Fixing low-res images

Resolution is the detail that an image holds. Poor resolution will give out a poor finished product. Having images that are blurry, grainy or unclear looks unprofessional and distracts from your overall message. We suggest keeping resolution at 300dpi or higher for the best finished product.

But sometimes you need to make the best of what you’ve got. So what do you do when you have poor image resolution?  Here are some of our quick tips when using Adobe Photoshop CS2 or higher.

Filter -> Blur -> Lens Blur

Lots of technical numbers in this filter, only really need to worry about 3 of them:

Radius
(works just like Gaussian Blur pixel value - bigger number = more blur)
Set this to 1-5 typically

Rotation
Set this to 25, 45, or 65 (or minor tweaks of those numbers)

Noise
We use this to fake a small amount of film grain to give the illusion of sharpness. Typically 1-5 is enough. If the whites start looking grey, it may be too high. For low noise, use Uniform setting. For larger images with more coverup required, switch to Gaussian.

That's it. Zoom into the preview a little to see the filter at work.

If these tips don’t work for you or you use another program, feel free to contact the Dobson’s team and we will try our best to help.

If you have any tips for low-res images then leave them in the comment section. We’d love to hear them!