This is my favorite Photoshop processing technique at the moment: boosting Midtone Contrast using the Unsharp Mask filter. Increasing Midtone contrast removes what looks like a hazy film over your image and I think makes images look much more vibrant.
I haven't
posted too much about my processing workflow yet since I’m still significantly tinkering with it. Regardless of what I'm trying though, I add this step somewhere along the way. I've been using
this technique for several years, and have yet to find another method I like
better. The good news is that Unsharp Mask should be compatible with most any version, even ancient versions, of Photoshop.
Unsharp Mask Midtone Contrast Technique
Since the
technique uses an Unsharp Mask filter, I first create a new merged layer (ctrl+alt+shift+e on a PC) to preserve the original background image.
Then select Filter => Unsharp Mask (optionally, make the layer a smart object first)
The settings
for Unsharp Mask have nothing to do with sharpening. Instead, you will do
something strange, very strange. The basic template is to essentially make the
Radius much bigger than the Amount (and leave the Threshold very low; I like
0).
Unsharp Mask Settings:
- Radius
to the max : 250
- Threshold
to the min: 0
- Then vary
the Amount to taste.
I start
with Amount: 5, but have been known to push it up past 40 depending on the image (for big moves above 10, I sometimes prefer to repeat the process on
subsequent Filter layers for a smoother effect, but did it all in one for this example).
Midtone Contrast Example
 |
Left: Original
Right: After Midtone Contrast enhancement
Unsharp Mask settings shown (Amount:40; Radius 250; Treshold: 0)
|
This midtone contrast technique has helped me so much; I don't notice any weird haloes compared to other approaches. I had thought this Unsharp Mask technique was just a poor-man's version of the Clarity slider, but when I
finally upgraded to Photoshop CS5, I was so dissapointed at the haloes introduced by the vaunted Clarity
slider in Adobe Camera Raw. Turns out, I like the old Unsharp Mask approach for boosting midtone contrast much
better!
Caveat: The
one big drawback for this approach in my workflow is that this technique uses a filter, not an adjustment layer. Even
using 'Smart Objects' in later versions of Photoshop does not really help because it doesn't change the fact that any
further tweaks you may make to adjustment layers below this image will no
longer propagate to future adjustment layers. For this reason, I try to use
this technique at the very start of my flow and then build any adjustment layers on top of it. I might also apply this filter again at the very end to recover clarity lost when reducing the image size for the web.
Second Approach to Midtone Contrast
I also like improve midtone contrast with High Pass filter described below, but it unfortunately has similar potential halo issues like the clarity slider.
- Create a new
Merged Layer (on a PC: ctrl+shift+alt+e )
- Create Smart
Object (optional, if you have it)
- Filter =>
Other => High Pass
- Set Amount
to 50-ish (if it's a smart filter, then you can change this later)
- Unfortunately, this can also introduce some haloes.
- I usually spend time trying to clean them up in subsequent layers.
- Set Blend
Mode to Overlay (or Soft Light, or play around with it)
- Tweak the
Layer Opacity to taste
- Optional:
Double click the layer to bring up the dialogue and pull in the Blend If
sliders to taste
- Use Alt to
click & drag on the inner most part of the sliders to separate them
(according to taste; I usually find a separation of around 30-50 works best for
me)
- This preserves the extreme
highlights or shadows
Wrapping It Up
Most of my
other processing techniques are in a huge state of flux right now. I've been
spending an embarrassing amount of hours tinkering and experimenting. I even
just bought a book about the strange and mysterious world of LAB mode -
yikes, wish me luck! (And by all means,
post any photo processing tips you are willing to pass along, related to midtone contrast or otherwise.) So far, through it all, this Unsharp Mask method of enhancing midtone contrast has been a quick and reliable
mainstay for just about every image I process.
Hope this technique helps you too!
-by Laura A Knauth
