LR clarity slider vs. sharpen

[stump4545]

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new to LR and i know they are not the same but I was wondering if anyone else here just uses the clarity slider and not the sharpen tool in LR?

 

when using just the clarity slider my prints come out pretty sharp.

 

if the conventional workflow call for using a bit of both?

 

 

thanks for the help.

[plasticman]

I think the clarity slider is poorly named - it could be called the midtone contrast slider instead, and its purpose would be clearer. You probably know how it works on an image already, but I thought this explanation was quite good:

 

Lightroom Clarity Slider | Digital Photo Buzz

 

I'm not sure I'd use it instead of sharpen, which is more controllable across the entire range of the image.

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[hoppyman]

Clarity is basically for local area contrast adjustment. It's effective for micro contrast in mid-tones, whereas sharpening affects a wider range of tones. You can apply either globally or locally (brush tools).

You can use both positive and negative values. For example negative clarity is what is used to brush on skin softening in local areas of the image.

Sharpening is nearly a subject by itself . In LR it is designed to fit into your workflow as capture sharpening and output sharpening. Capture sharpening has a couple of useful presets for faces and scenery. Every digital image I import has some capture sharpening applied.

Output sharpening is intended for the versions of the files that you export and is properly purpose and resolution dependent if that makes sense?

Keep in mind that the sharpening amount is affected by radius and masking settings for example and is also influenced by any noise reduction settings.

 

One free resource that I have found useful is Adobe TV.

Take a look at the offerings from Julieanne Kost here.

http://tv.adobe.com/show/adobe-evangelists-julieanne-kost/

Edited January 30, 2013 by hoppyman

[Bill Allsopp]

You need to experiment to find what settings suits you but my default settings for an M9 and Summarit lens are;

Clarity 25

Sharpening 40 : 0.8 : 21 : 50

 

Don't push the clarity too hard or it can induce noise in some circumstances (particularly noticeable with my Canon 7D in shadow areas).

[250swb]

I sometimes use it in ACR, and it works as a micro contrast tool, making small details 'pop' by increasing the contrast without sharpening them. The same thing can be done with potentially even more control simply using Unsharp Mask. Essentially you just reverse the normal sliders, so using a random example you make it Radius 160, Amount 6, (thats not set in stone, I vaguely remember something like that last time I used it) where normally for sharpening the Amount would be much greater than the Radius. In Nik software the same thing is done using the 'Structure' tool, and in Silver Efex that can work independently on three levels, highlight, shadow, and Midtones.

 

The problem I find with 'Clarity' etc. is that overdone it can make the image look very jarring, almost annoying in it's crispness.

 

Steve

[stump4545]

printing images from an m9 to an epson inkjet, do you guys find that one does not need too much output sharpening?

 

 

my prints are pretty sharp with just a little clarity adjustment and I do shoot mostly people portraits.

 

thanks a lot.

[250swb]

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I often don't sharpen at all with my M9, but I judge it by the subject and overall look I want.

 

Steve

[tobey bilek]

I give a basic sharpen in ACR, then add 10 to 30 clarity. It pops up the middle tones and gives better separation. If you try to do it all with sharpen, the image gets too sharp. Now set the black and white points by holding down the opt/alt key and using the sliders in exposure tab.

 

Bring into photoshop. do any touch up work. Then set up the soft proof with a dup image.

For my lab profile, the image gets a little flat and dull with the profile added. Next add a curves adjustment layer, medium contrast and 50% opacity for starters. Then add a levels adjustment layer. With the opt/alt key depressed, click the black point and see there is a BP ,0 0 0, in the image. The printer reads the BP and sets the exposure. If the black point is too high, then printer tries to make it black and you get a print too dark. This is for a laser jet printer, not ink jet, which I dislike. Now adjust the level midpoint to get a match in brightness and curve opacity for contrast. These final adjustments are very small.

 

Do a HSL layer if required . If there is an important black with detail, I sometimes need to make a selection and brighten it because the profile tends to depress the near blacks.

 

Every image is different and there is no cookbook set of adjustments. Every image requires 5 to 10 minutes just doing the soft proof. The reward comes when you see the prints.

 

My lab want files in RGB so ACR is set to RGB and I work it thru the whole workflow and not worry over changing color space.

[adan]

Adobe's "Clarity" adjustment is basically just an implementation of an old "Unsharp Mask" trick - set the radius really wide so that it increases contrast a long way from each edge instead of just along the edges. So it is more of a contrast tool than a sharpening tool.

 

Generally, I prefer to handle contrast adjustments on a less global scale, so I don't use it.

[hoppyman]

Andy you can apply clarity adjustments or nearly any other effect (even in combinations) locally with the adjustment brush tool of course. I use the skin softening option (default value is -100 clarity) frequently.

[LocalHero1953]

A nice option for future releases of Lightroom would be the ability to adjust both the breadth of tonal range of the clarity tool and its tonal area of operation e.g. to operate in shadows only rather than just a broad midrange as at present. I guess you can achieve the same level of control using curves but it is a bit clumsy in comparison.

[hoppyman]

See my comment on applying it in selected areas only with the adjustment brush though and you can combine it with other effects. There is an enormous range of possibilities with the combinations there (temp, tint, exposure, contrast,highlights, shadows etc etc and you can vary the density as well. The default auto masking behaviour is very helpful in my experience also.

Edited February 4, 2013 by hoppyman
clarity