Your lens lacking contrast? Find out how to simulate the contrast qualities of high quality lens with this Photoshop retouching tutorial. This effect increases visible detail and edge contrast without increasing the overall image contrast.

Local Contrast Photoshop Tutorial

Step 1: Open an image

Open a photo into Photoshop. To open a file, choose File > Open, browse for the image file, and click OK.

Step 2: Duplicate the layer and add a layer mask

Press Ctrl+J or choose Layer > Duplicate. This will create a second copy of the background layer. On the new layer, click on the add layer mask button in the Layers palette to add a layer mask.

Step 3: Use the Unsharp Mask filter

When we added the layer mask, it automatically selected the layer mask. Select back the layer by clicking on the thumbnail of the layer. Now choose Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask.
In the Unsharp Mask tool, set the Amount to 100% and increase the radius until the details become more apparent. Don't worry about it looking too sharpened - we'll work on that later. Adjust the amount so that the image contrast looks strong, but not posterized. Click OK when done.