How to Fix Out of Focus Pictures in Lightroom

Don’t you hate when a photo comes out blurry? This may happen due to a slow shutter speed, a camera shake, or a lens without image stabilization. Learning how to fix out of focus pictures in Lightroom ensures you deliver crisp, quality real estate images.

How to Fix Out of Focus Pictures in Lightroom Using Three Methods

To fix out of focus images in Lightroom, you can use the Basic and Details Panel, the Adjustment Brush, or presets. With the Basics and Details Panel, you can make targeted adjustments using Clarity, Highlights, Sharpening, and Noise reduction. The Adjustment Brush lets you do selective sharpening, while presets may apply default sharpening settings.

Correcting a blurry photo seems impossible sometimes. However, Lightroom Classic CC has features that let you tweak and sharpen the image to restore the details. Here is where Lightroom’s robust sharpening tools come in handy.

Method 1: Sharpening an Image Using the Basic and Details Panel

The Develop Module in Lightroom comes with features that can fix blurred images. You can process your images in various ways from multiple options in the drop-down menus, sliders, and other forms of adjustment. 

I recommend using the following sliders. However, your workflow might deviate if your image requires specific edits.

Step 1: Access the Basic Panel

At first, I will adjust the clarity and highlights of the image under the Basic Panel. To access the panel:

1. Import your image into the Library Module of Lightroom.
2. Go to the Develop Module.
3. On the right-hand side, the first panel you will see under the Histogram is the Basic Panel.
4. Expand the Panel, and go down to see the Clarity slider.

Step 2: Bring Up Details Using the Clarity Slider

Blur in a real estate image hides important details. Bringing up Clarity is an excellent way to start the processing. 

Increasing the Clarity will crisp up the image by making fine adjustments to the details. This is specifically required in real estate photography as you don’t want a soft, gloomy picture that obscures details.

Step 3: Recover Details Using the Highlights Slider

You may or may not need to adjust the highlights in every blurry image. However, by dropping the slider a bit, you can change it to see if it adds to the photo's appeal. It might help recover some details that add punch to the picture.

Step 4: Make Other Global Adjustments

After adjusting Clarity and Highlights, tweak some basic sliders like Exposure, Whites, and Blacks to make global adjustments. You can also use these Sharpening tool values to fix a blurry image.

• Amount: The Amount slider determines the extent of sharpness applied to the image. It depends upon how much out of focus your photo is. As you increase the slider, your image will become sharper.
• Radius: The Radius slider is a handy feature for a sharpening effect on the pixel level. You can control the sharpening of pixels around the edges. It's ideal to keep the Radius value to a minimum.
• Detail: The more you increase the Detail slider, the sharper your image's small edges will be. On the other hand, a lower value will sharpen large edges only.
• Masking: The Masking slider sharpens the edges, leaving smooth areas unaffected. Hold down the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (Windows) to get the exact picture of where the masking slider will be applied. The masked areas will appear black or dark gray, whereas the sharpened areas will appear white and light gray.

Step 5: Apply Noise Reduction

The noise reduction feature is present right below the Sharpness sliders. It lets you minimize the noise in the color and brightness of the photo to make it pop. Note here that a lot of reduction in noise will result in a soft image.

You can increase the Luminance slider to minimize noise and then move on to the Details slider to preserve details in your image. After that, you can adjust the Colors slider as needed. 

Compare the before and after view of the image by pressing YY under the image window. 

Method 2: Sharpening an Image Using the Adjustment Brush 

Sometimes, only a specific section of a photo gets ruined due to missed focus. As the rest of the image doesn't require editing, you can use the Adjustment Brush in Lightroom for selective sharpening.

The Adjustment Brush is present on the extreme right under the Histogram.

1. Once you select the brush, choose an appropriate size and feather and begin masking the desired area. 
2. Press O to display where the mask is being applied. 
3. You can also erase the mask from unwanted areas by switching from Brush to Erase.

After that, apply the effects in the same manner described in the above section to reduce blur.

Method 3: Sharpening an Image Using Presets

Most photographers use Lightroom these days for their post-production process. This includes applying presets for quick batch editing.

 You can create presets with the settings mentioned above to sharpen out-of-focus images. Likewise, you can purchase the best ready-made Lightroom presets that fix such pictures with a click.

Lightroom has its default presets to apply Sharpening effects to photos. You can use Light, Medium, or Heavy sharpening presets from the Develop module's Presets tab on the left-hand side.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Whether you use the Basic and Details Panel, Adjustment Brush tool, or presets, you can dix blurry real estate images and make them look sharp. Once you get the hang of fixing blurry photos in Lightroom, your image processing workflow will speed up.