How to Increase the Resolution of an Image in Photoshop

If you want to know how to increase the resolution of an image in Adobe Photoshop, you’ll need to understand what resolution means for your image and how image size plays into the overall quality of the final product. Adobe Photoshop allows you to easily alter image resolution using the image-size dialog box, pixel dimensions, and other tools.

Image Resolution

You can increase the resolution of any image in Adobe Photoshop to make the image clearer and of HD quality. A high resolution in Photoshop will increase the overall quality of your image, and you can also alter the width and height, or resample the image for a better result.

With Adobe Photoshop, it’s easy to alter the resolution by increasing the number of pixels per inch in your image. What gets considered high resolution in Photoshop partially depends on the size.

Image Resolution in Adobe Photoshop

To change the document size, resolution, or resample an image are some of the things that the resize image Adobe Photoshop tools do well, and our step by step guide can help. This process applies to a variety of file types, including JPEG.

Changing the Image Size

How to resize an image in Adobe Photoshop starts with the Image menu, where you’ll select Image Size to open the image size dialog box. The shortcut Opt + Cmd + I for Mac devices or Alt + I for Windows devices will also get you to this dialog box to change document size.

changing image size dialogue box

Changes and Increases to Image Size

Once you have the proper image size dialog box open in Adobe Photoshop, you can choose the resolution in Photoshop you want for your photo from a list of presets, or you can use the Fit To menu and load a saved or custom preset.

image size in photoshop

You’ll also want to select the option “Do not constrain aspect ratio” on the Adobe Photoshop menu so the document size or width and height of your photo will change.

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Remember the Resolution in Photoshop

The size dialog menu in Adobe Photoshop also allows you to set the number of pixels found in each inch of your photo, and there are a variety of different resolution options.

You can often leave the number of pixels as you find it, or use the resample image function instead of changing the pixels to see what the Photoshop resize image tool can create.

photoshop image size box

Select a Resampling Mode

The resample image mode helps Adobe Photoshop decide what algorithm it needs to add new pixels and change the image resolution, without changing the width and height or the size of the image, and the two best options are:

  • Bicubic Smoother
  • Preserve Details

The Bicubic Smoother often displays the best image quality after changing the image resolution while altering pixel dimensions or the number of pixels per inch. The high resolution of the resulting image is thanks to the Adobe Photoshop resample image mode, and a more significant amount of pixels.

photoshop instructions on sizing

Always Sharpen

Sharpening your image is still a good idea after you increase the image resolution or use the resample image function, and you’ll go to the Filter menu and select Sharpen and then Unsharp Mask. You can then drag the slider to alter an image without changing the pixels further. The pixel dimensions have already changed at this point 

sharpen box in photoshop

Adjusting the Image Resolution in Adobe Photoshop Elements

Adobe Photoshop is one of the more popular choices, but Adobe Photoshop Elements is a reliable tool for getting a high-resolution image, using the resample image tool or changing the image resolution to change the or width and height of your photo. Reducing the image size works in the same way, but with smaller overall pixel dimensions entered.

Select the Image menu and then Resize and Image Size from the Photoshop dropdown. Activate the checkbox on Photoshop for Resample Image to keep the current pixels dimensions and enter a new set of values for the resolution. Once you’ve completed this, Photoshop will take care of the rest and click on OK.