To optimize performance in CS5, users need to carefully consider the memory and hard space requirements for Photoshop. While some choices, like the number and types of layers are rather obvious in their demands for system resources, other changes in Photoshop CS5 are more obscure.

Performance in Photoshop is affected by several factors:

• Allocation of system RAM
• Computer processor speed
• Adequate GPU capability
• Photoshop configuration

Photoshop CS4 gave users more control over efficient configuration of Photoshop and added GPU support. Photoshop CS5 gives users even more options for optimizing Photoshop performance.

The topic this week has been sharpening. I've shared a video segment on sharpening basics. I've shared a chapter on Sharpening Basics. I'll wrap this feast of sharpening information from my eBook/video on sharpening (Sharpening Your Photographs) with the chapter on Multipass Sharpening.

You'll not only learn about the theory of multipass sharpening, you'll come away with candidate settings for capture sharpening, creative sharpening, and output sharpening.

I've participated in a couple of threads on DPreview and Photography-on-the.net this week that were basic discussions about sharpening digital photographs. After posting a video segment that discussed why we sharpen, how sharpening works, and how to approach sharpening in a systematic way, I'm still in a mood this weekend to help educate digital photographers on sharpening basics.

The recent review of Alien Skin Bokeh stimulated a question on various digital photography forums: Can the Photoshop Lens Blur filter be used to add a realistic bokeh effect to my photographs?

Yes. Definitely. Commercial tools like Alien Skin Bokeh require a little less work and they offer better visual feedback, but you can get equally pleasing results.

The Photoshop Lens Blur filter is useful for reducing Depth of Field (DOF) in photographs. A common problem however, is just the opposite: to extend DOF. Often, a single photograph cannot capture all of the detail. Either background features or foreground features end up being out of focus.

Photoshop CS4 has improved the Auto-Align Layers and Auto-Blend Layers commands so that it's possible to make a composite photograph from a stack of photos with each shot with a different point of focus.

“Expose to the right” is a popular refrain among digital photographers these days. Follow the advice, and you can end up with pictures that have a clipped channel. No highlight warning. The histogram does not indicate a problem, either. It's only when you get back and load your images into your RAW converter that you learn about the clipped channel.

Saturation masks allow you to make smooth saturation adjustments in order to bring back some highlight detail from the precipice and reeestablish smoother tonal transitions. You can also use their inverse to boost muted colors without oversaturating portions of the image that already have saturated colors. This idea is the foundation for the Vibrance adjustment in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CS4. Read this tutorial to learn how to use saturation masks in your color correction.

You can brand your images with an embossed, see-thru effect that displays the entire image while rendering it useless to anyone else for reproduction. There are just a few simple steps, perfect for automating with a Photoshop action. This tutorial explains how to prepare your proofs for the Web.

Overcast weather can provide a photographer with very even lighting. If you shoot images of flowers or do macro work, you'll likely find overcast light to be some of the best outdoor lighting. For the landscape photographer, however, an overcast day can be very disappointing. You can end up with a dull, flat image.

Getting the right Depth Of Field (DOF) for an image can be a challenge. Often, you want to get the subject in sharp focus and still blur details in the background and/or the foreground so they do not compete for attention. The Lens Blur filter is a new feature in Photoshop CS, and it is not all that well understood. Forget about the Gaussian Blur filter and read the tutorial to learn all about this powerful new tool for narrowing DOF in your images.