Sharpening is a normal part of the editing process, but keep your eye out for the right image to "mix it up" a bit.

We all know the best process to follow - always sharpen last . . . right? That's the way I do it (usually selective sharpening in Nik Define) - that is, until I stopped "always sharpening". Depending on the subject, maybe sharpening would ruin a budding image. Consider the mood and feeling of each shot to determine how best to complete it - let it "talk to you".

In the opening image, I purposely softened the shot, along with "richening" up and warming the tones in Nik Color Efex Pro 4.
The second image is a sharpened version with a little more contrast in the tones. It's not a bad image (at least I don't think so) - it's just different. Given the warm glow of the cloudy sunrise - I just liked the moody (unsharpened version) better.

Just something to think about!

Stay in Focus!

Mark