Image sharpening in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Enhance the details.

For control over your photo that goes beyond an image sharpener, make custom adjustments in the Effects tab. You can apply these changes to the whole image, or use the brush to paint the effect over specific parts of the image.

Add or adjust texture.

Moving the Texture slider increases or decreases the appearance of texture in the photo. Sliding to the right enhances medium-sized details (good for revealing foliage), while sliding to the left diminishes those medium-sized details (good for giving skin a smoother appearance). If you’re editing portraits, use the Adjustment Brush tool to paint over features you want to smooth, like your subject’s cheeks and forehead, and move the slider to the left. Or you might do the opposite. Sharpen the eyes, eyelashes, and hair by painting those with the brush and moving the Texture slider to the right.

Improve clarity.

Moving the Clarity slider increases or decreases the contrast of edge details in the image, especially in the midtones. Increasing clarity makes objects appear more substantial and three-dimensional. For portraits, increase the clarity of your subject’s eyes by painting them with the brush and then sliding the Clarity slider to the right. Try clarity on your landscape photos to really make them pop.

Slide to sharpen.

The Sharpen slider works as a sharpening filter to adjust the very fine details in an image. It’s important to keep your adjustments subtle. If you push the slider too far to the right, you risk introducing noise. For even more control, click on the arrow to the right of the Sharpen slider to reveal more sliders:

• The Radius slider adjusts the thickness of the contrast edges. Sliding left gives a thinner edge, or smaller radius value. Sliding right creates thicker edges.
  
  
• The Detail slider determines the size of the details that get sharpened. Sliding to the left applies the sharpening to the larger details, while moving to the right sharpens even the smallest details.
  
  
• The Masking slider controls where the sharpening is applied. Sliding all the way to the left applies the sharpening effect to the whole image. Sliding right sharpens only areas with well-defined edges. If you’re editing a landscape photo that features cloud and sky, sliding to the right can help avoid exaggerating noise in those areas.

Explore in-app tutorials

To improve your skills and pick up photo-editing tips from the pros, follow the prompts in the Learn section of your Lightroom app.