Where is clarity?

[Casamagnolia-wSzxs8]

I've used Photoshop for many years, but for several years now I've been using Photoshop only as a backend to Lightroom, mostly to use plugins, actually...  I recently got CS4 and am trying to learn about the new features.  Even CS2 had shadow/highlight, I've found vibrance.  But where is clarity?  I've done a search and apparently it can be found only in Camera RAW?  Can it really not be done in Photoshop?  In particular I wanted to apply negative clarity to see how it would look an image I'm working on.  Normally I would just wait until I go back to Lightroom to fine tune a picture, but that's really not the best way to work, I don't think.  In this case the picture will probably never be in Lightroom, certainly not at this moment.

Judy

[ssprengel]

Clarity is similar to the Contrast slider in Shadow/Highlight.

Are you saying you've replaced LR with CS4? Otherwise, why not apply negative clarity to the image before exporting to Photoshop.

[Casamagnolia-wSzxs8]

Not everything I work on in Photoshop came from or will ever go to Lightroom.   It appears that contrast slider might be similar.  I'd have to do a direct comparison of the same image to tell.  Thanks for the tip!

Judy

[Jeff Schewe]

Casamagnolia wrote:

But where is clarity?  I've done a search and apparently it can be found only in Camera RAW?  Can it really not be done in Photoshop?

Nope...Clarity is a Camera Raw (and Lightroom) only function. as a result negative clarity can only be done in Camera Raw...as you've found out. Of course Camera Raw can work on JPEGs and flattened TIFF files...try that.

[Casamagnolia-wSzxs8]

It looks like to get into Camera Raw with a jpg or tif I'd have to go through Bridge.   I guess that's OK in some cases, but in this case the file I'm working on came out of another program as a PSD file with two layers.  It doesn't seem sensible to flatten it and resave it to do this.

Like I wrote, I usually do fine tuning in Lightroom.  I loaded this particular file and thought gee I wonder what would happen if I applied negative clarity for a kind of ethereal effect.  Well, where IS CLARITY?!  Nowhere...

Some uses of clarity would not be the first thing you do to an image, but the last thing.  Which would require re-saving.

[Bob_Shomler]

It looks like to get into Camera Raw with a jpg or tif I'd have to go through Bridge.

You can open a jpeg or tiff in Photoshop-hosted camera raw (without going through Bridge) - In Photoshop:  File > Open As.  Select Camera Raw in the Open As box at the bottom.

[Casamagnolia-wSzxs8]

Thanks for the option, but I don't think that will be useful very often.  I found Open As after I spent a half hour trying to get PS to ALWAYS show all menu items (I switched from CS2 which I remember as always showing all menu items).  So the answer is to save the file you've been working on and re-open it with Open As?  I don't think so...  Clarity is not the first thing I do to a file but one of the last.  Plus in this case I'm opening a layered PSD file initially.  And if I use PS from Lightroom and want to finish it in PS, the saving and reopening would not be a really good thing to do.

I guess I have to admit this question has been answered because my question was where is clarity and the answer is -- it isn't there.

[Zeno Bokor]

I've told you already, Clarity in Photoshop is achieved using Unsharp Mask with a high Radius and low Amount settings

[arc_fixer]

Hi.

It looks like to get into Camera Raw with a jpg or tif I'd have to go through Bridge. 

In your File Handling Preferences, File Compatibility,  you could tic "Prefer Adobe Camera Raw for JPG Files". At least JPGs would open directly in ACR. I got nothin for TIFFs or layers.

FWIW.

Peace,

Lee

[Noel Carboni]

Even if you don't have the settings per Lee's recommendation above, for the occasional open of JPEG or TIFF through Camera Raw, choose File - Open As, choose Camera Raw format, then select the JPEG or TIFF file you want to open, and voila!  It opens through Camera Raw.

-Noel

[Zeno Bokor]

you can use Unsharp Mask to simulate Clarity in Photoshop, just set a high radius and low amount values

[Hudechrome-sd9sPI]

He wants negative clarity, Zeno, which the unsharp mask routine won't do.

When I find myself in a pickle needing to go back to RAW, I dupe the file, delete the layers and run it in RAW. Export it back to PS and open the unflattened layers and move them over, being sure they are in the same stacking as before.

Yeah, messy, otoh, you now have two files side by side to evaluate the results.

Of course, save it as a tiff.

Message was edited by: Hudechrome

[Zeno Bokor]

well then, duplicate layer, add Filter->Other->High Pass with a high Radius, Image->Adjustments->Invert and then set the blend mode of that layer to either Soft Light or Overlay

[Hudechrome-sd9sPI]

Show off!

[Zeno Bokor]

you mean "blind man", don't you? i read the first post twice and somehow managed to ignore the "negative" part both times

[Hudechrome-sd9sPI]

Easily done, and at my age, almost guaranteed!

Ok, Blind Man it is. No bluffing now!

[Casamagnolia-wSzxs8]

Actually, I want to be able to do both kinds, positive and negative.

[Hudechrome-sd9sPI]

Where is Clarity?

She left me for another photographer.

Definity negative in my estimation!

[Zeno Bokor]

Using High Pass you can get it both ways. You get positive Clarity with a normal High Pass layer and negative Clarity if you invert that layer. It's not as convenient as doing it in Camera Raw but it can be done.

[mcfitz25]

I'm trying to figure out where my clarity tool is in cs3 on mac. I've supposedly downloaded the update of at least 4.4.1 as I understand that ACR 4.0 did not have the clarity tool. What do I do after this download though? It is still nowhere to be found??