Field guide

Clarity and sharpening solve different problems

Both controls can make a picture feel crisper, but they work at different spatial scales and create different artefacts when pushed.

Sharpening builds narrow contrast around edges. It is appropriate for slight optical softness and output preparation, but it also strengthens noise and compression blocks.

Clarity changes broader local contrast, especially through midtones. It can reveal texture in landscape and architecture while making skin and haze look harsh.

Judge sharpening at one-to-one display and clarity at both working and final size. A halo is a pixel-scale defect; an overworked tonal structure changes the whole image.

Apply noise reduction before either adjustment when noise is prominent. Enhancing first makes random texture look like subject detail and leaves the denoiser a harder separation problem.