Is it possible to......

[zetec]

.....sharpen up an out of focus picture??

I took this picture whilst in Spain last week, it seems the camera has focused on the buildings in the background rather than the subject. I think I know what I have done wrong but I was rather pleased with the photo and was saddened when I saw it full size.



Any help/critism appreciated

[.Mark]

Is there a sharpen tool in Paintshop or Photoshop? I think there is but can't be sure.

More remarkable though is the height they can get these Dolphins to jump now

[murph7355]

It looks like you know what went wrong - I'd agree with you. Bit tough to be 100% from the size of th photo though.

You'll need Photoshop or similar to do anything with it, and it does have a sharpen tool.

You need to be careful how you use it though as sharpening can introduce lots of noise, especially to areas that are already sharp.

You may want to separate the image out into "blurred area" and "focussed area" and just sharpen the former.

[nighthawk]

I'd agree with the comment Re sharpening the bits that need to be sharpened.
PS 7 or CS will allow fine control of it.

Did you gain a focus lock on the person before you released the shutter?

That should have ensured everything at that range was focused and sharp, with the background being blurred to perfection.

[Mrs Fish]

It won't sharpen it enough to do what I think you want it to do as the foreground doesn't have the detail to start with. It would be best to do what murph7355 suggested by separating the two first.

If you can wait till monday I'll have a go for you if you like, I'll email you my works address so you can send me the pic.


Lisa

[simpo two]

Pity, autofocus is great 90% of the time but sometimes it's a pain, espcially if you only get one chance.

In PS go Filter/Sharpen and there are several options. The unsharp mask allows you to control the degree of sharpness. But as someone said, there's not much detail in the dolphin to sharpen up. How about zooming right in, selecting and using the Clone/Rubber Stamp yool to crisp up the soft edges?

[V6GTO]

I think the best thing to do is get back to Spain, pronto, and do it again! You know you want to. M.

[dcw@pr]

The funny thing about the sharpen tool is that it can only sharpen images which are already sharp - if they are out of focus to start with there is not much hope. There is a way of sharpening which does not introduce noise to the rest of the picture - it involves using a LAB colour mode, and finding the edges. I have made an action to do this, if anyone is interested email me and I'll send it to you. It's fantastic for sharpening images taken with a high ISO, since it doesnt amplify the noise at all. I should point out that I did not invent this technique, so I'm not trying to claim the glory!

[david010167]

Is this the same technique as discussed on the FredMiranda website?

www.fredmiranda.com/article_3/

David

dcw@pr said:

The funny thing about the sharpen tool is that it can only sharpen images which are already sharp - if they are out of focus to start with there is not much hope. There is a way of sharpening which does not introduce noise to the rest of the picture - it involves using a LAB colour mode, and finding the edges. I have made an action to do this, if anyone is interested email me and I'll send it to you. It's fantastic for sharpening images taken with a high ISO, since it doesnt amplify the noise at all. I should point out that I did not invent this technique, so I'm not trying to claim the glory!

[Edt]

zetec said:

.....sharpen up an out of focus picture?? I took this picture whilst in Spain last week, it seems the camera has focused on the buildings in the background rather than the subject. I think I know what I have done wrong but I was rather pleased with the photo and was saddened when I saw it full size. Any help/critism appreciated

I've got a tricksy bit of software that's nasty to use but sometimes works miracles.. if you want to send me a larger version I'll have a tinker

Regards, Ed

[gt5s_1985]

That would be the new aquarium in Valencia, wouldn't it? (actually 2 years old now or so, but relatively new...)

[dcw@pr]

david010167 said:

Is this the same technique as discussed on the FredMiranda website? www.fredmiranda.com/article_3/ David

Essentially it's the same thing, yes. Slightly different in implementation though. Fred Miranda has some good stuff, I have bought his noise reduction and SI actions - very reasonable prices and they work very well.

[zetec]

gt5s_1985 said:

That would be the new aquarium in Valencia, wouldn't it? (actually 2 years old now or so, but relatively new...)

Mundomar marine animal park in Benidorm.