Speaking of sharpening 3 - this post includes a Photoshop action file

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After hearing from Timo about the technque described in the previous article on sharpening, I wanted a way to combine it with the advantages of the first method , and confine sharpening to a layer). 

Here's one solution.

• duplicate the original layer


• run Filters>Other>High Pass with a radius of .3


• run levels with the input values set to 90 and 165


• set the mode of your new layer to Overlay

That's it - you now have a sharpening method that combines the advantages of both methods. 

While we're here, there are some additional advantages to sharpening in a layer that I did not mention in the Sharpen 1 article. 

• perform color modifications, etc, on your original image and retain the sharpening


• duplicate the sharpen layer to get even more sharpness


• alter the transparency or your sharpen layer to reduce the sharpness, or fine tune the sharpness of an added layer


• fine tune the radius and levels settings to get your own preferred result

As always, this is a no-flame zone.  If you have questions, comments, or your own techniques to share, your contribution to the discussion is most welcome.

This post includes a Photoshop action file.  To use it, save the attachment, click on the menu button in the Actions palette, select the Load Actions command, and load the .atn file from the location you saved it to.

Mike