post-production editing
Step 8 - Unsharp Mask
Sharpening is the last step in the image-editing process (unless you intend to create a stroke or
border around the edge of the image). If the image is sharpened after a stroke has been added
a secondary halo will be created alongside the stroke line. Sharpening amounts often have to be
higher on screen so that they look correct in print. It is useful therefore to apply the sharpening to
a separate layer so that the fi nal amount of sharpening can be adjusted if required. To create a
sharpening layer it is important to merge all of the layers without fl attening the fi le. The keyboard
shortcut for this technique is to hold down Ctrl+Alt+Shift modifi er keys (Command+Opt+Shift keys
on a Mac) and then type the letters N and then E (if using Elements 4 or CS2 you no longer have
to type the letter N). The resulting layer should be on top of the layer stack in the layers palette.
Switch the blend mode of this layer to Luminosity (this will prevent increased saturation at the
sharpened edges) and then select the Unsharp Mask fi lter from the Filter > Sharpen submenu.
It is OK to use a generous Amount of sharpening (100 to 200) but keep the Radius low (typically
no higher than 1.5 for print resolution images). Raise the Threshold if the sharpening is having
a detrimental effect on noise or subtle detail (3 to 5 will usually suffi ce for images with a small
amount of noise). Lower the layer opacity to reduce the amount of sharpening. You now have a
sharpening layer that can be modifi ed to meet the needs of the output device.
Step 9 - Stroke
Adding a stoke line around your image can be a useful technique when creating folio images. The
stroke can be added to its own layer above the Unsharp Mask layer. Click on the Create a new
layer icon in the Layers palette and then choose Select All from the Select menu. From the Edit
menu choose Stroke Selection. In the Stroke dialog box choose the pixel width and the color by
clicking on the color swatch and then select the Inside radio button in the Location section. Select
OK to complete the image editing process.