Boost clarity with the Unsharp Mask filter

When it comes to sharpening an image, things can get a little hairy, especially if you aren't sure of the best approach to take. Although much depends on the image itself, there are a few techniques you can use on all of your images to boost detail and crispness. Often, images lose clarity during the photographic process or when they're scanned. Because of this, Photoshop comes equipped with a filter known as Unsharp Mask (USM). This filter is ideal when it comes to redefining imagery.

Keep in mind that this filter isn't a miracle worker. You can't take a low-resolution image that's blurry or pixelated and turn it into a high-quality image, but you can take a decent image and make it really sharp with ...

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