Product Description

Just about every digital image requires sharpening since softness is inevitably introduced during the image digitizing process, and oftentimes with digital photography, images are sharpened badly. This second edition of the definitive book by the late Bruce Fraser teaches readers all they need to know about sharpening, including when to use it, why it's needed, how to use the camera's features, how to recognize an image that needs sharpening, how much to use, what's bad sharpening, and how to fix oversharpening.

Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom, Second Edition is written by Fraser's friend and renowned photographer Jeff Schewe. It adds essential coverage of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw, since many of the key sharpening functions have migrated from Photoshop to those tools since the first edition of the book was published.

The book shows readers how to: recognize the kind of sharpening that each image needs; become acquainted with the full arsenal of sharpening tools built into Photoshop, Lightroom, and Camera Raw; sharpen part of an image selectively; create a complete sharpening workflow that allows sharpening images optimally for different uses; balance the contradictory demands of sharpening and noise reduction; and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18066 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 360 pages

From the Back Cover
The ultimate guide on the nuts and bolts of sharpening, creative-sharpening techniques, and workflow strategies!

Just about every digital image requires sharpening, and images are too often sharpened badly. This second edition of the definitive book by the late Bruce Fraser teaches you all you need to know about sharpening in order to do the job right, including how to recognize an image that needs sharpening, how much to use, and at which processing stage to apply the sharpening. Real World Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw, and Lightroom, Second Edition, written by Bruce Fraser’s friend and renowned photographer Jeff Schewe, adds essential coverage of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw, since many of the key sharpening functions have migrated from Photoshop to those tools since the first edition of this book was published.

You’ll learn how to:

• Recognize the kind of sharpening an image needs
• Balance the contradictory demands of sharpening and noise reduction
• Master the full arsenal of sharpening tools across key applications
• Sharpen part of an image selectively
• Create a complete sharpening workflow

About the Author
BRUCE FRASER was an internationally recognized authority on digital imaging and color image reproduction. He authored or coauthored several bestsellers, including Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop, Real World Adobe Photoshop, and Real World Color Management. Bruce was also a principal and founder of Pixel Genius, LLC, a collaboration of industry experts dedicated to creating leading-edge products and services for the photographic and digital imaging industries. JEFF SCHEWE is a pioneer in the field of digital imaging and an alpha tester and feature consultant for Adobe. An award-winning advertising photographer for over 25 years, Jeff teaches and consults with leading companies and is a principal and founder of Pixel Genius, LLC.

Customer Reviews

Everything you need to know about sharpening a photo
Save for certain "special effects", sharpness, clarity and smooth tonal gradations are amongst the critical hallmarks of excellent photographs, and go to the heart of what distinguishes photography as an art form. If you never thought that anyone could fill over three hundred pages with technically essential information and instruction about sharpening photographs, think again because here it is, and it's really important for anyone who strives for excellence in their digital imaging work.

Much more than a cookbook on how to sharpen a photo (though it does that too), this book, now in its second and expanded edition, describes in a way that's easy to understand the very fundamentals of digital imaging technology and image structure which give rise to the need for a multi-stage and multi-purposed sharpening workflow; from there the authors go on to present in considerable detail the optimal techniques for implementing it, so that those of us who read from cover to cover will understand the basis of the techniques they recommend. Years of experience and experimentation are bundled into these techniques, so one can have every confidence that they work well - as I do from having used a fair number of them myself. The book should cater to a broad audience because it covers sharpening, smoothing and noise reduction using a number of applications including Lightroom, Camera Raw, Photoshop and several 3rd party applications. Because some of these techniques have elements of repetitive operation image after image, certain parts of the sharpening process can be automated to improve our workflow efficiency. Photoshop has a functionality called "Actions" which permit one to do this. Hence I really appreciated the authors' inclusion of step-by-step instructions for creating several such Actions, along with Chapter 6 which contains one of the most approcahable introductions to the creation, editing and use of Actions that I've seen in the Photoshop literature.

I own a substantial collection of books, videos and other reference materials on digital imaging, and I must rate this particular volume as one of the most valuable in my library. It is the most technically comprehensive and innovative resource I've ever seen covering sharpening, smoothing and noise reduction, all of which are vital to achieving excellence in the production of fine photographs. It is also very readable and well illustrated.

Oh - and more thing: "Hamish" plays a central role in this book, so if you'd like to find out all you want to know about "Hamish", you'll just have to get it :-)

Five Stars Plus

Must Buy!
I can't think of another purchase that will make a bigger improvement to your inkjet prints than this book, both the content and presentation are simply outstanding.

Essential reading for anyone who cares about controlling the quality of their images
Explains clearly why and how to prepare images for print and publication. Exploring the underlying science of how sharpening works, this book is essential reading for anyone who is looking to perfect the quality of their images. From the advanced amateur photographer, to the experienced repro professional, this book helps to explain the concepts and debunk myths surrounding image sharpening.

Like the excellent Real World Color Management, this is an in depth book, and has a place on the desk of anyone who seeks to produce images that sing.