Can You Make a Picture Bigger without Losing the Quality?

If you have ever tried to use a simple means of making a small picture larger on your computer you have no doubt run into the loss of quality when the picture size has increased. Most often simply making a picture bigger results in a blurry and hard to make out image. So is it possible to resize a small image without completely losing the quality? Read on and find out some strategies for resizing images without losing their quality.

Why images lose quality when they are enlarged

Bitmap is the most commonly used image format on digital photos. All JPEG and PNG files are bitmap image files. A bitmap image is one that is made of thousands of pixels that make up the larger entire image. By zooming in on a bitmap you can actually see each individual pixel as a square. Every pixel is mapped to a fixed location in the picture this is why it is called a bitmap.

A large number of editing being software programs will shrink or enlarge each pixel to resize an image. This is the reason why when you shrink down a picture there is no visible loss in the quality because pixels become less visible to the naked eye. When you attempt to enlarge a picture that is pixelated with a bitmap the pixels become bigger and more visible making the picture look what is called pixelated and blurry.

Is there a way to fix making pixels so big they become blurry?

The solution to compensating for enlarged pixels that are visible is to compensate for each enlarged pixel so that it matches the properties of the pixels around it. This method of editing is called fractal interpolation or in simple terms fractals. This produces a better result to enlarging a bitmap image.

How to use the fractals method with editing software

You can use the program Perfect Resize to help you enlarge photos smartly. This is a standalone program or it can be used as a plug-in for the Adobe Photoshop program. It is a relatively inexpensive program or you can try the program for free for 30 days. After installing the program, open the image file you want to resize and simply go to file and then automate and select perfect resize in the drop-down menu. You can either choose a preset from the left-hand menu or enter your own size. After resizing you will need to go to file and apply to save the changes and now you are ready to export the file by saving it as a web image. Now it is ready for printing.

You can also use the free photo software of Gimp. This free software is often used to enlarge images with minimum quality loss at no price. The result is not as high-quality as purchasing a special editing program, but it does a pretty good job. To use Gimp you go to the image menu and then scale image you will then enter your desired measurements and under the quality section choose sync as interpellation method and click on the scale image button. After these few short steps the image will be ready to export and print.

No image is going to be perfect when it is enlarged but there are some small tweaks and tiny tricks you can do to make it look better than just the standard enlargement of a bitmap image that results in a blurry and pixelated image. Of course if you would like professional help a professional photographer maybe willing to help you resize an image for a small fee.

Thank you to Jane Goodrich, a NY Family Photographer for her contribution to our blog