In this chapter you’ll learn some very cool ways to bring out all the detail in your images. Effective sharpening will make your pictures clear and focused without being obvious about it. Sometimes the best way to emphasize detail in one area in the picture is to de-emphasize it in another. Every image is intended to deliver a message, and that message is best delivered when the observer’s eye is directed to a specific area of the image.

Sharpening is the process of building contrast between adjacent pixels- the more contrast, the more detail appears. But the sharpening process can be a bit of a loose cannon when used too harshly. There’s the strange truth behind the sharpening process; it actually begins by first blurring the image. No kidding! I describe the process and guidelines in detail within this chapter.

Detail in digital images doesn’t necessarily refer to sharpening. There are many ways to build emphasis; some to enhance the entire image, and some to focus on only a section of the image. Some of the methods you will learn will be based on tonal range (sharpening, contrast, or blurring), others are based on color treatments, and yet other methods will involve all of the above.

You can enhance or draw the focus to a specific area in a number of other ways, by using color and tonality as image-sculpting tools. You will learn some effective ways that you can help your images deliver their message.

Building interest in your photos is an art, and can be accomplished in many ways . But use caution when enhancing your images. It is almost too easy to overdo the process... tread softly with these tools.

CLICK HERE to see a couple of ways to accentuate your images. Both these techniques (as well as a host of others) I describe in detail in chapter 11.

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