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Hmmokthen
Inspiring
October 20, 2023
Question

Ideal way to avoid sharpening/noise in sky (and is this capture or creative sharpening?)

  • October 20, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 351 views

Hi guys,

 

just wondering if im doing the sharpening right for the skies in my landscape photos:

 

In the detail section ill enter the amount, radius and detail; next ill see if I can use the mask setting to avoid sharpening the sky (as the sky doesnt really need sharpening with the unneccesary noise that comes with it) — if the mask can easily pick out the sky (black + white) from the rest of the image then i'll go with the mask at that setting;

 

however if the mask is having trouble seperating the sky from other parts of the image then i'll set mask to 0 and use the adjustment brush with a "noise" setting to paint over and denoise the sky. Is this the ideal way to go about it/what you guys do for the sky?

 

Lastly I was wondering, since I am selectively sharpening everything in the image except for the sky, is this still considered capture sharpening or is it now creative sharpening? thanks

 

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    3 replies

    GoldingD
    GoldingD
    Legend
    October 20, 2023

    My 2 cents, avoid most sharpening  and standard noise globally, limit sharpening and nose to local masks. Create a mask for sky, no sharp, no noise, create a different mask for not sky, sharp as you desire, noise, etc.

     

      Per Berntsen
      Community Expert
      Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 21, 2023

      This is not a workflow that I would recommend.

      Most images need sharpening, and the capture sharpening (Detail panel) in LrC is excellent, with several options that allow you to fine tune the sharpening to fit any image.

       

      When applying sharpening on a mask, there are no extra options (just amount), which makes this a crude sharpening tool. The results will be far inferior to sharpening done in the Detail panel.

      Keith Reeder
      Keith Reeder
      Participating Frequently
      October 20, 2023

      "Lastly I was wondering, since I am selectively sharpening everything in the image except for the sky, is this still considered capture sharpening or is it now creative sharpening? thanks"

       

      Given that you're looking to achieve a specific aesthetic outcome, it's creative sharpening.

        Per Berntsen
        Community Expert
        Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        October 20, 2023

        Nothing wrong with using an adjustment brush, but you can also use Select sky in the Masking panel.

        I would consider this to be a part of capture sharpening (since you do it in the Detail panel if possible), but it doesn't really matter what you call it.

         

        When you set the masking slider in the Detail panel to 0, be aware that flat, noisy areas everywhere in the image will be sharpened, not only the sky.

        FWIW, I've always been able to control sharpening of skies using the masking slider.

        I often use high values, in the 70 - 90 range.

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