Alexis,
Though there is no easy answer to your question as it depends upon the settings you use to shoot and your personal preferences.
I use L with superfine compression. I usually do two rounds of USM.
1. A=15%, R=50, T=5 (usually removes the "white film like thingy" on top of the pic)
2. A=100%, R=0.3, T=0 (more A, R if there are no people in the pics).
this step creates that perception of depth as if the pic has suddenly come alive. You may need to do more aggressive second step if your pic is slightly out of focus.
The rule I follow is that USM should be subtle rather than drastic. If another person can immediately tell that USM has been applied then it is drastic.
. Play around with slightly different values from above. Soon you will settle down on values that you find work for you.
Sometimes the second sharpening is not at all required because the pic is really sharp to begin with. Good thing about PS is that by looking at actual pixels and clicking/unclicking the preview pane I can judge if USM is subtle or drastic). You can do the same thing using ctrl-Z to undo the change and thus flipping back and forth to see if USM is producing the desired results. Clicking the first and last entry in history also does the same. If I do not like the change I garbage(delete) the entry in the history which takes me back to the action I did before the deleted step.
For more info query on this forum or retouching forum on USM.
-Tarun
I take it most people use Photoshop for processing their pics. What
values are you guys using for Unsharp mask and more importantly is
a simple description of what each does and its effect.
Thanx in advance
alexis
--
