How To Sharpen Your Digital Images

Let’s face it, we all come across a great shot which was taken at a unique moment in time but for some reason, it just isn’t sharp enough. “What did I do wrong?” we often say to ourselves. Sharp images aren’t that elusive! In fact, they are dead easy if you know how. This particular article gives you many insights to sharpness that aren’t that obvious, in fact, it’s a strategic approach to the issue in many ways. I think you’ll enjoy this one…


How To Sharpen Your Digital Photography Images

Let’s start this digital photography lesson by looking at the digital camera. All digital cameras photograph images which have a normal pattern of pixels that make up this image. In some digital photography images a moiré effect is created. To avoid this, modern slr digital cameras come with an in built filter that givens a softer effect to the image.

When you are faced with having to sharpen a noisy digital photography image you’ll find that some photos are easier to sharpen than others. This might be caused from having a too high ISO. The usual way of adding sharpness to a digital image has it problems too; it can actually increase the noise in your image quite a bit. To clarify this point, what is actually happening is the noise isn’t being increased as such, it’s being enhanced.

There is a way to sharpen noisy digital photo images without going into the noise itself.

To begin with its important to understand colour modes in Photoshop. The easiest way we remember colour modes is when we think of RGB mode. This is a “channel” of colours which are Red, Green and Blue. As I was taught by my good friend Lyndie Jeffry, there are more colour modes where your digital photo can be altered, adjusted and sharpened.

When I was first learning about digital photography Lyndie taught me that you can involve the CMYK mode which uses four colour channels. This stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. (Yes I know, “Black doesn’t start with a “K”.)

Lyndie explained to me that the best one to use for this purpose is the L-A-B mode. LAB mode really just related to the 3 channels it uses. In a nutshell Lab stands for the individual channels. The “L” really means “luminance”, “A” the green-red aspect “B” the blue-yellow aspect. When working in LAB mode you can modify the brightness of your digital photo and keep the saturating and colours the same. The way this is possible is because practically no image information is depleted or lost when you convert to Lab mode. It also stays good when you convert back again, which is extremely handy. (Especially with highly valuable photos such as other peoples wedding photos.) Not everyone uses this, but it’s a neat trick with some digital images.

In some digital photography images you can simply choose to sharpen the L channel in LAB mode. By doing this much of the noise in the image is in the other channels that are usually not affected by this sharpening effect.

Now this may not work for every single noisy digital photography image you have. But in some situations it works very well. I suggest you try it to see the effect you give. I’ve used it a few times and it’s saved my ‘you-know-what’. So if you’re in a tight spot with a noisy image, give this a go, you might be surprised with the results!

By Amy Renfrey

Published here by Roy Barker. You should look closely at this device, very handy indeed – instantly improved photo images (also comes with a trial) **It will be very handy when time is not on your side!“

Advanced Exposure

Your camera offers a range of advanced tools to assist and complement the built-in exposure meter

In most situations your camera will produce perfect exposures but there are times where it may need a little help to get the best results. Fortunately most cameras offer a range of tools to help you judge and fine-tune the exposure that your camera has set. Here are a few of them.

Histogram

A histogram is a graph showing the spread of tones in an image, with the peaks to the left showing the darkest areas and the peaks on the right showing the brightest areas.

In an average picture, with an equal number of dark and light areas, these peaks should be evenly distributed across the image. If your image is underexposed the peaks will be bunched to the left end, and perhaps fall off the end of the graph, while with overexposure they will be over to the right.

Simply adjust your exposure to get the peaks nearer the centre. However, with some subjects the peaks need to be biased to one side. With a snow scene, for example, they should be over to the right. If they're in the centre it means your snow is mid-grey in tone. 

Many cameras offer a live histogram so you can view it before shooting, rather than having to go into review mode and see it afterwards.

Bracketing

Another sure way to guarantee perfect exposures is to shoot every picture at a range of exposure settings.

You can do this manually, of course, but most cameras have an auto-bracket feature that can do this for you. When you press the shutter it will take one at the exposure it thinks is correct, plus one or more shots either side of that, in third, half or whole stop increments (determined by you). It all happens in a fraction of a second.

Image: Bracketing is useful for tricky metering situations when you aren't sure which exposure will produce the best result

Dynamic Range Adjustment

A perfect exposure is generally regarded as one that records detail in both the darkest and lightest parts of the scene (excluding high- and low-key images).

Sometimes, though, the subject contrast is beyond the sensor's ability to record detail in both the deep shadows and bright highlights.

Many cameras now include a Dynamic Range feature that boosts detail in the shadows and/or holds back the highlights, much like Photoshop's Shadow/Highlight feature.

Use caution, though. Apply too much and the image will look unreal, and noise will be increased in the shadows.

Image: The Dynamic Range feature boosts shadow and/or highlight detail

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

High Dynamic Range photography, or HDR, takes the Dynamic Range adjust feature a stage further.

It involves taking a range of shots at different exposure settings (you can use the auto-bracket for this), then using either Photoshop or dedicated HDR software to combine these shots into one image that incorporates a wider range of detail than you can get from a single shot.

However, the effect can look cartoonish and unreal if applied too heavily. Some cameras now offer an HDR option in the camera.

Image: HDR is a technique that involves taking several shots at different exposures and blending them together on the PC

By Nigel Atherton.

      

Topaz Labs Releases ReMask 3 Upgrade

ReMask 3 introduces improved masking technology that further simplifies and expedites the creation of complex masks and cutouts.

Dallas, TX, December 10, 2010 - Topaz Labs announces the release of Topaz ReMask 3, a major upgrade to their Photoshop masking and extraction plug-in. ReMask 3 features a revamped masking engine, new color decontamination technology, color selection brushes and a new refining toolset. An easy-to-use masking solution, Topaz ReMask offers professional results while cutting down on the normally tedious masking and extraction process. The update is available now as a free download to current owners of ReMask.

"Through extensive research, we were able to build on top of the advanced algorithm developed in ReMask 2, and make it a more comprehensive solution that solves color bleeding at the edge or transparent part of the extracted object," said Dr. Joseph Hsieh, developer for Topaz Labs. 

"Masking technology is an ongoing challenge. I hope ReMask 3 can provide photographers with a more effective tool for dealing with intricate elements such as hair and fur, complex elements with lots of holes like trees, and transparent objects such as wedding veils."

Topaz ReMask 3 is designed to tackle some of the most common photography and design tasks such as background replacement and isolating specific image elements, making composition design and selective adjustments much easier. 

"Masks and selections are an important part of selective editing, so it's important for users to have a comprehensive tool that helps address a variety of creative and corrective enhancements. ReMask 3 features the simplest workflow of any masking plug-in; making a seemingly painful task incredibly easy by allowing users to erase unwanted areas and separate subjects in just a few clicks," said Ashley Robinson, product manager for Topaz Labs

In addition to improved technology, ReMask 3 also features an updated user interface with a new toolset for refining and a new split-screen viewing options, auto layer creation and a revamped workflow. Photographers and graphic designers looking for a quicker and more accurate way to extract objects from their digital images are invited to try out the new Topaz ReMask 3 plug-in for free using the 30-day free trial. Just visit: http://www.topazlabs.com.

Topaz ReMask is a plug-in that works with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and PaintShop Pro. It is compatible with Windows and Intel-based Macs. Topaz ReMask retails for $69.99, but is being offered at a special promotional price of $49.99 until January 1, 2011. ReMask 3 is also a part of the Topaz Photoshop Bundle, which offers photographers a complete image enhancement toolbox for all of their post processing needs. The bundle, including ReMask retails at $199.99. For more information about Topaz ReMask, visit the homepage at http://www.topazlabs.com.

 

Topaz Software Overview

Topaz Labs offers software solutions for image and video enhancement. Each program offers photographers and designers quick and easy-to-use tools to help simplify and boost the post processing experience.

Incorporating Topaz speeds up the workflow, eliminates tedious and repetitive tasks, simplifies advanced techniques, enhances precision and quality.

Topaz Photoshop Plug-ins

The Topaz Photoshop plug-in bundle features a set of advanced and powerful tools - each offering a solution to some of the most common (and often challenging) post processing tasks. The intuitive, easy-to-use tools featured in each program make achieving advanced photo-manipulation techniques effortless.

Check the Topaz Gallery to see excellent user images!

The bundle lineup offers tools and features for creating pseudo HDR effects, adjusting color, exposure and detail, reducing noise and JPEG artifacts, masking and extraction, increasing smoothing and sharpening, creating artistic masterpieces and enhancing natural detail and tone.

The Topaz Photoshop plug-ins are not limited to just Photoshop. You can also use Topaz in Photoshop Elements, Lightroom, Aperture, iPhoto, PaintShop Pro and Irfanview.

Video Review of "Photoshop Fast Track for Digital Photographers

Seller: www.edityourdigitalphotos.com



Summary:

"Photoshop Fast Track for Digital Photographers" is a collection of 22 videos, which demonstrate how to edit digital photos using Photoshop. Each video is a step-by-step tutorial of the most common image editing tasks in Photoshop.

Product Details:

The main product is a set of 34 instructional videos. These include 12 video tutorials for Photoshop, from Photoshop 7 through to the later versions bundled with Creative Suite products (CS2 and CS3). Most of the videos are less than 5 minutes long. The longest video is 12 minutes and 48 seconds.

The topics for Photoshop 7 through CS2 are:

- Change Eye Color
- Change Hair Color
- Fix Underexposed Photos
- More Punch Photo
- Instant Tan
- Panoramic
- Double Chin
- Remove Red Eye
- Remove Spots and Blemishes
- Remove Unwanted Objects
- Remove Wrinkles
- Whiten Teeth

The topics for CS3 are:

- Batch Rename
- Batch Resize
- Change Hair Color
- Double Chin
- Eye Color
- Instant Tan
- Look Funny
- Look Slimmer
- More Punch Photo
- Photomontage
- Red Eye Removal
- Remove Spots and Blemishes
- Remove Unwanted Objects
- Remove Wrinkles
- Replace Backgrounds
- Selective Color
- Smooth Skin
- Soft Romantic
- Straighten Image
- Fix Underexposed Photos
- Whiten Teeth

"Photoshop Fast Track for Digital Photographers" also includes the following bonuses:

- Video tutorial images: These are the exact same images edited in the videos. The customer can work on the same images and practice the skills each video demonstrates.

- Flickr tutorials: A step-by-step guide on how digital photographers can make the most of this free site to share (and show off) your photos. There are 14 videos on Flickr alone.

Format: Online video in both Flash and Shockwave formats, which can be viewed online and downloaded into the user’s hard drive The tutorial images are digital image files (JPG).

The Flickr tutorial is in online video format as well.

Thoughts on the Product:

Whether you edit digital photos for fun or for work, these video tutorials will make the tasks much easier.

Photoshop is a powerful graphic editor, but the learning curve can be pretty steep. You could spend hours learning everything yourself, or pay for a class. Or, you could watch these videos and learn the most common digital photo editing tasks at your own pace.

Video demonstration is an excellent way of learning a complicated software such as Photoshop. It’s like looking over the shoulder of an instructor - but one that you can pause, rewind or fast forward as needed.

The best way to use these videos is to have Photoshop open in another window, pause the video to complete each of the steps demonstrated, and then compare your final result with that of the video. Because the tutorial images are included, this is easy for users to do. You get instant feedback and practice.

The tutorials are for different versions of Photoshop, from Photoshop 7 to CS3.

Where to Learn More: www.edityourdigitalphotos.com