Extract & Composite High Frequency Information Back Into An Image to Increase Definition

You can extract the high frequency information out of an image, turn it into a layer, and composite it back in to improve image definition.
See higher res versions of the before and after images on the Sky Story Astrobin at: www.astrobin.com/m60xd5/B/
*** *** ***
Check out a portfolio of astro imagery shot from the Sky Story Observatory at Astrobin: www.astrobin.com/users/SkyStory/
We are Telescope Canada's first affiliate. It's a great place for astrophotography gear. Using the following link adds nothing to your cost but helps us produce more educational videos about this amazing universe around us. telescopescanada.ca?bg_ref=KK15sLXmWw
All videos best viewed in 4K.
Peer into the cosmos on Sky Story and along the way come to appreciate our world all the more. Here, we explore the realm of nature beyond our Earth through the fields of astronomy and astrophotography.
All our programs are committed to the standards of scientifically accurate, high quality content that aims to educate and inspire. New videos are posted almost weekly, so please subscribe.
#astronomy #astrophotography #space #nebula #stars

[@mohicanspap]

You've been pushing out so many great tips for post processing astro images. Thank you so much!

[@captainfruitbatify]

This is a great tip but I think there's a better way to do it. Instead of frequency separation, use a live High Pass filter. It essentially does the same thing, but because it is a live filter, you can adjust the pixel radius after applying it to fine tune things. It also has a "Monochrome" switch which makes it work on luminance only without the need to extract a separate monochrome layer. I will sometimes employ two separate high pass filter layers like this; one with a small pixel setting to sharpen fine detail, and another with larger pixel setting and maybe a less aggressive blend mode (maybe overlay or soft light) to improve overall definition/contrast.

[@SKYST0RY]

In general, the tools are like paint brushes, paint and various painters' techniques. You can often combine them in various ways to reach a desired end goal. Your idea with the live HP filter is a good one. Not shown in the video is that I already did this earlier in developing when I applied the technique covered in the "Combine the Orton Effect & Synergistic Sharpening" video. What I prefer about the frequency separation method, however, is that once I have divided the image into HF and LF layers, I can perform whatever editing operations I want only on that HF information before compositing it back into the image, making the editing process very specific. You can also lift out a finer, sharper layer with the Frequency Separation tool by choosing a smaller pixel radius and then only operate on that layer before compositing back in.

[@HankElliott1]

Thanks! Tried it out on M16 and was impressed by the result.

[@Aerostar509]

How long did it take you to make this video? Such good information for me to try on my images.

[@robertarmstrong9406]

Sorry for this question. What program are you using?

[@SKYST0RY]

That's a good question. My bad for not mentioning in the video. I am using Affinity Photo.