Unsharp Mask
A sharpening technique that subtracts a blurred copy from the original to boost edge contrast. It began in darkroom printing and is now in nearly every photo editor, with overuse causing halos.
Spot it
- 01Crisp edge contrast
- 02Light halos along contours
- 03Punchy micro-detail
Why it happens
A blurred version is subtracted from the original to isolate fine detail, and that difference is scaled and added back, increasing contrast at edges.
Recreate it in Pixio
Image edit prompt“Apply aggressive unsharp mask sharpening to this image: very crisp edges, boosted micro-contrast and texture, thin bright halos along high-contrast contours, a gritty, punchy, over-sharpened look with natural, unchanged colors. Keep the original subject and composition.”
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