How to adjust the sharpness in your photos

Editing and enhancing photos taken by your phone's camera is a skill that can transform an ordinary image into something truly impressive. One of the most important elements to consider when editing is image sharpness. Sharpness is the clarity of detail in a photo and can make a big difference to overall image quality.

Understanding Sharpness

The sharpness of an image is determined by the clarity of details and contours. A sharp image has clear contours and sharp details, while an unclear image may look blurry or soft. Sharpness is especially important in portrait photography, where you want the details of the subject's face to be clearly visible.

How to Adjust Sharpness in Your Photos

Most smartphone photo editing apps have a sharpening tool. Here's a step-by-step guide on how you can use this tool to sharpen your photos:

Step 1: Open the Image in the Editing Application

The first step is to open the image you want to edit in the photo editing application of your choice. There are many free and paid apps available such as Adobe Photoshop Express, Snapseed and VSCO.

Step 2: Access the Sharpen Tool

Once you open the image, navigate to the sharpen tool. The exact location of this tool may vary depending on the application you're using, but it's usually located in the edit or tweaks menu.

Step 3: Adjust the Sharpness

Now, you can start adjusting the sharpening. Most photo editing apps have a slider that you can use to increase or decrease the sharpness. Moving the slider to the right will sharpen the image, making details and contours more defined. Moving the slider to the left will decrease the sharpness, making the image softer.

It is important to be careful when adjusting the sharpness. Increasing the sharpness too much can make the image look grainy or pixelated, while decreasing the sharpness too much can make the image look blurry. The goal is to find a balance where details and contours are clearly visible, but the image still looks natural.

Step 4: Save the Edited Image

Once you've adjusted the sharpness to your liking, don't forget to save the edited image. Most photo editing apps have an option to save the image as a new copy, so you can still keep the original image intact.

Overall, adjusting the sharpness of your photos can make a big difference to the overall image quality. With a little practice, you can use the sharpen tool to turn your ordinary photos into stunning ones.

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