# Is sharpening in Lightroom 3 Develop Non destructible



## fujiman (Nov 13, 2012)

I have found that once sharpening is set in Lightroom develop module, it cannot be undone (eg. reduced in amount). Is this correct?


----------



## Jim Wilde (Nov 13, 2012)

No. Because all editing in Lightroom is 'non-destructive' it is only applied to an image during export/print (and so never to the original file). Until then edits are merely entries in a database (the catalog) and can be modified or removed as often as you want. That includes sharpening.....

What makes you think that you can't reduce it once applied?


----------



## Tony Jay (Nov 13, 2012)

Absolutely any edit applied in the develop module can be reversed.
Only exporting an image as a JPEG or TIFF or whatever 'bakes in' the changes.

Tony Jay


----------



## Brad Snyder (Nov 13, 2012)

Fujiman, if no one has said so already, Welcome to the Forums.

As you can see, the answer to your asked question is no. 

I guess the unasked question is, "What are you seeing that makes you think that sharpening is non-reversible?"

(Be aware that there is a complex up-date relationship between the Library preview and Develop module displays, particularly at differing zoom levels, and particularly affecting Noise Reduction and Sharpening displays.)


----------



## Mark Sirota (Nov 13, 2012)

Careful with the yes/no answers, guys. The answer to the question in the title ("is sharpening non-destructive?") is YES, the answer to the question in the body ("sharpening cannot be undone, is this correct?") is NO.


----------



## fujiman (Nov 21, 2012)

Thanks all for your replies. This reassures me.

fujiman


----------

