Anne Kowalski

Monday, July 23, 2007

Quick Photo Sharpening using Photoshop CS3

One of the more common problems when working with digital photos or scans is making them realistically sharper.  Typically, using the built-in sharpen tool produces results that are either not effective enough, or too harsh and overpixelated.

Here is our original photo, which looks a bit fuzzy:

The final goal is to sharpen it without creating overpixelation or artifacts.

First, create a smart object from the current photo.  Simply right click the photo layer, then select “Convert to Smart Object”.

Converting to a Smart Object protects the layer in that it separates the filters applied, rather than lumping them together.  The filters applied can be turned on and off as necessary, while the original layer is preserved.

In this case I want to sharpen only the rabbits while leaving the background as-is.  I like using the Quick Selection tool whenever possible, since it is much quicker than using the Magnetic Lasso tool.

Here I have the rabbits selected.  I’m not going to get too picky about the edges.

I then select Layer > New… > Layer Via Copy.  The shortcut key Ctrl+J also works.  This creates a mask so only the rabbits will be sharpened.  I make sure I converted this new layer to a Smart Object as well.

Next, select the High Pass filter.  It is under Filters > Other > High Pass:

A brief overview of the High Pass filter from Photoshop’s Help:

High Pass

Retains edge details in the specified radius where sharp color transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image. (A radius of 0.1 pixel keeps only edge pixels.) The filter removes low-frequency detail from an image and has an effect opposite to that of the Gaussian Blur filter.

That’s why High Pass is a better option than the built-in Sharpen tool in many cases.  The Sharpen tool sharpens the entire image, while the High Pass isolates only the edges.

You’ll see the photo with an ugly gray cast, but for now we need it to look that way so we can examine edges and detail.  Play with the slider until you get a good outline that isn’t too thick.  The thicker the outline, the more pronounced the edges will be.  If your photo just needs a little tweak, then you will need only a small radius.  A fuzzier photo may require a much larger radius. For my photo, I’ve selected a radius of 2.7 pixels, which gives a relatively minor tweak.

Once you are satisfied with the radius, then double-click the right side of the High Pass layer (shown circled in the photo in red.

From the Blending Options box that pops up, select Soft Light from the Mode drop-down box.  Selecting any of the lights will get rid of that ugly gray overlay, but will sharpen to different degrees.  I’ve found that Soft Light gives the most natural appearance, whereas the Hard Light mode is too harsh.

That’s it!  Now here’s a before and after comparison.

Before:

and after:

Thursday, July 05, 2007

HP Photosmart C3180 in Ubuntu

My HP Photosmart C3180 scanning and printing functions work well within Ubuntu Feisty Fawn. Printing seems to have no problems, but I'd like to find a way to print in Draft mode if at all possible. (Luckily I don't do much printing anymore.) I was able to get results comparable to those in Windows XP using the scanner and Kooka.

A note about the Photosmart C3180: it is a great buy if you need a small, low-cost color AIO and have minimal printing needs. However, if you expect to print photos at home or intend on printing more than a few pages a week, look elsewhere. This little machine guzzles ink like there's no tomorrow, and the photo quality is marginal.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Creative Notebook Pro Webcam Works in Ubuntu

I can finally do MSN Live webcam chats in Ubuntu.  Last time I tried using my Creative Live! Cam Notebook Pro with Linux (about seven months ago) it was a total disaster.  I couldn’t get it to work at all...it was one of the reasons I stopped using Ubuntu for a while.

All it required this time was plugging it in - the green LED light lit and it was ready to go.  I like using it in Ubuntu because I don’t have to go through the process of starting the Creative driver program like in Windows XP.  Just plug it in and use it.

Notes:

• I’m using Kopete 0.12.4 as my chat client.  I don’t believe Pidgin (formerly GAIM) offers webcam support, and no matter what I did aMSN still gave me an error message about my firewall/router settings.


• I’ve only tested so far with the other user using the MSN Live client.


• Kopete is seems a bit sluggish when doing video chats.  This doesn’t seem to be a problem when testing the webcam in XawTV, or configuring it within Kopete.  Just when using it within a conversation.