Clipping Path Service: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

1. Where is it?
If you want to sharpen a RAW photo using LightRoom, use the Detail panel in the Develop section. This is the same place where last time you found the color defect removal tools. In the Sharpening section below the preview image, there are four sliders that enable you to set the proper sharpening settings.

2. Preview
However, before you begin, you may want to zoom the image to 100% (or, as LightRoom calls it, 1:1) so that you can follow the effect more accurately. The preview picture, mentioned before, is also suitable for this. Its upper right corner contains an icon, with which you can click any picture part to select and pin the preview area. You should choose a part where finer details can be seen, because it is rather difficult to judge sharpness on a clear sky or a blank house wall.

3. The Four
The four sharpness controls are:
Amount: intensity of sharpening
Radius: thickness of the edges included in the action
Detail: detail enhancement
Masking: excluding certain areas from the effect

Take a look at these controls in more detail.

4. Amount
On the left, you can see an Amount setting of 0, which basically means no sharpening. On the right, Amount is set to the maximum, which gives a very rough result for this picture.

5. Radius
Minimized Radius (left) enables sharpening only along the finer edges. Thus, its effect is only visible in pictures containing many details (such as landscapes or distant city photos), but provides many details and a subtle sharpness pleasing to the eye.

On the right, maximized Radius results in rough edges. This setting might be used when sharpening a very soft, practically blurred image, but it won't do miracles for you, of course.

6. Detail
On the left, Detail is set to a low value, so the sharpening effect can be noticed in the picture, but finer details have not been enhanced.

On the right, Detail is at the max, which gives more footholds for the eye when calling small details to life. On the other hand, it may also emphasize barely visible, extra fine image noise.

7. Masking
Using low Masking values means the above three settings will affect the whole picture. Raising Masking (right) gradually decreases area of effect. Just like when masking out certain picture parts. First, homogeneous areas are excluded, then the finer edges, and finally, only the thick, bold edges remain. If sharpening also creates some noise, increase Masking to get rid of it in homogeneous areas.

8. And finally...
Here's one possible result of zillions. We did not want to use a high Amount, so it was set to 40. In order to enhance details, we set fine edges (a Radius of 0.5). The high Detail value serves the same purpose. This might introduce some noise to areas without many details, so we tried to exclude them by slightly raising Masking.

Keep in mind that there are no universal settings that fit every picture. Each of them requires finding the proper values that suit the image's content and original softness. Have fun experimenting!

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