To sharpen or not to sharpen?

[JodyGall]

That is the question! How much do you sharpen your pics. I know its a personal preference, but was just wondering. In my recent browings of other photographers sites/blogs, I've noticed there seems to be ALOT of sharpening going on. The pictures are almost too....what's the word..... dotty. LOL! I don't know. So I was just wondering what people thought of this, and how much you sharpen your own pictures? Thanks!!

[dakwegmo]

If you're shooting RAW it's essential. I shoot RAW and do input sharpening, and then do output sharpening as the last step before I save for whatever the final medium is to be. I don't sharpen as aggresively for web/screen viewing as I do for prints.

If you shoot JPG your camera will apply some sharpening, so it may not be as necessary.

[OsmosisStudios]

I dont actually sharpen very much, if at all. I'll sometimes use a high-pass filter on the image, but I never use the RAW sharpening.

[KathrynWilson]

I don't sharpen at all until the final stage. Then I have sharpening settings for web and for print. Sharpening for web is absolutely essential if you are using the web as a means to display your work for clients, in my opinion. A lot of the amazing images you see online would just not be the same if not for good sharpening.

[JodyGall]

Thanks for the responses everyone! So, this may be a stupid question....but what method do you use to sharpen. The smart sharpen? That's what I would guess, but don't know if I'm right?

[KathrynWilson]

Smart Sharpen from PS CS3 onward is quite good from what I hear. I use Unsharp Mask.

[Saralonde]

I use unsharp mask or occasionally high pass. I'm generally surprised how seldom I use it when I wait until the end.

[lputman]

I've started to adapt the unsharp mask method.

[JodyGall]

Thanks guys. I guess I need to look up what unsharp mask and high filter are. Cause I hate to admit, I have no idea. LOL!

[peeperita]

i sharpen, but on a separate layer...that way, i can reduce it's effect as my eye tells me..i don't want it to look "sharpened"...

peeper