Should I sharpen each photo before building a large printed collage, or sharpen the final collage only?
Asked 12/21/2013
6 views
2 answers
0
I’m creating a large printed collage from about 200 photos. The final display will be around 48 x 72 inches, assembled from multiple smaller collage sections. Most images are RAW files edited in Lightroom, and some are JPEGs from another photographer. I’m building the collage in software and then combining the sections into one final print layout.
For output sharpening, is it better to sharpen each individual photo before placing it into the collage, or wait and apply sharpening only to the finished collage file?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
2
Ideally you should sharpen each image individually.
Different images may need diffent amount of sharpening.
If you sharpen after putting the images together, you will also sharpen the boundaries between the images. This will make the boundaries stand out more than they would otherwise, and may also cause artifacts around the boundaries.
Originally by user149. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user149
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Sharpen the individual images first, not just the finished collage.
Each photo can need a different amount of sharpening depending on focus, subject detail, noise, and source quality. If you wait and sharpen only the completed collage, the sharpening will also affect the edges between images, which can make the seams more visible and may introduce artifacts around those boundaries.
A practical approach is:
- edit and sharpen each image individually as needed
- place them into the collage
- avoid heavy global sharpening on the final assembled collage
If you do any final sharpening at all, keep it very light and only for the overall print output. The main sharpening work should be done per image before assembly.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI12y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Does print resolution need to be a round PPI value?
What’s the best way to build a very large collage or mosaic from 2,300 photos?
How can I create a triptych from one photo without Photoshop?
Should image sharpening be applied in RGB or only to luminance in YUV/Lab?
Will text print more sharply in a photo book if I place it as text instead of flattening it into a JPEG/TIFF page?