Sharpen Image in Photoshop (High Pass + Smart Sharpen)
Follow this streamlined sharpening process to add crisp detail while keeping control. You’ll build a High Pass sharpening layer, then finish with Smart Sharpen for clean, accurate results.
Step-by-step instructions
Duplicate the base layer
In the Layers panel, select your image layer.
Duplicate it (Layer → Duplicate Layer…).
Keep the duplicate (upper) layer active.
Boost detail with High Pass
Go to Filter → Other → High Pass….
Enter a Radius of 3 (adjust as needed), then click OK.
Set the duplicate layer’s Blend Mode to Hard Light.
Adjust the layer’s Opacity to fine-tune sharpening intensity.
Stamp a merged layer for advanced sharpening
Press Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+Option+E (Mac) to create a merged layer on top.
Select the new merged layer.
Apply Smart Sharpen
Go to Filter → Sharpen → Smart Sharpen….
Ensure Preview is checked and Basic is selected.
Increase Amount based on your image resolution and taste.
Set Remove to Gaussian Blur and enable More Accurate.
Click OK to apply the sharpening.
Group and compare before/after
Select the two sharpening layers and group them (Ctrl/Cmd+G).
Toggle the group visibility to see the difference before and after sharpening.
