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Erin329144470bm8
Participant
October 14, 2023
Question

LR Classic 13.0 Making Images TOO SHARP

  • October 14, 2023
  • 4 replies
  • 606 views

Hi! I am having an issue I had in the last version of LR over TOO MUCH SHARPENING. With the newest version of LR Classic 13. The images are WAY TOO sharp after import and I had shut off any kind of sharpening on import (which I had not known to do, but learned via an editor friend). Still this new version of LR is making the photos TOO sharp, they look fake.....I shoot RAW, do you have any ideas?

 

I don't want any sharpening at all on my photos, so why do they look so different and grossly sharp after import? The images look fake! Help! Why does adobe think that sharpening one's photos is OK? Is there a way to completely shut this off???? Extremely sharp photos just don't look good, and it's not my aesthetic.

 

Thank you!

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    4 replies

    Rikk Flohr_Photography
    Community Manager
    Rikk Flohr_PhotographyCommunity Manager
    October 14, 2023

    Did you recently purchase a new monitor, or change some of the settings to 'amp' up the brightness/contrast on the monitor. That will often result in an appearance of oversharpening. 

    Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org
    E
    Erin329144470bm8Author
    Participant
    October 14, 2023

    I feel like the 35mm image is easier to see that over sharpness - it's something that I have noticed get worse with every update of LR. Even with sharpening off (I never ever add sharpening). Somehow in the tech there is a sharpening that is happening that I do not want, and maybe others do not want either. The natural little bit of soft that looks more natural and like it used too in my images isn't there anymore because the tech is trying to just make photos crisp and sharp. My focus is sharp, but it's this added sharpening that is obviously happening upon import that is driving me crazy! Thank you for any advice or insight you have. 😃

    Per Berntsen
    Community Expert
    Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 14, 2023

    The sharpness of these images looks perfectly normal to me.

    What I do see that reduces images quality is noise. Especially in the 35mm image, which was underexposed in the camera. By brightening the image, you are moving noisy shadow tones up to the mid-tones, where the noise becomes more visible.

    Try applying manual noise reduction (Luminance) to the image. Do this at 100% view.

     

    Underexposure leads to noise, so always aim for an optimal exposure, which means exposing as much as possible, but without blowing out the highlights.

    You may find this article useful: Exposing a digital image

     

    Per Berntsen
    Community Expert
    Per BerntsenCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 14, 2023

    If sharpening is set to zero in the Detail panel, no sharpening is applied. So this might be caused by something else. Note that using high values for Texture and Clarity will increase apparent sharpness.

     

    Please post a screenshot of the entire Lightroom window in Develop with an image open, at 100% view.

    Make sure that the History panel is visible and expanded on the left, and the Basic panel (as well as the Detail panel if possible) visible and expanded on the right.

    Do not attach the screenshot, use the Insert photos button in the toolbar to insert it directly into your post.

     

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 14, 2023

    I'm not seeing this at all. Can you give more information about the settings you applied? Not just the sharpening, but all settings.

     

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
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