How do you enlarge an image without ruining the quality?

Question: How do you enlarge an image without ruining the quality!?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

There are various programs that upsize photos, such as Genuine Fractals, BUT, you still need a decent photo to begin with!. You cannot enlarge a small, low resolution photo from a website and it ever look good!. If you are beginning with full size photo from a decent digital camera, you can upsize it about three times it's normal size and it still look decent when viewed at a distance!.

In Photoshop you can go to Image - Image Size and input the size you want!. Check the box that says Resample Image and input 240!. Then enter the size you want in the upper boxes!. Select Bicubic Smoother as upsize method and click ok!. All you can do is then look at the photo at 100% and see how it looks!. The Bicubic upsize method is not the best there is, programs such as Genuine Fractals will do a better job!.

also, you may have someone telling you to upsize in 10% increments!. That is a total waste of time!. It had some merrit in very, very early versions of Photoshop, but does nothing now!.

steveWww@QuestionHome@Com

The only real answer is that you need to start with a good quality, high resolution image to start!.

The first person answering may have been slightly in error when he mentioned that you can only resize an image about three times!. The physical dimensions of a digital image makes absolutely no difference on how large in can be enlarged!. After all, the device at the back of the digital camera is only about an inch to two inches square!.

The difference is that some cameras pack a LOT more recievers in that tiny space!. That means more megapixels!. More megapixels, the greater the resolution!.

So, an image with about a thousand megs, if printed out at, even to five by seven inches will show some pretty apparent pixels!. An image with million pixels will print out with smaller, but still easily visible pixels!. An image with three million or more pixels will print at that same size and the individual pixels will tend to blend as if it were a smooth, normal photographic print!.

All that enlarging an image does is make smaller pixels larger!. If the pixels are tiny enough to start with, as they would be in a high resolution image, it can be printed at a larger size without "ruining the quality!."Www@QuestionHome@Com

size is inversely proportional to picture quality!. So there's no way to increase size without decrease in quality, but the better quality your pictures are initially, the more you can increase their size without a noticeable decline in quality!.

Make sure you hold the camera steady so your pictures are as sharp as they can be, and get the best picture quality you can (with film, this is achieved by using large-format film when possible, the highest quality film, and low aperture settings; with digital imaging, use the highest resolution you can and aperture priority mode)!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Start with a very large film negative!. If you have an 8 X 10 negative then you can contact print it!.Www@QuestionHome@Com