Use Unsharp Mask in Photoshop CS6

Edited by Freya, Amanda, Eng

You're watching VisiHow. In this video, I'm going to show you how you can use the unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6 in Windows 7. To begin, you should either create a new document or open an existing one. As you can see, I've already opened a previous photo here, with the document showing on the tab on the left-hand side. My image has only one layer, as indicated on the right-hand side.

Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas90 544.jpg

Steps

  1. 1
    Ensure that the right layer is selected
    .
    Click on the layer that should be worked on, if there is more than one.
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas27 638.jpg
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  2. 2
    Click "Filter"
    .
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas33 019.jpg
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  3. 3
    Hover over "Sharpen"
    .
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas34 379.jpg
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  4. 4
    Click the bottom option, "Unsharp Mask..."
    .
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas37 699.jpg
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  5. 5
    Click and drag on the preview in the new window to move it around
    .
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas40 579.jpg
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  6. 6
    Click the plus sign beneath the preview image to zoom in
    .
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas47 519.jpg
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  7. 7
    Click the minus sign beneath the preview image to zoom out
    .
    What the unsharp mask does is takes the pixels from the edges of the image and gets rid of any of the pixels that aren't the same color. This gives the illusion of a sharper image, depending on how it is used. Underneath the preview image, we have "Amount", "Radius", and "Threshold".
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas51 339.jpg
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  8. 8
    Click and drag the slider under "Amount" to change it
    .
    Move to the right for more, and to the left for less.
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas72 192.jpg
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  9. 9
    Click in the field next to "Amount" and type a number
    .
    This is an alternative way to change the amount. For our image, changing the amount doesn't seem to make much difference. Depending on what we were doing, it could be quite dramatic.
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas78 035.jpg
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  10. 10
    Click and drag the slider under "Radius"
    .
    As we increase it, it takes more block colors, in a way. This can be quite a nice effect.
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas88 791.jpg
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  11. 11
    Click in the field next to "Radius" and type in a preferred number
    .
    This is another way to change it.
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas97 874.jpg
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  12. 12
    Click and drag the slider under "Threshold"
    .
    Move the slider and experiment, and see what you like.
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas103 814.jpg
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  13. 13
    Click "OK" when ready to apply the changes to the canvas
    .
    Alternatively, click "Cancel" to go back without changing the canvas.
    Use unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6.mp4-canvas110 454.jpg
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  14. 14
    This is a VisiHow video
    .
    I've just shown you how you can use the unsharp mask in Photoshop CS6 in Windows 7. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to add them to the section below, and we'll do our best to get back to you.
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Video: Use Unsharp Mask in Photoshop CS6

If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.

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Categories : Software

Recent edits by: Amanda, Freya

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