In this video tutorial we will look at the Detail Tool and put it to work. The Detail Tool is broken down into two different tabs. The sharpening area allows you to add detail and overall sharpening to the photo, while the Noise Reduction area takes out some of the luminance patterns and color sparkles that can crop up in photos.

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Video Details

Picture 1

In this picture, photographer Dusan Simonovic had to use a high ISO of 1600 to capture the shot under low light conditions. Due to the high ISO, a lot of noise shows up. Here’s where the luminance and color sliders can be used to reduce the noise pattern.

Picture 2

In this photo by Jarel Remick we use the sharpening sliders to add some more detail to picture. I also added a bit more punch using the Basic adjustment sliders (not shown in the screencast).

A word of reminder – while every photo can probably use a little sharpening, don’t go crazy and introduce fringing and halos to your edges. Always start your sharpening in 100% view and move in as needed.