INTRODUCTION
Here we add sharpening to a picture using the High Pass filter and Overlay blending.

OPEN PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS AND LOAD A PICTURE
Open Photoshop Elements in the Edit mode.  Hold the Ctrl key and tap the letter O key (Open) > navigate to a pictures folder and click any picture > click Open > maximize the view with Ctrl + 0 (the number).

CREATE A DUPLICATE LAYER
Hold the Ctrl key and tap the J key (creates a duplicate layer) > double click the name and type Blend > press the Enter key.

CONVERT TO BLACK & WHITE
With Blend selected, hold the Ctrl key and tap the U key (Unsaturate) > move the Saturation slider all the way to the left > click OK. (Blend is now Black & White)

USE THE HIGH PASS FILTER
With Blend selected, click Filter + Other + High Pass > move the slider from left to right until a small amount of detail appears (don’t go beyond a radius of 4) > click OK.

CHANGE THE BLENDING MODE
Click the “Select the blending mode of the layer” button (down arrow just right of the word Normal at top of the Layers palette) > select Overlay.

TEST THE RESULT
Hold the Alt key and click and unclick the Background visibility eye.  (Only bottom eye open = original image, both eyes open = sharpened image)

TRY SOME VARIATIONS
Select the Blend layer > change the opacity of the Overlay blended layer.  Try the following blending modes: Soft Light, Hard Light, Vivid Light and Linear Light.  Normally you will want to use Overlay.

CONCLUSION
Most pictures look better if you add a bit of sharpening.  This method of  sharpening can be controlled by varying the High Pass filter radius, by selecting various blending modes and by changing the opacity of the blended layer.

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