It also smells delicious, too…

Lately we’ve been featuring tutorials that highlight the versatility of older post-processing tools that have fallen by the wayside as Adobe continues to add new headline-grabbing features to Photoshop, Lightroom, and Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). We’re doing this again today in the following video that describes why you should take another look at the efficient High Pass filter sharpening tool.

Instructor Adam Welch says the strength and versality of high pass sharpening “goes well beyond simply making your images look cleaner.” In the next 13-minutes you’ll learn a quick-and-easy method for applying this forgotten tool in three straightforward steps that anyone can master with ease.

Welch calls himself a “nomadic photographist,” who specializes in large-format photography and alternative/historical printing processes. As such, he doesn’t willingly abandon tried-and- true methods that have served him well in the past. He notes that this sharpening method works great with all sorts of images, whether they’re captured with a modern digital camera or on film.

He describes the simple technique like this: “The High Pass Filter sharpens your photos, provides great control over the process, and you really don’t have to know anything about Photoshop because it’s one of the easiest tools around.” He further explains that Photoshop runs a mathematical algorithm to makes pixels in high-contrast areas appear to be sharper.”

Welch pulls up an image in Photoshop 2023 (he also uses the current version) and recommends taking a selective approach targeting specific area within the frame—rather than sharpening the entire image at once. This technique is a bit more involved than global sharpening, but it delivers vastly superior results.

It’s important to make sure a background layer is selected when first getting started. Then you’ll use a keyboard shortcut to duplicate the background layer where you’ll apply the High Pass Filter. “Now you can go back and add a mask to this sharpening layer to selectively sharpen any areas you want” without affecting other portions of the scene.

Now you’re all set and ready to go, and Welch walks through the step-by-step process for getting the job done. As you’ll see, Photoshop’s High Pass Filter is not only very easy to use, but  it’s both versatile and very effective for getting the natural-looking results you desire with a minimum of fuss. Once you’re done head over to Welch’s popular Tube channel that contains many more how-to videos for thinking outside the box.

And speaking of overlooked, legacy techniques, don’t miss the tutorial we featured with another image-editing expert who explains why Photoshop’s older Content Aware-Fill tool is still valid today. Then he demonstrates how it may outperform the new Remove tool and Generative Fill for eliminating distractions from your photographs.

Today’s post-processing tutorial from the popular Photo Feaver YouTube channel falls into the common category of “my images don’t look as great on the computer as they did through the viewfinder.” Fortunately, it’s easy to create the high-quality results you expect by avoiding three common Lightroom mistakes made by beginners and more experienced users alike.

Instructor James Feaver (namesake of the channel) puts it like this: “We’ve all been there, trying to edit our photos to make them looks as best as possible. But sometimes they come out bland, flat, undersaturated, or in some cases even looking like rubbish.” That’s a bit harsh, but you get the idea; namely, they beg to be improved.

The trio of simple tips you’ll learn in barely eight minutes will help turn the tide and provide a welcome wave of head-turning edits. Feaver refers to the first calamity as “Dynamic Range Doom” that either occurs when you don’t utilize Raw files properly or employ the wrong sliders to make exposure changes that cause an unwanted reduction in dynamic range.

His example is an unimpressive landscape photo that looks really flat “because of what we’ve done within Lightroom’s Basic panel.” His preliminary edit included modifying exposure and bumping up contrast by 25%, but the image still looks boring and dull. As you’ll see, the issue has to do with an improper use of the sliders underneath; namely, highlights, shadows, whites, and blacks.

Fever explains that the white and black sliders are very nuanced, and “you want to avoid making any exposure changes with them.” Put another way, your images may look washed out if you take an incorrect approach. One quick clue is when white tones appear muddy light gray. So check out the quick solution that Feaver provides.

Next on the list is the so-called “Contrast Conundrum” and Fever illustrates this one with an environmental portrait of a bride and groom walking along a path in a lush, green landscape scene. As you’ll see, simply “wacking up contrast” doesn’t really help (and may create other problems like an unnatural dark appearance) unless you follow the advice that Feaver recommends for eliminating “image stress.”

The episode concludes with a description of Fever’s “100% Rule” that’s super simple and goes like this: “Never use a slider or an effect to it’s absolute maximum.” Otherwise, bad things with unsightly results are sure to happen. He demonstrates this mistake with an indoor portrait that has a lot to be desired.

There are plenty of good things happening on Feaver’s very helpful YouTube channel, with how-to videos covering a wide range of topics.

And don’t miss another tutorial we featured with a very popular instructor who demonstrates five simple post-processing tips that all landscape photographers should understand.  The lesson includes a useful reference guide that you can download for FREE!

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