by "learning the craft" you were referring to photography and prints then you might want to go to a photography forum in order to deal with people who do that stuff for a living. If i use any sharpening in an image I usually use Unsharp mask @ 150 Radius and anywhere from .5 to 2 pixels.

 

[Dezigns Unlimited]

You may be able to reduce some of that noise while maintaining some of the sharpness. What version of Ps are you using??