How to enlarge a photo, image or picture in Photoshop? How to reduce or increase the size of an image in Photoshop Photoshop Enlarge an image without losing quality.

To make an unforgettable photo on your own and please your loved ones, you will definitely need a good camera. Regardless of whether you want to become a professional photographer or a designer, the problem of choosing a camera is always very acute. There are more than enough options on the market: and compare, starting from your budget and needs.

To get a high-quality photo, in most cases, post-processing will be required. In this article, you'll learn how to resize a photo using the crop tool in Photoshop to make it look more professional.

The Crop Tool in Photoshop is commonly used to crop unwanted parts of an image.

A little-known feature of the crop tool is that it can also be used to add white space around an image, known as a mat.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to add free space around a photo by increasing its size using the crop tool.

So here is the original image.

Launched Photoshop, opened the image, let's go!

Step 1: Convert The Background To A Regular Layer

If we look in the Layers panel, we see a thumbnail image of the Background layer, which is currently the only one in our document.

Before we enlarge the canvas by adding more space around the image, the first thing we need to do is convert the background layer to a regular layer. The reason is that we want the extra space to appear on a separate layer. But Photoshop won't let us place layers below the background layer. The simplest solution is to simply convert the Background layer to a normal layer. To do this in Photoshop CC, all we have to do is click on the little lock icon to the right of the Background layer's name:

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Click on the lock icon for the background layer.

In CS6 and earlier, hold down the Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) and click on the layer name.

The background layer is instantly converted to a normal layer and renamed to "Layer 0":

Step 2: Select The Crop Tool

Now, let's learn how to add extra space around an image. Select the crop tool from the toolbar on the left side of the screen. You can also select the crop tool by pressing on the keyboard C key:

By selecting the crop tool, Photoshop marks the boundaries of the crop. By default, they are at the top, bottom, left, and right side borders, and at the corners. We'll use these handles to resize the border of the image, giving the canvas some extra space:

These markers are circled in red around the image.

Step 3: Drag the resizing handles to the borders of the image

To add extra space around the image, all we have to do is click on the handles and drag them outward..

For example, we want to add space to the right of the photo, so we click on the right marker and move it to the right, away from the image:

By dragging the right handle to the right.

When we release the mouse button, Photoshop will add some extra space and fill it with transparency. A checkerboard pattern in Photoshop means transparency, that is, unfilled space.

Photoshop adds white space to the right of the image. Similarly, you can add space around the rest of the image. Let's just do it differently, using the keys.

But first let's undo what we've done and restore the original borders of the image. To do this, click the "Cancel" button on the options bar or press the ESC key:

To add extra space on the left side of the photo, click on the left handle and drag it to the left. Or, to add an equal amount of space on both sides of the image at the same time, press and hold the icon alt(Win) / Option(Mac) as you click and drag the left or right handles. This will change the crop's bounds from its center, resulting in the handle on the opposite side, to move simultaneously in the opposite direction:

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Adding extra space for both sides by holding down the option key alt(Win) / Option(Mac) How do I drag.

Equal padding has been added to both sides.

We can also add extra space above and below the image. To add space above it, click and drag the top handle up. To add space below it, click and drag the Bottom handle down.

Or, to add an equal amount of space above and below the image at the same time, press and hold the keys again alt(Win) / Option(Mac) on your keyboard as you drag the top or bottom handle. The opposite handle will move with it, in the opposite direction:

Release the mouse button, then alt(Win) / Option(Mac) and you end up with equal white space above and below the image. Again, make sure you release the mouse button first and then the key, or it won't work:

How often, when looking at photos on a computer, we threw out cool shots because they were too small in size and of poor quality. But with the help of special programs, you can save almost any image!

Improving image quality is a very broad topic. To improve the quality of a photo in Photoshop, color correction, sharpening, retouching, and many other operations can be applied. All of them require certain skills and possession of special techniques.

But there are also less complicated ways, when you just need to increase the image without losing quality. Below we will look at an example of how to improve the quality of a photo if you need to enlarge a photo without losing quality.

How to enlarge a photo without losing quality

Everyone had to deal with an image of a small size of low quality. In such images, when magnified, pixels, dots, from which a raster image is built, are clearly visible.

Zooming in on an image by stretching it with Free Transform will only make matters worse.

In this tutorial, the work will be carried out in Photoshop CC 2017. But first, we will look at the method for other, older versions of Photoshop. And then we'll show you how Photoshop CC 2017 can do the whole procedure automatically.

Open the image in Photoshop. Now we will gradually increase it in several passes. It should be noted right away that you can enlarge the photo and raise the quality, but with a limitation in size.

Pressing a keyboard shortcut Alt+Ctrl+I. We will open a window "Image Size". It is necessary that between "Width" / Width And "Height" / Height staple was pressed. Then the width and height will change proportionally.

Enlarge the image twice, each time by 20%. To do this, in the drop-down list opposite "Widths" change the pixels to percentages (Pixel / Percent), and the numerical value from 100% to 120% and press Ok. Then we call the image size window again ( Alt+Ctrl+I) and increase by 20%.

We increased the image size from 950x632 pixels to 1368x910 pixels.

For a visual comparison, let's zoom in on the original image (950x632 pixels) and the resulting one (1368x910 pixels).

We enlarged the image by almost one and a half times and even improved the quality. As you can see, the pixelation is less noticeable if you zoom in on the image.

It remains to refine the result. Apply filter "Smart Sharpen" to the resulting image.

We go: Filters/Sharpening/Smart Sharpening/Filter/Sharpen/Smart Sharpen. By moving the sliders, we select the appropriate sharpness. If you click and hold the left mouse button in the small preview window on the image, you can see the image before applying the effect. The difference is palpable. Particularly noticeable is the smooth transition of color (without cubes) on the lenses of the glasses. We completely removed the noise by moving the slider all the way to the right. The radius of sharpness was taken as 0.3 pixels, the effect was applied at 79%.

Let's compare the results again.

On the left - the original image, in the center - after resizing, on the right - after applying "Smart Sharpness".

After application "Smart Sharpness" Noise has been removed from the photo, the image has become cleaner.

Here is our result.

And now let's enlarge the photo and improve its quality using the automatic tools of Photoshop 2017.

Open the image in Photoshop, press the keyboard shortcut Alt+Ctrl+I. We will open a window Image Size. Pay attention to paragraph "Fit to"/Dimensions. Expand this list. In it you will see blank options for increasing / decreasing the image without losing quality. Let's use automatic selection (the second item in the list). In the window that opens, select the item "Good" and click Ok. You should not choose the best one, because the original image is of too low quality, and it makes no sense to increase it so much.

Please note that if we managed to increase the image from 950x632 pixels and a resolution of 96 pixels/inch to 1368x910 pixels with the same resolution by selection, then the program enlarged it to 1969x1310 pixels with a resolution of 199 pixels/inch.

Apply Smart Sharpen.

Now you have seen for yourself that you can enlarge the picture without losing quality, and at the same time even improve the quality of the photo.

It is worth noting that this method can be useful not only for enlarging and enhancing small photos. For example, you need to provide a photo for an online resource or for printing in a publishing house. At the same time, your photo is of excellent quality and large size, but the publisher needs an even larger size. By applying the described method of enlarging the image and improving its quality, you will get an excellent result. After all, photos of large sizes with good quality will go through this procedure much easier.

The procedure is extremely simple. Do not give up on small pictures. Give them a second chance.

In today's lesson, we will analyze the question “How to enlarge an image?”. As with other questions, there are multiple answers here! The very first and most difficult thing is to open Photoshop, and then everything will be much easier. After successfully opening Photoshop, we need to open the image that we are going to enlarge. After performing this uncomplicated action, until we proceeded directly to enlarging the image, I must warn you that every time the image is enlarged, its quality will deteriorate.

I will explain how the quality deteriorates when the image is enlarged. Suppose our image consists of only nine pixels (pixels are small squares that make up the image), well, we have drawn such a small image. Our image is three pixels wide and three pixels high, and all of a sudden we wanted to resize our image, so we doubled it. Now our image is six pixels high and six pixels high. Having carried out simple mathematical calculations, we learn that the image has now begun to consist of thirty-six pixels. And now the most important thing. Each pixel of our image has been doubled, since we also doubled the image. That is, there was one blue pixel, and there were four blue pixels standing in a square. I hope you got what I meant.
So the first way is to resize the image.

In order to enlarge the image in Photoshop, we need to increase the size of the canvas, otherwise our picture simply simply does not fit. But before that, we need to double-click on our image labeled "Background", in the "layers" window, and click "OK" in the window that appears, as I already taught in previous lessons.

On the top panel, we must select the "Image" item, it is the third from the left. In the list that opens, we must select the "Canvas Size" item, it is the seventh from the top. We can also open this item by holding down the three magic keys (Alt + Ctrl + C). This we can see to the right of the inscription "Canvas Size".

We have a window in which we see two main headings "Current size: ... M" and "New size: ... M". In the current size, we see the width and height of our image now. And in the new size, we can choose what the measurement will be made in (percentages, in pixels, in centimeters). In the boxes to the right of the words "Width" and "Height" you need to write the dimensions of the canvas that we will have, it is advisable to increase the canvas as much as we are going to enlarge the picture. If we check the box in front of the word "Relative", then the dimensions of the new canvas will be shown relative to the old one, that is, "+1000" or "-1000". In the "location" item, we can choose in which direction our canvas will grow, for example: "right and up", "left and up", "down right" and "left", etc. In the "Expand Color" box of the canvas, we can choose the color that will fill the space by which we have enlarged our canvas, but in this case it does not matter to us. By clicking on the “down” arrow, we can select one of the primary colors (black, white and gray), we can also select “Main color” - this is the main color we have chosen in the palette, or “background” is a secondary color, chosen by us in the palette. There is an item “Other”, after clicking on it, a palette window pops up, where we can choose the color ourselves, and then clicking “Yes”. In this window, we have completed the work. Feel free to press the "Yes" button. Well, if you suddenly decide not to increase the size of the canvas, press the "Cancel" key. This key is below the "Yes" key.

That's it, we have increased the size of our canvas and we can safely increase the image.

Now we need to go to the layer on which our image is located and press (Ctrl + T). A square with dots on the edges and corners will appear around our picture. If we click and hold on one of these points, then we can stretch our image as we want by moving the mouse while holding the left mouse button. And if you want to increase the image proportionally, keeping the proportion between the long and the height of the picture, then you need to left-click on one of the points that is on the corners of the picture, while pressing the "Shift" key on the keyboard, and move the mouse to the side. In this simple way, we stretch our image over the canvas that we enlarged earlier.

You can also rotate the image if you move the mouse cursor to the corner point for a short distance. You will have a small curved arrow instead of the cursor. By pressing and holding the left mouse button you can rotate and rotate the image as you like. You probably noticed the dot in the middle of your image during its transformation. So, by moving this point across the image, you thereby move the axis of its rotation. That is, if you put a pivot point in any corner, then your image will rotate around that corner. You can also choose the rotation angle on the thumbnail in the transformation settings, which is located on the very left.

The second way. We press the same item "Image", but now we select not the seventh, but the sixth item from the top "Image Size".

You won't find anything new there. It was not in vain that we discussed the “Canvas Size” with you, although there are several points here that are unfamiliar to you. "Keep proportions" - we know this from the above. And "Interpolation" is the preservation of the proportion between width, height and resolution. But know that if you have chosen a measurement in percentage, then now you are given an image of 100%. And if you want to increase it, then you need to enter a number greater than one hundred, and if you reduce it, then less than a hundred.

Finally, we can praise ourselves for another completed topic!

Photoshop, as a raster editor, allows you to perform various manipulations with images. In this article, we will look at the possibilities of enlarging an image using "smart" interpolation.

Photoshop uses the interpolation method when resizing an image or objects on a canvas. There are several interpolation options that allow you to get an image of a certain quality. For example, the operation of increasing the size of the original image implies the creation of additional pixels, the color gamut of which is as close as possible to nearby pixels. In other words, if black and white pixels are located side by side in the original image, when the image is enlarged, new gray areas will appear between these two adjacent points.

The program determines the desired color by calculating the average value of nearby pixels.

Methods for changing the scale of an image using the Interpolation method

special item "Interpolation" (Resample Image) has multiple meanings. They appear when you move the mouse cursor over the arrow pointing to this option. Let's consider each subparagraph.

"Neighbourhood" (Nearest neighborhood)
When processing an image, it is used infrequently, because the quality of the enlarged copy is quite poor. On enlarged images, you can find places where the program added new pixels, this is affected by the essence of how the scaling is performed. The program places new pixels when enlarged by copying nearby ones.
"Bilinear" (Bilinear)
After scaling with this method, you will get medium quality images. Photoshop will create new pixels by calculating the average value of the color gamut of neighboring pixels, so the color transitions will not be too noticeable.
"Bicubic" (Bicubic)

In Photoshop CS and newer editions, two additional algorithms can be found instead of the standard bicubic method: "Bicubic smoother" (Bicubic Smoother) And "Bicubic clearer" (Bicubic Sharper). Using them, you can get new enlarged or reduced images. In the bicubic method, to create new points, quite complex calculations of the gamma of many adjacent pixels are carried out, obtaining a good image quality.

"Bicubic smoother" (Bicubic Smoother)
It is usually used to zoom in on a photo in Photoshop, while not striking the places where new pixels have been added.
"Bicubic clearer" (Bicubic Sharper)
This method is great for zooming out, as it makes the picture sharper.

An example of applying the value "Bicubic smoother"

Thus, you can enlarge the image as much as you need. The clarity of the enlarged image depends on many factors. The main ones are quality, resolution, size of the original image. It is difficult to answer the question of how much you can enlarge the image in order to get a good quality photo. This can be found out only by starting the increase using the program.

Have you ever tried resizing an image to make it bigger? As a rule, in most cases, this results in a loss of quality, where the enlarged image looks washed out and unprofessional.

Recently, one of our users asked us how to change an image when it is initially small, turning it into a large one without losing quality?

Why do enlarged images lose quality?

Bitmap (raster pictures) is the most commonly used image format on the Internet. All png and jpeg files belong to bitmap images. It is made up of thousands of pixels. When magnified, we can see them as squares.

Each of these points is strictly fixed in its place in the figure. Most image editing software focuses on resizing an image down. Therefore, the loss of quality is not evident, since these pixels have become even less noticeable.

On the other hand, when you want to increase the size of an image, the enlarged pixels become very noticeable, resulting in a picture that looks jagged and blurry. Like in this example:

Is there a solution?

There is a solution, and it lies in compensating each enlarged pixel so that it matches its closest one. This method is called such a terrible word as fractal interpolation or simply fractals. It produces the best effect if you want to use it to enlarge a small image without losing quality.

We will use it for editing in such a popular program as Photoshop.

Method 1: Using Perfect Resize with Adobe Photoshop

This is a program that allows you to resize an image very quickly and easily. It is available as an add-on for Photoshop.

The regular version costs $50 and the premium version which includes the Photoshop plugin is $150. Both of these versions are available for a 30 day free trial. If you are going to change the size of the image on a regular basis, then we recommend that you seek help from the Perfect Resize program. It's expensive, but it's high quality and professional if you want to increase the image size without losing quality.

Once again, I note that Perfect Resize is an addition to Photoshop.

Open Adobe Photoshop and open the image we want to redefine from small to large. To do this, go to File -> Automate and select Perfect Size

This will open the image in a separate application window. You can select the preset on the left or choose your own size in the Document Size window

After entering the image value, you must save the changes and apply them to the Photoshop file. We go to the file (File) –> Apply (apply).

Now you can export this file by saving it as a web document.

That's all. Now our resized image will look good enough than with normal zoom.

Method 2: Using the Free Gimp Program

It is a free alternative to photoshop. It also does image resizing with minimal quality loss. But somewhat inferior to the perfect size in terms of functionality.

So let's see how to change an image from small to large using Gimp.

Open the image that we are going to enlarge in Gimp. Just go to File (File) -> Image Scale (Scale Image).

Enter the desired image dimensions. In the Quality section, select SINC (Lanczos3) as the interpolation method and click the Scale image button.

That's all! Now you can export the image to the web. Below is an example made with photoshop (left) and gimp (right). At first glance it is very difficult to notice the difference.

Method 3: Enlarge an image with Irfanview

Irfanview is a compact photo editing program available for users of the Windows operating system. It's very easy to work to increase the size of the image.

All you need is to open the image and click on Image (image) -> Resize Resample (Resize)

A dialog box will immediately appear in which you can choose your own size and method for enlarging the image and be sure to check the box “Apply Sharpen After Resample”, which means apply sharpening to the picture.

The image will be modified, save the results to your computer.

As you can see, the free options aren't particularly impressive at making high quality enlarged images, but you can tweak the sharpness and contrast to minimize quality loss.