Chuck wrote:
> I often sharpen the entire image until I have the eyes, lips,
> nostrils and possibly jewelry where I want them. But that may have an
> adverse effect on skin. So I add a duplicate layer and then apply a
> slight gaussian blur to the entire image until the skin looks right.
> Then add a mask to that layer and paint the mask completely black with
> the paint bucket. That brings the underlying sharpened image back.
> Then just use a small paintbrush with white paint on the mask to
> selectively unsharpen the skin. Sometimes I also do the inverse by
> having a partially blurred layer on top and selectively allowing the
> eyes, lips, etc from the sharpened layer underneath to come through.
> Men and women are also usually treated a bit differently. The men won't
> be softened as much as the women.
>
Hmm. Maybe I'll just stick with shooting the E-1 which seems to
automatically strike that balance between sharp and not so sharp. Life is
pretty short.....
My "trick of the trade" when it comes to sharpening is to use edge-sharpen.
On a few portraits I'll jump through the same hoops that Chuck wrote, I find
that it tends to be a bit overkill most of the time. Of course, it depends
on whether or not this is a 20x24 enlargement or a simple 8x10. Even at
that, though, it's not too much of an issue as the big enlargements are all
canvas textured and lacquered.
AG
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