The image processing method and apparatus enhance the sharpness of photographic images recorded by a silver halide photographic system or a digital still camera. The method and apparatus determine a blur retaining but sharpness enhancing coefficient for enhancing sharpness of an edge region of an object but retaining blur of the image in the other region of the edge region of the object based on an edge intensity data obtained by performing edge detection on an original image data, subtract the original image data from sharpness enhanced image data obtained by applying sharpness enhancement, multiply the subtracting result by the blur retaining but sharpness enhancing coefficient and add the resulting product to the original image data to generate processed image data. In the method and apparatus, the principal object is enhanced in sharpness while, at the same time, the blur caused by the taking lens system is the background not including the principal object is recognized and kept as it is, so that a natural image retaining the photograph-like blur, that is, blurring quality can be produced.