How to Enlarge an Image Using Photoshop

Image editing programs like Adobe Photoshop are ideal when resizing images. Enlargements can be done in Photoshop, however it is recommended to keep enlargements minimal since quality can be easily lost. For example, enlargements would be made for situations such as one needing a document to print with a larger document size or need the image to have a higher resolution (while retaining document size).

1. With Photoshop open, go to File > Open and select an image

You may right-click and save the tiger image below to use it as a practice image.

Note: When enlarging images, it is recommended to clean up dust and scratches or any noise before enlarging because these items may be magnified in your enlarged image.

2. Go to Image > Image Size

3. An Image Size dialog box will appear like the one pictured below.

4. Enter new pixel dimensions, document size, or resolution.

The original image was 10″ x 6.667″. Lets say we wanted to enlarge this image to a 12″ x 8″ so that it can easily be printed and framed. We want to keep the 300 resolution, so all we need to do is type in new pixel or document dimensions. In this example, we increased the document width from 10″ to 12″ and the height from 6.667″ to 8″. 

5. Select Resampling Method

Before hitting OK, we will want to select our resampling method. What does this mean? Basically, Photoshop will have to create new pixel information in order to enlarge the image. By selecting bicubic smaller, we are telling Photoshop to interpolate (or create new pixel information) that will produce the best results when enlarging images.

Bicubic (best for smooth gradients) – Very precise method that calculates the averages of surrounding pixels.
Bicubic Smoother (best for enlargements) –  Based off of Bicubic sampling and works best when enlarging images that have high image noise. Images will look smoother or more soft with this method.

6. Click OK to accept the changes.

Congratulations! You have now successfully changed the size of your image!

In this example, we enlarged our image by increasing the document size from 10″ x 6.667″ to 12″ x 8″ Also note that the pixel dimensions changed from 3000 x 2000 to 3600 x 24000. Finally, notice that our image size started as 17.2M (megabyte) and increased to 24.7M with the enlargement.