Sharpening Using High Pass Filter

CATEGORIES: Digital Photography, Photoshop, Tutorials | Mark Fleming | March 14, 2008

Begin by opening an image you feel needs sharpening. Remember, this method will not fix an image that is out of focus. Rather, it will add an extra degree of crispness, really bringing out details and making your image pop.

Once I have my edited file ready, I usually save sharpening for very last. You will want to flatten any layers you may have. Create a copy of the background layer by dragging it to the ‘create new layer’ icon at the bottom of your layers palette.

With the newly created ‘Background Copy’ layer selected, go to Filter > Other > High pass.

Once you click on the High Pass filter you will get a very strange looking image. What you will see is an almost entirely grey version of your shot, however, if you play with the radius setting in the High Pass dialog, you will notice the edges of your image are highlighted. For sharpening purposes you will want to set your radius anywhere from 0.5 to 1.

You will want to set your radius to a point where your edges are just barely visible, then click OK.

Next, with your background copy layer selected, press Shift-Command-U (PC: Shift-Ctrl-U). This key combination de-saturates the layer, removing the unusual colors from your edges.

The final step is to select the overlay-blending mode for your high pass layer. This will remove the grey appearance and perfectly map your background layer.

Of course, the final step is to flatten your image and go directly to print or to web. One thing I do like to do though is to zoom in to a 100% and click the high pass layer visibility on and off.

BEFORE (above)

AFTER (below)

This will clearly show you what the sharpening has done for you. Sometimes the effect is more desirable than others. Play around and soon you will get the feel for which images need sharpening and exactly how much.

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THANKS!!!

Comment by Ric Hornor | March 16, 2008 @ 2:13 am

was following up to the point of press shift+apple+D, APPLE ???

Comment by Kenny McCarthy | March 16, 2008 @ 3:18 am

The Apple key = the control key on a PC.

Comment by Mark | March 16, 2008 @ 10:20 am

The instruction is for working on a Mac keyboard – the command key is equivalent to the Ctrl key on a PC keyboard, so I am assuming that the instruction would be shift+ctrl+D

Comment by Lin Hawkyard | March 16, 2008 @ 5:53 pm

It works great. Thanks.

Comment by Alex Preiss | March 16, 2008 @ 8:00 pm

On my PC its Shift+Ctrl+U

Comment by Katalin | March 17, 2008 @ 9:10 am

Hmmm…. I believe the correct key combo to desaturate in CS3 is ’shift+cmmd+U’

Comment by Brumos | March 17, 2008 @ 10:57 am

Your right Brumos it is U not D. but to be sure…it can be done manually as follows:

From the menu:
Image>Adjustments?Desaturate

Comment by d Klecan | March 18, 2008 @ 3:49 pm

Nice Tutorial

Awaken Yoshikawa
Second Life

Comment by Awaken Yoshikawa | March 19, 2008 @ 10:39 am

i like to apply duplicate layers of the high pass effect for more sharpening and enhancements. sometimes, one high pass isnt enough. experiment and see what works best for you.

Comment by James | March 21, 2008 @ 3:23 am

The difference in the two images is almost impossible to see with that resolution… Not that smart…

Comment by Me | March 24, 2008 @ 4:33 pm

Thank Dude,
Really effective for quick shapenning of images….

Comment by Navneet Shetty | June 25, 2008 @ 4:02 am

This is Brillian many thanks for the tip

Comment by Paul Moss | June 25, 2008 @ 2:51 pm

Great info thanks…Nice results!

Comment by Nancy | June 25, 2008 @ 5:12 pm

So does this help eliminate halation?

Comment by ching | July 1, 2008 @ 2:34 pm

Absolutely High Pass

Comment by Naveen Goud | July 24, 2008 @ 12:48 am

[...] TWIP. I did a little searching to find out more and found two nice tutorials on the method at Layers Magazine and PhotoshopSupport.com. The basics [...]

Pingback by Sharpening with High Pass Filter - Sometimes Cloudy in Virginia | November 17, 2008 @ 11:42 am

Nice tutorial

Comment by Espilotro | December 20, 2008 @ 3:52 pm

[...] Adobe Photoshop Tutorial | Digital Photography | Sharpen Photo | High Pass Filter | Layers Magazine – [...]

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