**Program Tutorials** : Paint Shop Pro : *Program Basic

Radius chooses the number of pixels around the point of contrast difference. Strength controls how much contrast is added to those pixels. Clipping affects the lightness of the selected pixels.

Unfortunately, one of the disadvantages in sharpening digital photos is that the filter has a habit of sharpening the area you don’t want to sharpen, such as noise or graininess. Using the adjustable controls will help minimize the inevitable noise increase.

When using the Unsharp Mask, there is no “perfect setting.” Unsharp Masking requires practice and depends entirely on the photo itself. Be sure to experiment with the adjustable controls to achieve the look you want.

1. Open your image in Paint Shop Pro and make a copy (Shift+D). Close your original photo.
   
2. Apply the Unsharp Mask filter by clicking on Adjust > Sharpness > Unsharp Mask.
   
3. Be sure to use the Navigation button located in the middle of the Unsharp Mask window to move your window to an area that you can preview.
   
4. Begin entering values in each of the three fields, experimenting with different numbers to achieve the sharpness you desire for your photo. The following photo has Radius – 8, Strength – 100, and Clipping – 5. Notice the resulting harshness.
   
5. The following example has Radius – 2, Strength – 214, and Clipping – 22. These settings have created overly emphasized edges which are not very realistic.
   
6. The following example has Radius – 2, Strength – 100, and Clipping – 5. These values work well for this particular photo.
   
7. Here are the original photo and the final photo for comparison:
   

   As you can see, the Unsharp Mask filter is quite powerful in improving the appearance of your photos. Have fun experimenting!