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DPChallenge Forums >> Photography Discussion >> Is over sharpening an issue?
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11/08/2017 12:21:39 AM · #1
I am not complaining and do not care about my scores.

I have received some comments mentioning that my entries are over sharpened.

I don't see them like that but I am not always wearing my glasses when I edit.

I do use three computers all with different type of monitors - and one external monitor (a MacBook Air, an Asus full HD, a Surface Pro 3 and a Dell monitor) plus I do edit on my S8

Any comments?

Thanks!



Message edited by Bear_Music - parsed link.
11/08/2017 12:39:03 AM · #2
Your images consistently appear oversharpened to me. Not disastrously so, but very much what I call "crunchy"...
11/08/2017 01:20:07 AM · #3
Thanks Rob!

Mariuca brought it up couple of times.
11/08/2017 02:31:31 AM · #4
I also see them as a bit too crunchy. As you commented on one image sometimes that's a product of Nik structure.

11/08/2017 06:42:56 AM · #5
In at least 3 of the 4 images you showed in this thread you can see very distinctive halos around the main subjects. These halo's often appear when using the clarity/structure sliders or when over-sharpening. Regardless on what monitor you're working, seeing these halos appear is an indication that you're on the edge. Just bring back the sliders a bit and/or remove the halos of your image will improve the final result IMHO.
11/08/2017 06:53:40 AM · #6
Have to agree, the clarity slider can be so tempting to crank up a wee bit....... too far...... done it myself several times. My new ambition is to produce imagery that looks natural, however, it is not easy, I go to 'Clarity Counselling' twice a week and we also touch on the 'shadows' slider too as use of these 2 can lead to harder sliders and further editing abuses that I dare not mention.

Bottom line is this .... If it makes you happy & doesn't hurt anything along the way, Do It!
11/08/2017 08:37:41 AM · #7
Yes, there are halos - aka, white line fever - present, and though I usually don't notice them in people's images, when I do they nag at me a bit and, especially when the photos are so fine, leave a tinge (halo?) of disappointment. Because I reluctantly lower my score by one. If one can temper one's enthusiasm by dialing it back a notch, I guess it's worthwhile. Kind of like circling the candy dish and heroically resisting one last kiss. Because the sharpness in your images help convey, in my often skewed opinion, longing, a desire to embrace the people, and the moment, I'm quite sympathetic. If anything, my personal take-away is that I'm not sharpening my own pictures enough, if the subject is ripe. If you can eliminate the artifacts that can sneak into your images, my new disappointment will be the inability to give out an eleven. Now if saints be the subject, cranking up clarity and sharpening would ring the bell.
11/08/2017 08:53:54 AM · #8
Tibi, I was somehow oblivious to the halos until Bear_Music made this comment for one of my early postings:
Sharpening halos on branches kill this for me.


He was right and all of the sudden they become so visible and annoying for me that they jump to me immediately in mine or other people pics. I am aware though that for other some viewers this sharpening might not be an issue. I do long for photography to maintain its "pure" look and stay away from the high temptation of processing possibilities.

This said, I am a great fan of your photos and admirer of your technical knowldge
11/08/2017 10:35:23 AM · #9
Obviously, you're scoring well with your sharpening techniques.

Look at the current FS 4th place. Definitely overly sharpened IMO... yet, it scored well, too.

I think voters forgive it.

So... carry on as you were! :D
11/08/2017 11:10:05 AM · #10
[quote=Tiberius] I am not complaining and do not care about my scores.

I have received some comments mentioning that my entries are over sharpened.

Personally, I do not see these as over sharpened. And what is the definition of "crunchy?"
11/08/2017 11:19:31 AM · #11
Originally posted by rgrenaderphoto:

And what is the definition of "crunchy?"

Straight out of the box, raisin bran looks crunchy. Cheerios don't. it's (for me) a personal impression of surface harshness.
11/08/2017 11:24:32 AM · #12
Sharpening Halos and How to Hide Them
11/08/2017 12:31:39 PM · #13
Originally posted by rgrenaderphoto:

[quote=Tiberius] I am not complaining and do not care about my scores.

I have received some comments mentioning that my entries are over sharpened.

Personally, I do not see these as over sharpened. And what is the definition of "crunchy?"


The over-sharpening is slight to moderate, IMO. As a couple folks have posted, once you are sensitized to it, your eye tends to be drawn to it. There's a very fine (white) line between bringing out all the detail that's there, and over-sharpened. Back in the bad old days when we were all shooting with 4 to 6 Mpx cameras, we had a greater tendency to over-sharpen. Now that we have native camera resolution that is far beyond how images will be ultimately presented (in most cases), the need for aggressive sharpening is greatly reduced, and instead we need to pay strict attention to technique in downsampling.
As for the "crunchy" term, it is a very good descriptive term for an under-sampled image. Characteristics of a "crunchy" image include jaggies along angled sharp edges, and in general very sharp transitions that make pixel edges apparent. Again, something that we fought when our resolutions were low, but avoidable today.
11/08/2017 12:49:55 PM · #14
I'd honestly say this is as close to the "safety line" as humanly possible.

My 2 pennies...
11/08/2017 02:00:07 PM · #15
Ah, yes.... The informal critique club during voting.

Personally, I want people to give me impressions on how the image impacts them, or doesn't.

Most often one gets what's wrong with it, or how they would "fix" the image.

Tiberius, three out of the four have a lowest score of 6.7xxx, so on the whole, they're fine.

Once it was called out, I could tell, but honestly, the three "scorers" were ones that not only had I seen before, but seen and distinctly liked. Even now being able to detect the sharpening, I wouldn't recommend that you change a thing.

Can you tell they've been sharpened? Yes, but so what?

If that's how you choose to render your images; it's part of your process, and you like it, then don't screw with it.

I agonize over sharpening..... I'll sharpen, then clear it, resharpen, clear it, and just in general go through that a couple of times 'til I decide which version I like. One thing that does work for me pretty well is the system called Adamus sharpening. Basically, that means when you have the image twice the size you want, sharpen it slightly heavily, then resize it down. Somehow, that seems to take the harsh edge off the sharpening process.

And of course, I learnt that here......

Message edited by author 2017-11-08 14:05:07.
11/08/2017 09:53:21 PM · #16
Thank you all!

It's clear now and having found the cause I feel way better hihi

Here is how it started



Now I can blame Bear_Music who introduced me to Nik (thread here) and who then pointed out the issues to mariuca who then kept pointing out the same issues in my pics lol

On a more serious note, I blame myself for not paying more attention. 90% up of my entries are last minute editing. As I live on GMT +8 time the roll over is at noon so my entries get done before going to bed or, mostly, at the morning coffee before start work.

The structure slider is at fault as I do not really apply sharpness. I do really like how is works on textures, in the shadows etc but the halos are the price.

kirbic is also very right about the low resolution cameras we all used before.

@ MAK is there any 12 steps online program for the clarity / structure issue lol :)

Thanks again for the input and for the nice words.

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