About the Sharpen Tool
Sharpening the whole picture also sharpens noise, skin texture and flat areas that look better soft. The sharpen tool lets you choose what gets crisp: paint over eyes, lettering, jewellery or the edge of a product and only those places gain definition. Pick the brush size, softness and strength, make as many passes as you need, undo what you do not like and save a full-size PNG. For a quick whole-picture sharpening, Sharpen Image is the faster choice; this tool is for careful, local work. Nothing is uploaded.
Updated October 2026
How to use the Sharpen Tool
- 1Select an image or drop one on the page.
- 2Choose a small to medium brush with a soft edge.
- 3Set a strength. Start low, around 30 to 50 percent.
- 4Drag over the details you want to bring out, one pass at a time.
- 5Undo if you overdo it, then press Download PNG.
Sharpen only what should be sharp
Cameras and phones often leave a photo slightly soft, especially after resizing. Sharpening the whole picture helps the subject but also makes skin pores, noise and background texture more visible. Painting the sharpening only on the important details is how retouchers get a crisp, clean result.
How to use it well
Use a small brush that follows the shape of the detail, and a low strength. One pass is often enough. Look at the picture at 100 percent zoom: sharpening that looks right on a small preview can be harsh when viewed full size.
- Eyes and lashes: tiny brush, 30 to 40%
- Text on a sign or label: small brush, 50%
- Hair: medium brush, 30%, follow the direction of the hair
- Product edges: small brush, 40 to 60%
Sharpen and blur together
A pleasing combination is to blur the background a little with the Blur Tool and sharpen the subject's details. This makes the subject stand out as it would with a wide-aperture lens.
What sharpening really does
Sharpening makes the dark side of an edge a little darker and the bright side a little brighter. This increases the feeling of detail but also exaggerates any noise. That is why local sharpening beats global sharpening on noisy photos.
A quick example
Say you have a portrait taken indoors that looks a bit soft. Take a brush about as wide as an eye, set the strength to 40 and edge hardness to 30. Pass over each eye once and then once along the eyebrows. Leave the cheeks and forehead alone. The eyes become clearer and the skin stays smooth.
Phone and computer
On a phone, use one finger; the page does not scroll while you touch the picture. On a computer, a ring shows the brush size. Pictures up to about 16 million pixels are supported and saved at full size as PNG. To sharpen a whole picture in one go use Sharpen Image, and use the Blur Tool for the soft opposite. For a bigger picture, the Image Enlarger scales it up, and the Photo Editor handles more changes.
Features
- Sharpen only where you paint
- Adjustable size, softness and strength
- Builds up gradually with passes
- Undo and Start over
- Touch, mouse and pen supported
- Private, no upload
Frequently asked questions
What does the sharpen tool do?
It increases contrast along edges under the brush, which makes details look crisper. It cannot create detail that the camera never captured.
Can it fix a blurry photo?
It can make a slightly soft photo look better, but it cannot rescue a photo with motion blur or a missed focus. Strong sharpening only adds halos and noise.
What is the difference from Sharpen Image?
Sharpen Image sharpens the whole picture in one go. The sharpen tool is a brush, so you decide exactly where, for example the eyes but not the skin.
Why does my picture look grainy or have bright outlines?
You sharpened too much. Lower the strength and use fewer passes. Bright outlines around edges, called halos, are the typical sign of over-sharpening.
Which parts of a photo benefit most?
Eyes, eyelashes, text, jewellery, hair strands and product edges. Skin, sky and blurred backgrounds usually look worse sharpened.
Is my photo uploaded?
No. The work happens in your browser.