Help with selective sharpening in Photoshop

[Lester]

Hi all, I think this is the new step I need to take to help my images. To be able to sharpen part of an image without blowing out the stars would be my aim. I have done some searching but have not found anything to cover this area. How do others do this?
Thanks.:thumbsup:

[Octane]

Select > Color Range.

Select Midtones. That should get everything that isn't too dark (shadows) and avoid the stars (highlights). Then, run your standard high pass sharpening or whatever sharpening method you like to use.

That is just one of a hundred different methods. You can get really, really tricky and end up with half-a-dozen layers just to select sharpening zones.

H

[Tandum]

Here's another way. Open the image and duplicate it. Over smart sharpen the duplicate a lot, like way over sharpened. Then go to the menu select layer/layer mask/hide all. The over sharpened image disappears. Make sure the duplicate and layer mask in the layers pallet is highlighted. Now get the brush tool with colour set to white and adjust brush diameter to suit. Paint in the areas you want to sharpen. Now adjust opacity on the sharpened layer to suit. Flatten.

[Lester]

Thanks Humayun and Robin that will help me a lot.

Others can add more to this thread, as it can only help.

[jjjnettie]

Or... :)
select - Colour Range
select Sampled Colours
slide fuzziness to 100
use the eyedropper to select the brightest star
adjust fuzziness slider up or down the scale until the it encompasses your desired selection.
Click on OK
Click on Select then Inverse
Click on Select then Modify - use the expand and contract controls to adjust the size of the selection if necessary.
Click on Select then Modify - Feather - for stars I usually us a feather radius of 2 pixels. (feathering softens the edges of the selection)

[Lester]

Thanks JJ, appreciate the input.

All the best.

[midnight]

Some very useful tips here!

Thanks everyone (and Lester for asking!). I have certainly learnt some nice new tips.

Cheers,
Darrin...