Too sharp?

[NicolaB]

I get seem to get heavy handed with PP whilst learning. Is this too sharp? If so, what should it look like?

Thanks in advance.......

[IMG].[/IMG]

[Cola]

I used to have a "lead hand" when it came to portrait PP when I was starting off. It does seem a tad bit over sharpened. The 2 things that really make for great details in a portrait is good catch lights in the eyes, and sharp eyes.

One piece of advice I can offer is to do your sharpening that makes the eyes look the best to you without overdoing it, then mask everything else off so you have the nice, sharp eyes without compromising on the rest of the photo. His eyes look great but the rest seems over sharpened and almost grainy. Nice quality photo on its own though.

[Eileen D]

I had the same reaction, Nicola. The eyes work for me but the skin seems oversharpened. Masking would definitely give you a better balance.

[milosh]

Agree, the skin appears over sharpened and grainy, especially in the lower part, ie. the beard. Nice photo though.

[NicolaB]

Thanks all. I am going to be 'training my eyes' for some time to come. I think this is better?

[IMG][/IMG]

[karen_s]

Much improved!

[vsa]

In large size images I don't think neither is over sharpened.

It's just what kind of look are you going for. I'm not sure which one I like more. 2nd brings more focus on the eyes but 1st has nicer grainy/noisy look.

And if you decide to print it keep in mind that for print you can sharpen a lot more than for screen. To the point of where you start to see very pronounced halos on the monitor.

[Cola]

Definitely like the 2nd one better. Nice job!

[Shutterbugdeb]

Originally Posted by vsa

In large size images I don't think neither is over sharpened.

It's just what kind of look are you going for. I'm not sure which one I like more. 2nd brings more focus on the eyes but 1st has nicer grainy/noisy look.

And if you decide to print it keep in mind that for print you can sharpen a lot more than for screen. To the point of where you start to see very pronounced halos on the monitor.

I seriously didn't know this. Great tip! Thank you.

I do like the processing on both. Depends on what effect you want.