Photo Sharpener

Recover crisp edge detail from soft, blurry old photos with a gentle unsharp mask — free, fast, and processed entirely in your browser.

Private by design — your photo is processed locally and never uploaded.

Drop a photo here, or click to browse

Supported formats: JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP

Before After

Drag to compare

Tip: upload the largest scan you have — bigger input gives better results.

How It Works

Scanning, small-format prints and age all soften an image: fine edges get a few pixels wide halo instead of a crisp transition. The Photo Sharpener applies an unsharp mask — the same technique professional editors use — but runs it entirely on your device through the HTML5 Canvas API. Nothing is uploaded; the page works even after you go offline.

The two knobs explained:

Sharpening amount

Controls how strongly edges are amplified. Low values (30–60) give a natural "scanned" crispness; higher values (100+) visibly darken and lighten edges and start to look crunchy.

Detail radius

Controls the size of the edges being enhanced. A small radius (0.5–1) brings out fine texture like eyelashes and fabric weave; a larger radius (2–3) strengthens broader outlines such as facial contours and buildings.

How an unsharp mask works

The tool blurs a copy of your photo, then adds the difference between the original and the blur back onto the original. That difference is the edge information — amplifying it makes edges pop without a simple brightness boost.

Noise-aware workflow

Sharpening amplifies grain too, so we recommend denoising grainy scans first with the Photo Denoiser, then sharpening lightly for the best result.

An honest note: sharpening is contrast on edges, not magic focus. If a face is genuinely out of focus, no amount of sharpening will recover an eye that was never resolved — it will only emphasize the blur and add halos. This tool is for photos that are slightly soft from scanning or age, not badly misfocused shots.

How to Use

Upload the soft photoDrag your scan in. Sharpening works best on a reasonably high-resolution file; start from the best scan you have.
Click "Auto Sharpen"The default amount 60 and radius 1.2 add a natural amount of edge definition to most family portraits.
Fine-tune around the eyesZoom mentally into the preview: if lashes and hair look crisp but the sky gets grainy, lower the amount. For group portraits, raise radius slightly to strengthen broader facial features.
Stop before halos appearIf you see white ringing around hair, glasses or buildings, dial back the amount — that halo is the classic over-sharpening artifact.
Download the resultSave as PNG for archiving, JPG for printing, WebP for web use.

FAQ

Is my photo uploaded to a server?

No. The sharpening math runs locally in your browser with the Canvas API. Your photo never leaves your device and the tool keeps working offline after the page loads.

Can sharpening fix a truly out-of-focus photo?

No. An unsharp mask only boosts existing edge contrast — it cannot invent detail the lens never captured. A badly misfocused face will look "edgier" but still blurry, and pushing it too hard creates ugly halos.

Why do I see a white glow around hair or glasses?

That is over-sharpening. Lower the "Sharpening amount" in steps of 10 and/or reduce the "Detail radius". The sweet spot for most portraits is amount 40–80 with radius 1–1.5.

Should I sharpen before or after denoising?

Denoise first, then sharpen. Sharpening amplifies whatever is in the image — including film grain and dust — so cleaning noise first means the sharpen slider has real edges to work on.

Is it free?

Yes — free, unlimited, no watermark. The site is supported by ads and an optional Pro tier later.