Adobe Photoshop/High Quality Image

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Expert: Scott Valentine - 4/8/2008


Question
Hi,
I want to cut an image out of the background, but when I zoom in to get a closer cut, the photo becomes very blurry.  I took the pictures off the internet. How can I make the photo a high quality photo?  Can you please help?

Thanks!

Answer
I'm afraid you can not increase the quality of a photo. However, you can try some sharpening (Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen or Unsharp Mask, depending on your version of Photoshop).

Keep in mind that sharpening will only get you so far, and you may end up increasing artifacts in the image. You will need to find a higher resolution file to start with, or find a compromise between quality and size.

-Scott

Adobe Photoshop

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Scott Valentine

Expertise

Author, "Real World Compositing with Photoshop CS4 (Peachpit)". Beginning to expert questions for Photoshop CS5 Extended, including 3D capabilities. I am also an expert here for Digital Photography. Please - NO questions on Lightroom, Elements, Express or versions earlier than CS4. These questions will be discarded.

Experience

Author, "Real World Compositing with Photoshop CS4" (available from Peachpit.com in January, 2009). I have been a professional level user since 1999, and have used Photoshop for photography, fine art, graphic design, web design, and technical image analysis. I have also conducted classes at the college level in both artistic and technical uses. I am currently an Adobe User Group manager.

Organizations
National Association of Photoshop Professionals, Los Alamos Multimedia Users Group.

Publications
CommunityMX.com, Real World Compositing with Photoshop CS4 (Adobe Press).

Education/Credentials
Bachelor's degree, Physics

Awards and Honors
Several awards for digital photography.

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