Split view doesn’t always help, though, depending on the exact content of your image. It’s handy to use the Preview toggle to compare the ‘before and after’ of your sharpening effect, and you can also use the Split view toggle to see half your image ‘before’ and half of it ‘after’. Threshold – sets the contrast difference required for GIMP to detects an edge Amount – how much sharpening is applied to the pixels within the radiusģ. Radius – pixels within the set radius of any detected edges receive sharpeningĢ. Keep that in mind as you think about the three settings and their effects.ġ. Sharpening works by detecting edge lines in your image – essentially, the separation of different objects – and increasing the relative contrast of the pixels near those edges. You can find the correct tool by opening the Filters menu, selecting the Enhance submenu, and then clicking Sharpen (Unsharp Mask). If you were having trouble finding the right Sharpen filter to use on the whole image, you’re not alone. Method 2: Sharpening an Image with a GIMP Filter If you find yourself using the brush over more than just a small section of your image, you’re probably better off applying a Sharpen filter to the entire image – so let’s take a look at how that works. If you want to sharpen your model’s eyelashes a bit or you want the bumblebee’s fuzz in your macro shot to really pop from the background, the Sharpen tool works well – but not for much more. When to Use The Sharpen Toolīecause of these issues, the Sharpen tool works best when you use it with a light touch.
Additionally, there’s no mask or guide that shows you exactly where you’ve already applied the tool, so you can wind up with very inconsistent results if you’re not careful. The Sharpen tool gives you the ultimate degree of control over how sharpening is applied to your image, but that great power comes with great responsibility a few downsides that limit its usefulness.Įvery click restarts the sharpening effect, so you often have to work in very long strokes that limit your undo options. If you’re going to use the Sharpen tool, use a mid-range Rate setting and gradually build up the effect as needed. Like all brush-based tools in GIMP, there are a number of options that can affect how the sharpening is applied from Opacity to Force, but Rate is the most important. Using the shortcut Shift + U is always a faster way to start sharpening. There are also two other tools bundled into this spot in the toolbox by default (though I’m not sure why, exactly), so if you can’t find the Blur / Sharpen tool it may be behind the Smudge or Dodge / Burn icons instead. Let’s take a closer look at these two methods for sharpening an image in GIMP, learn how they work, and where they fit best into your workflow. You’ve probably seen wildly oversharpened images online without realizing why they looked so bad, but a little attention to detail (and this guide) will make sure that never happens to any of your images. While sharpening is easy to apply, it’s even easier to apply far too much of it. Method 2: Open the Filters menu, select the Enhance submenu, and click Sharpen (Unsharp Mask).
Method 1: Select the Sharpen tool from the toolbox and hand-paint the areas to be sharpened. You can sharpen exclusively in selected areas using a brush-based tool, or you can sharpen the entire image at once with a filter. There are two primary ways to sharpen an image in GIMP, and they’re both easy to use.
GIMP only has a couple of sharpening options, but it’s important to use them properly to get perfect tack-sharp images that don’t look overprocessed. Sharpening can be the difference between a good photo and a great one, making it an essential step in any photo editing workflow.