Absolute Beginner's Guide to Digital Photography

In the second image (see Figure 13.3), an unsharp mask was applied with these

settings:

■ Amount: 20 percent

■ Radius: 2 pixels

■ Threshold: 6 levels

194 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TODIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

FIGURE 13.3

Image with

Unsharp Mask

applied.

These settings bring out more detail and look presentable. In the third image (see

Figure 13.4), the following unsharp mask was applied:

■ Amount: 400 percent

■ Radius: 4 pixels

■ Threshold: 6 levels

This excessive sharpness brings out all the water droplets and makes the image look

spastic. Some professionals prefer the maximum amount of sharpness, however, so

this excessive application of the Unsharp Mask filter cannot be discouraged com-

pletely.

An Exercise with Unsharp Mask

Before you sharpen an image, determine how it will be used. Will you make a print,

or put the image on the Internet? If you print it, you must know how many pixels

per inch there will be in your print. (You can read more about pixels per inch in

Chapter 18, “Printers and Printer Resolution.”)