How to Sharpen the Edges in Photoshop

If you want to make your Photoshop image stand out more, then it might be necessary to sharpen the edges of the photograph. Sharpening edges reduces blur and lack of clarity and hardens the edges around objects. This makes objects appear more clearly when you are viewing them. If you have been editing a photograph's resolution, color balance or range, then the sharpness may decrease as you do so. Photoshop has built-in functionality to sharpen the edges of any type of image.

Instructions

1. Open the image that you wish to sharpen by clicking "File" and then "Open." Locate the image on your hard drive, select it and click "Open."

2. Select the image in the "Layers" palette, then press "Ctrl"+"J" to duplicate the layer. Click "Layer," then "Layer Mask," then "Reveal All" to set up this layer as a layer mask.

3. Click "Image," then "Apply Image," and click "OK." Click the chain icon in the "Layers" toolbar.

4. Click "Filter," then "Stylize," then "Find Edges." This selects the edges within your image. Press "Ctrl"+"I" to invert the selection. Click "Filter," then "Sharpen," then "Smart Sharpen." If you perform a Sharpen without using the layer mask, then the entire image will be sharpened, not just the edges.

5. Change the "Amount" slider until you are happy with the sharpened edges. Click "OK" when you have finished, then save the image to finalize the changes.

References

• Adobe: Sharpen Filters
• Adobe: Sharpen using Smart Sharpen