There is an Elements method that I use for targetted sharpening, particularly with portraits and people. It protects the original pixels with layers and allows you to target edges and eyes, which draws in the attention of the viewer to the appropriate spot on the photo. It goes like this:
In Full Edit:
1. Duplicate background layer
2. Apply High Pass at 20 Pixels
3. Apply Threshold Filter. Push the slider to the left until only the parts/edges/eyes remain visible. This is what will be sharpened.
4. Apply a 4 pixel Gaussian blur.
5. Select Magic Eraser tool (the one with the yellow star thing on it) and click on a part of the photo that shows only white and no detail. The look will instantly change to appear as opaque with washed out color. (I admit I have no idea what this step actually does, but it is in the instructions, so I do it.)
6. Next, duplicate your background layer and move it above the adjustment layer you've created.
7. Go to Layers >> Group with Previous
8. Go to Enhance >> Unsharp Mask and sharpen away. Since your only sharpening a few selected areas, the effect can be subtle, but if you toggle it on and off you can clearly see the effectiveness of sharpening only the eyes and a few other edges and leaving the rest unsharpened.
That's it.
Now, a question: Can anyone tell me the difference between the Unsharp Mask tool and the Adjust Sharpness tool? My understanding is that Adjust sharpness was added to Elements 5 and was considered an improvement, but most people still seem to prefer Unsharp Mask. So far I can't really tell the difference between either.
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