Sharpening your photos: try it yourself

1. Masking Trick

In Lightroom, hold Alt/Option while sharpening; white = sharpened areas.

2. Subtle Amount

Increase sharpening gradually while viewing important detail at 100%. Stop when edges look clearer, then back off if halos, crunchy texture or noise become obvious. There is no universal correct percentage.

3. Radius for Detail

Low radius (0.8-1.0) for fine detail (eyes, text).

4. Noise Caution

Try the same sharpening on a clean low-ISO photograph and a noisy high-ISO photograph. Notice how sharpening can make noise more obvious, so the noisier file may need a gentler setting.

5. Output Sharpen

Apply extra sharpening only when exporting for web/print.