What's preventing you from using Save for Web probably is something with the file you are trying to save. To check if this is the case, open a plain old JPEG file and without editing anything try to save for web. If it's not grayed out, then your "real" work probably had a setting that is incompatible with Save for Web. As previously posted, high bit-depth images will prevent saving for web, as will some other settings. I'm not that familiar with Elements, so I'm not sure of the specifics.
With regard to sharpening and in addition to the recommended reading, one thing that I have found to be good practice is to resize to exactly double your intended size (if your end image will be 800x800, resize to 1600x1600) as a second-last step. Now carefully sharpen, then resize to the final size. Experiment with the amount and radius of sharpening of the 2x image, and with the resampling option on the final resize step. Use a high-detail image for the experiment. Now look at each result, and see which setting give you the best outcome. Each image is a little different, but you should find a basic workflow that gives you an outcome you like. The 800x800 isze is small, and some shots depend on a high level of detail for their impact. Getting the most visible detail, without excessive "crunchiness", visible halos, or other unwanted artifacts is, well, an art. It's surprising what a differenc optimizing the sharpening/resizing steps can make. |
