Soft Shot - any chance of sharpening it?

[The View]

I know you can sharpen a shot that has been shot in focus.

But how about a shot that is soft?

But now I had a headshot session with an actor, who often moved his head sharply forward just at the very moment.

In one shot, where I got him perfectly - his move out of the focus pane was too quick, and the autofocus didn't catch it.

Can I save this soft shot through sharpening?

Thanks.

[LoisWakeman]

Can I save this soft shot through sharpening?
Thanks.
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Who knows without seeing it? But on balance, it seems unlikely: faces are much less forgiving than scenery because of the way our brains are wired.

[feppe]

There is some software and PS plugins which claim to bring out-of-focus shots to acceptable levels. The claims are largely unfounded, and the results vary. Google for the software and decide for yourself.

[colourperfect]

OPTIPIX refocus plugin does help with focus problems relating to lack of depth of field. However its not magic and the improvement is not going to bring an out of focus face back into focus.

I use in on landscape images that dont have as much DOF. You need to be at 100% to notice a difference over 'normal' sharpening such as that provided by Photokit sharpener.

I find the best solution is some of both

Ian

http://profiles.colourperfect.co.uk

[Jonathan Wienke]

Can I save this soft shot through sharpening?

Sharpening can undo the effects of the AA filter, but trying to do more than that increases the level of artifacting to unacceptable levels. You can bring out detail that is difficult to see, but not create detail that has been completely lost. Reshoot.

[The View]

Thanks for your replies.

I guess I will pull my ears, let the soft shots sink into ovlivion, and that's it.

Those two soft shots: I was so proud to get a Robin Williams quality out of an actor, who had been so uptight before. (It's harder to get a good shot of the comedy side of an actor than of his drama or sunny side).

But, gladly enough, I had enough other good shots to choose from.

Lesson learned.