Photoshop's Smart Sharpen

Smart Sharpen in Photoshop CS2 attempts to sharpen a photograph by removing specific types of blurring (Gaussian, lens, or motion). This photograph of a flower has a noticeable lens blur that could have resulted from camera shake.

Tutorial Author: Matt Kloskowski

Matt is an instructor for DesignMentor Training where he instructs an online class in advanced Adobe Photoshop. Author of Extreme Photoshop and Illustrator Most Wanted, Matt is certified as an Adobe Certified Expert  and as a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD). Matt writes weekly columns for the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) and Mac Design magazine's Web site and features for Create Magazine's Studio column. Matt's tutorials have been used in over 15 schools throughout the United States and translated into seven languages.

At a Glance

Let's take a look at the Smart Sharpen dialog box settings in detail.

• Amount: You can enter values from 1% to 500% to define the degree of sharpening—the higher the value, the greater the effect.

• Radius: This setting defines the thickness (from 0.1 to 64 pixels) of an edge. Lower values produce crisp, sharp edges, whereas higher values create thicker edges and generate greater overall contrast throughout an image.

• Remove: Once you've determined the type of blur that occurred, Smart Sharpen can help neutralize the effect by picking the corresponding item from the Remove drop-down list.

• Angle: The Angle setting is accessible when Remove is set to Motion Blur. The more you're able to match the angle at which the motion blur occurred, the better the results.

• Basic and Advanced: At the top of the dialog box is a choice between Basic mode and Advanced mode. Choosing Advanced mode enables two new tabs: Shadow and Highlight. These tabs contain settings that allow more control over tonal values when sharpening an image.

Try It Out

Using the Smart Sharpen filter is easy. Open an image that needs sharpening, or you can use "Flower.jpg"

1. Choose Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen to display the dialog box with a preview of the image.

2. Adjust the settings as needed. If you click the Preview checkbox, you'll also be able to see the actual image change as you adjust. For most images, it's best to adjust the Amount first. In this example, I set Amount to 55. When you've reached an ideal Amount, try adjusting the Radius, too. Here, 1 pixel worked best.

3. Choose the type of blur from the Remove drop-down menu. If you're using my flower image, set Remove to Lens Blur since it has a noticeable lens shake to it. Also, check More Accurate to have the filter work even better. It may take a few more seconds for the filter to apply, but it's worth the wait.

4. It seems the sharpening in this image is a little too strong in the shadow areas, which can produce a halo effect. To fix this, click the Advanced button, and change the Face Amount to 50% under the Shadow tab. This will fade the sharpening in the shadows by half. When you're done, click OK to close the dialog box.

Take a look at these before and after images side by side. As you can see, Smart Sharpen really makes a difference.

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