Hey there! I often get questions on how to upsize or enlarge your photos. I think, because there’s a lot of options out there, that people sometimes believe it’s more complicated. But as you’ll see in this video, you have amazing technology for this built right in to Photoshop and Lightroom and it’s super simple to use. Enjoy!
About Me
I love teaching and photography... In that order. I feel that enjoying photography, and photo editing can get WAY too complicated. So my personal mission (and favorite thing to do), is to create education that simplifies the process of taking great photos, and how to edit them to get the results you’ve always wanted.
Hi Matt, I have bought few of your courses and all them are good. Just bought LR/PS bundle and have a question on image size increase during export vs super resolution in Light room Classic. What’s the difference and which one is better.. During export, I typically upsize the image for printing on some tightly cropped images.. Bit confused as to what are the differences between the two here.. Thanks
Hi. They are just two different ways to do the same thing. You can try both to compare and see which one you like best. For me, I don’t usually like Super Resolution. Hope that helps
Thanks Matt. Super resolution produced a huge dng file, taking up a lot of space..
Yes it does. But there’s no reason to save it right? You don’t need all of that resolution unless you’re printing. So why not just print it… save a JPG, and delete the big file if you like Super Resolution. Again, not a problem for me since I don’t like it. But there would be no reason to save the large file whether you did it in LR or used Image Size like I show. Do what you need to do with the higher resolution image and delete it. You can always go back to your original and do it again in 10 seconds if needed right?
When we use programs to upsize images, does the commonly mentioned X factor refer to the total pixels? That would be the result of length x width. A 2X overall would only be 1.4x for each of the length and width. A 3X overall would only be 1.7x for the edges. If I want the edges to each be 3x original that would therefore result in an overall 9X. Right?
With older software the results of successive resize iterations of 115% each time gave a more pleasing result than a single big step. 8 iterations of 115% = 300% overall. Newer software does something different so that single big step result is pleasing to see. Of course there are limits to the details that can be seen for a tiny crop that is enlarged. Older software can’t make eyes and mouths realistic for a face that’s just too far away in the original. Is the newest software guessing and filling in with pixels from some library of perceived similar images? What are the real limits or transition upsize when the results have to come from other images?
Hi Richard. I think you’re looking for a concrete answer that doesn’t exist. There are no “limits” to any of this stuff. It’s all in eye of the person editing. My suggestion to people is always let the end result be your answer. Try it… try whatever it is your question is about and see what the photo looks like. Let that tell the tale. Everyone’s eye is different and every single photo is different, so what may be a limit for you may not be for some one else. Hope that helps
Thanks, Matt. Your instructions are always clear, concise and understandable.
Bill
Thank you, what a great, useful tutorial.
Thanks Matt, another excellent video giving me useful info in a well presented way. Much appreciated.
Thank you, Matt, for a clear explanation on this topic that I’ve found confusing for a long, long time.
Thanks Matt. Added clarity to an age old issue.
Great video. It’s really helpful for me.
Matt: what’s your advice if I need to output to jpg, through the Lightroom print module to send to a lab? The labs I’ve used want 300ppi and sRGB color space, though I work in Adobe RGB. Thanks.
Matt, Thanks for the good info. What I do when printing from LR is to set the page size in the Print module and then create a cell size that I want the print to be and let LR do the rest. Works OK for me whether I am enlarging or reducing. This way my original file size is not changed and saves me a step.
Hi Al. I love it. If it works and it looks good… go for it. I wish more people would follow that workflow 🙂
Thanks Matt for the great tutorial. Very clear. However, I was wondering, when upsizing in LR, I don’t see any options for algorithms to use like there were in PS. Is LR using one of the methods available in PS, or has it’s own algorithm?
Hi Vic. I don’t know which one it’s specifically using. All I know is that aside from zooming in to 1000%, I can’t really tell the difference. Which for me at least, means there is no difference in the real world. Thanks.
Hi Matt
Great tutorial as always, that for keeping the videos real.
Keep safe in these difficult times.
Cheers
Peter
Thanks so much!! Very helpful info. BTW, I checked my PS Version 22.1.1, (I think that’s the latest update), and I had to go into the settings to get the Preserve Details 2.0, so thank you for explaining that.
I had to do the same in Ps2020
Hey Matt,
Thanks for helping to clear this up. I do a lot of colorizing of old photographs from within Facebook where they utilize an algorithm that downsizes the ppi of your submitted image to 72 dpi. Most of the time the person requesting the assistance wants to print the finished result and they want it larger than their original. Even though they may have scanned it at 300 dpi FB knocks it down to 72. If I take the original print and increase the dpi with any program FB will knock it back to 72 dpi when I share the completed results. What I have been doing is leaving the original at 72 dpi but increasing the image size by 200 or even 300%. This results in a larger file for printing but retains the 72 dpi restriction imposed by FB. It is my hope that this larger file, which FB will accept, will allow the recipient to print an 8×10 instead of a 4×6 (as an example). At least this is my reasoning. Can you confirm what I am thinking?
The mist has cleared now! 🙂
Why do tutors always stress using PS is the ONLY place to go for image sizing, then complicate matters.
You go there, do the class-no deviations, then whollah, the magic happens, clearly, enable to understand & do it myself without confusion :))
THANK YOU!
Hello Matt,
I noticed in the Print to Printer module in LR, you had the output set to 16 bit. Is this your standard setting vs 8 bit. Is this why you can output prints at resolutions as low as 150ppi?
To date I output as 8bit TIFF files at 300 ppi , which the print lab handles just fine. Even 2ftx 4ft prints come out tack sharp.
The thing about 16 bit files I’ve found, with large prints, the files start to get huge to 400megs or more!
I’ve also found a big difference between 8bit JPG’s and 8bit lossless TIFF files. (The tiffs are way better!)
Do you do anything special to keep them manageable?
Looking for your excellent guidance.
Always enjoy your excellent tutorials.
Cheers and thanks in advance.
Frederic in Montréal
Hi Frederic. If your printer supports it turn it on. It won’t hurt but it won’t help with resolution or size or sharpness of your print. It’s just a higher quality file that in most cases you’d never know the difference either way.
Great tip, but I would ask WHY upsize an image to print? Perhaps I am missing the point? I almost always print in LR even if edited in PS. I always manage my images in LR and ‘edit in PS’ if necessary and save back to LR and then print in LR. I always shoot in raw and and will mainly process in LR even if I crop to say 3000px or so why not just print whatever size from there.
I normally print on A3 and never see the need to upsize.
Hi John. Not everyone’s workflow is the same as yours and some people need to upsize an image in Photoshop. Not right or wrong… just different.
Some people want to process & print older images that don’t have the dimensions current digital cameras (including phone cameras!) generate. Also, sometimes folks like to make very tight crops on portions of images, then want to enlarge what’s then essentially a very compressed image that could end up a blurry mess if not enlarged properly for output,
Thanks very much. Could adjust my Photoshop setting while enlargin and know now how to do it in LR.
It’s always great listenting to you.
I meant : if I resize my picture to a “bigger” size
Comment
You have a very direct way to start with the real tutorial. Thank you for it. I will try it out.
I only have my doughts that my Imac will be stressed. I have normally pictures about 10 upto 14 MB. If I resize these will my Imac not be stressed????? you understand surely what I mean.
Thank you for the resizing tip. Have a nice day and stay healthy.
Hi, Thank you very much Matt. A great and very informative tutorial!!
I only have Photoshop Elements. So is the 10% increase the better way to go?
Hi Maddy. The 10% upsize is never the way to go with today’s technology. That’s something left over from 15+ years ago and going to the same setting in PSE (that I showed in this video) will give you better results.
Thank you! I am a beginner, so I appreciate your style of presenting material that is understandable.
Thanks, Matt! I checked my PS preferences, and Preserve Details 2.0 was not checked. So, I fixed that. Appreciate the tip.
I noticed that the LR method doesn’t have a way to select “preserve detail 2.0.” Are we assuming that’s the method they are automatically using in LR now?
I do trust you, however… On1 Resize. If I am enlarging something, I am ENLARGING it. Just my 2 cents.
Great tutorial as usual Matt. You always cut out the chaff and get to the point. Now, I always thought that ON1 Resize was the premier resizing software. Been using it for years. Agree that one has to go to another program to resize. I had heard a rumor about PS’s ability to resize was greatly improved within the recent past, but of course I still trusted ON1 Resize. I will now be one of the first type, that is I am going to start relying on PS.
Always enjoy your delivery. You are a natural instructor. Dale
Thanks Matt, That was really useful. I’ve still been using the 10% trick.
Wow! It may be time to let that one go. We stopped having to do that about 10 years ago 🙂
Hi Matt,
Thanks for this comparison of PS and Lr.
One question, What if you are sending a file to a national lab so they can then print anything requested from 4×6 to 20×30, would this change anything in the way you export from Lr?
Thanks,
John
Hi John. Nope. Their website should tell you what size (in pixels) the photo needs to be so just export to that size.
Hi Matt,
The resize in PS worked as shown, but had a problem with LR. When I clicked on “export” the
resize menu doesn’t come on. Tried several times. What am I missing?
Not sure Robert. It’s there so maybe rewatch the video and pause it at that point and see what setting you don’t have turned on/off or what’s missing. It’s there though 🙂
Thanks Matt, very helpful.
I know you work with On1 Raw which has Resize that does the same thing. Just as good as PS or…? One can choose Genuine Fractals, which is supposed to be be the best method, or Portrait. Any advice which to use?
Hi Phil. Genuine Fractals is the same as ON1 Resize. If you’re an ON1 user, they work well and there’s no reason to leave ON1 to do it. If you’re not an ON1 user there’s no reason to jump from Adobe to ON1 to do it. Both programs do a good job. Thanks!
Good tutorial Matt! I’ve used Lightroom to upsize but not Photoshop so this was very helpful, thanks.
I’m using the Epson P-900 as you had previously mentioned. Epson Print Layout is easy to use but does it adequately resize upwards? It seems when you select a larger paper size, the images look pretty good. Enjoying your courses, especially with so much at home time these days.
Hi John. Maybe do a print test by upsizing it yourself ahead of time and then using Epson Print Layout and see what you come up with and which looks better.
Matt,
If you have any pull with Adobe, you might suggest that they rename the upsizing choices so that the newest/’best’ version is obvious: it could be at the top of the list (or section of the list), or names that were partially repeated *always* had version numbers. “Preserve Details (Enlargement)” and “Preserve Detail 2.0” sound as those they are for different purposes, one for enlarging and the other perhaps for reducing as well as enlarging. I puzzled over those two, and really couldn’t make any generalizations about them.
How were you able to export a jpg image in Lightroom in 16 bits? I thought jpg files can only be 8 bits.
The 16 Bit Output option in Lightroom’s Print Module refers to printing, not to exporting a jpeg file.
Really interested in learning other aspects to printing. Unlike others, I think I have managed to master the “prints too dark” issue – or at least partially. I do a lot of minimal HDR type landscape photography, and my images typically are higher contrast scenes – say a sunrise or sunset that is bright and foreground areas that are dark. Using things I have learned from you and others, I have learned to better balance the contrast/tones in an image. That said I frequently have intentionally darker areas that still reveal a lot of detail in those darker areas. This detail is easily seen on the monitor, but not so much when I print. My light areas are fine and are at the brightness that I intend. I have tried a number of things, including using screen mode with levels to brighten the darks for printing. Sometimes this works, sometimes not. I’d love to know a more “guaranteed” method to ensure that detail in the darks can be seen on the print. Any suggestions??
Hi Jim. Not something I can help with in a comment, but one BIG thing to know is that if you’re not shining light on the print, don’t ever expect it to look like your screen. It’s impossible for the two to match. I do have a print course at mattk.com/print
THanks!
Matt, I’ve never done this, and I’ve had many images printed for exhibition, 13 to 17 in minor dimension, by a local boutique print shop. I use micro-four-thirds so it’s reasonable to assume all my images are upsized. All I’ve ever done is to export from Lightroom to a .psd file and send the file to the print shop. Am I missing something? The images, incidentally, look tack-sharp, even when inspected from close quarters.
For our Camera Club we have to downsize our images, and they lose a lot of clarity and sharpness sometimes when downsized. Is there a way to avoid this? They must be 1400 long side. The images are not printed. I use 300 resolution, but not sure that matters for digital viewing.
Thank you!
Hi Linda. Downsizing won’t affect clarity or sharpness. Maybe because they’re smaller you can’t zoom in or see them larger, but it actually won’t affect image quality. You should suggest that your camera club changes it’s sizes. 1400 pixels on the long edge is considered very low resolution these days. Your typical monitor displays at 2000 pixels across and many at 4K (or 4000 pixels across). That means your 1400 pixel image won’t even fill a screen and if some one tries to get it to fill a screen they’ll be stretching it which will affect how they see it.
Thank you, Matt, for responding so quickly! Yes, the images definitely suffer for it, so they must be getting stretched. It has been a sore point for a while, but maybe no money to redo projection equipment?
Bari, I will check for that, it may help.
Thanks again!
Make sure that you avoid checking the “resembling” option if possible. If you are downsizing, you will welcome a higher resolution image when reducing dimensions and that will retain the image quality. By selecting “resampling” you just end up tossing data for no reason.
Spellcheck erroneously changed “resampling” to “resembling”…
Great video. Thanks so much Matt for sharing this with us.
Nice new watch Matt. Good video, as always. This may save many of us from buying another separate program to upsize
Hello Matt thanks for the useful information. What is the best file format for printing. I saw you use .jpg
Hi Chuck. It just doesn’t matter. JPG is fine, PSD or TIFF too – but when the print is done nobody can tell you if you had all three next to each other which was which 🙂
Hello Matt! Been a follower for a long time, have a couple of your tutorials. after I upsize can these be shipped off to be printed by a say MPIX? Thanks in advance…
Hi George. Yep, that’s the idea. Upsize and then share/print, etc…
Thank you
Thank you for this! I am one of those people who’ve been thinking there was some sort of sorcery and in-depth knowledge required to resize images properly. You’ve changed my life, at least where printing is concerned. BTW – great bird shot! I used to live in Tampa and I loved watching those guys skim the water for food.
Am I missing something or is there a way to enlarge a photo in Lightroom and keep it in Lightroom? Or do you have to export it and then import it again.
Hi Glenn. There would be no need to enlarge a photo in LR and keep it there. LR doesn’t see or make any adjustments based on “image size”. It’s not until you output your photo to something from LR, that image size becomes a concern if that makes sense.
Can I use Lightroom with Photoshop Elements?
Hi. Yes you can. You can set it as an external editor your LR Preferences.