# How to sharpen an image in Photoshop > To sharpen an image in Photoshop, choose Filter → Sharpen → Smart Sharpen, set Amount (about 100–150%) and Radius (0.5–1.5 px), pick Lens Blur under Remove and raise Reduce Noise if grain appears. Unsharp Mask (Filter → Sharpen → Unsharp Mask) is the quicker classic. Sharpening only adds edge contrast — for a truly blurry photo an AI enhancer such as Kenerate's Phota Enhance rebuilds detail instead. URL: https://kenerateai.com/how-to-sharpen-an-image-in-photoshop Publisher: Kenerate AI (https://kenerateai.com) Last updated: 26 September 2026 ## Key facts - Best filter: Smart Sharpen - Start with: Amount 100–150% · Radius 0.5–1.5 px - Quick classic: Unsharp Mask - Blurry photo?: Use an AI enhancer ## Steps 1. Make a smart object — Right-click the layer and choose Convert to Smart Object (or Filter → Convert for Smart Filters) so you can change the sharpening later. 2. Open Smart Sharpen — Choose Filter → Sharpen → Smart Sharpen and zoom the preview to 100%. 3. Set Amount and Radius — Start around Amount 100–150% and Radius 0.5–1.5 px. A small radius sharpens fine detail; a larger one sharpens broader edges. 4. Pick what to remove and reduce noise — Set Remove to Lens Blur for finer sharpening with fewer halos (Gaussian Blur behaves like Unsharp Mask), and raise Reduce Noise until grain stops getting worse. 5. Click OK and check at 100% — Toggle the smart filter on and off to compare. Lower Amount if you see bright halos along edges. ## In depth ### Unsharp masking in one paragraph Unsharp masking subtracts a blurred copy of the image from the original to isolate edges, then adds that edge detail back at higher contrast [1]. Radius sets how wide the edges are; Amount sets how strong; Threshold skips small differences such as grain. ### What Smart Sharpen adds Smart Sharpen lets you choose which blur to counter — Gaussian, Lens or Motion — and reduce noise while sharpening; Adobe notes Lens Blur detects edges and detail for finer sharpening with fewer halos [2]. ### Noise is the limit Every sharpening method also sharpens noise, and noise is unavoidable in low light: photon counts vary pixel to pixel and high ISO makes it visible [3]. That's why Adobe built Denoise as a separate AI step, and why heavy blur is better handled by restoration models that rebuild detail rather than boost edges [4]. References: [1] Unsharp masking — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsharp_masking [2] Adobe — Sharpen images with Smart Sharpen: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/effects-filters/smart-filters/sharpen-controls-with-smart-sharpen.html [3] Adobe — Denoise demystified (2023): https://blog.adobe.com/en/publish/2023/04/18/denoise-demystified [4] Wang et al. — Real-ESRGAN (ICCV Workshops 2021): https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.10833 ## FAQ Q: How do I sharpen an image in Photoshop? A: Choose Filter → Sharpen → Smart Sharpen, set Amount (start around 100–150%) and Radius (0.5–1.5 px), choose Lens Blur in Remove, raise Reduce Noise if grain appears, and click OK. Apply it to a smart object so you can change it later. Q: What is the difference between Smart Sharpen and Unsharp Mask? A: Unsharp Mask is the fast, traditional method with Amount, Radius and Threshold. Smart Sharpen adds noise reduction, a choice of blur to remove (Gaussian, Lens or Motion) and separate control of shadows and highlights. Q: Can Photoshop fix a blurry image? A: Sharpening makes a slightly soft image look crisper by adding contrast along edges. It cannot recover detail lost to missed focus or heavy blur — an AI restoration model such as Phota Enhance does much better on those. Q: What are good Unsharp Mask settings? A: For web images: Amount 80–120%, Radius 0.5–1 px, Threshold 0–3. For print, a slightly larger Radius. Always judge at 100% zoom. Q: How do I sharpen without adding noise? A: Use Smart Sharpen's Reduce Noise slider, raise Threshold in Unsharp Mask, or sharpen only edges with a mask. Or use an AI enhancer that removes noise and sharpens in one pass. Q: Should I sharpen before or after resizing? A: After. Resize to the final size first, then sharpen for that size and output — sharpening a large image and then shrinking it wastes the effect. Q: Is there a faster way than Photoshop? A: Yes — upload the photo to an AI enhancer. On Kenerate, Phota Enhance sharpens soft and blurry photos in about 40 seconds, and Real-ESRGAN sharpens while it enlarges. ## Related pages - AI image upscaler: https://kenerateai.com/ai-image-upscaler - Upscale image: https://kenerateai.com/upscale-image - AI image enhancer: https://kenerateai.com/ai-image-enhancer - Upscale image to 4K: https://kenerateai.com/upscale-image-to-4k - Increase image resolution: https://kenerateai.com/increase-image-resolution - HD photo converter: https://kenerateai.com/hd-photo-converter - Unblur image: https://kenerateai.com/unblur-image - Sharpen image: https://kenerateai.com/sharpen-image - Unpixelate image: https://kenerateai.com/unpixelate-image - Photo restoration: https://kenerateai.com/photo-restoration - Uncensored image enhancer: https://kenerateai.com/enhance-ai - Enhance AI art: https://kenerateai.com/enhance-ai-art - Anime upscaler: https://kenerateai.com/anime-upscaler - Bulk image upscaler: https://kenerateai.com/bulk-image-upscaler - Remove glare from photo: https://kenerateai.com/remove-glare-from-photo - Restore old photos: https://kenerateai.com/how-to-restore-old-photos - Best photo restoration software: https://kenerateai.com/best-photo-restoration-software - Denoise photos: https://kenerateai.com/how-to-denoise-photos - Increase image resolution: https://kenerateai.com/how-to-increase-resolution-of-an-image - All upscaler alternatives: https://kenerateai.com/image-upscaler-alternatives - Remini alternative: https://kenerateai.com/remini-alternative - Let's Enhance alternative: https://kenerateai.com/lets-enhance-alternative - upscale.media alternative: https://kenerateai.com/upscale-media-alternative - Upscayl online: https://kenerateai.com/upscayl-online - Bigjpg alternative: https://kenerateai.com/bigjpg-alternative - VanceAI alternative: https://kenerateai.com/vanceai-alternative - waifu2x alternative: https://kenerateai.com/waifu2x-alternative - Magnific AI alternative: https://kenerateai.com/magnific-ai-alternative - Topaz Labs alternative: https://kenerateai.com/alternatives/topazlabs-alternative ## Sources - Adobe — Sharpen images with Smart Sharpen: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/effects-filters/smart-filters/sharpen-controls-with-smart-sharpen.html - Adobe — Sharpen images with Unsharp Mask: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/desktop/effects-filters/smart-filters/sharpen-images-with-unsharp-mask.html - Unsharp masking — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsharp_masking