The fastest way to make a photo high resolution is to run the original file through an upscaler, a tool that adds pixels so the photo can be printed or shown larger. Before you do, check whether the photo needs more pixels at all: a photo that's dark or out of focus needs a different fix. Below are the pixel sizes each job needs, the free and paid upscalers with their steps, the iPhone settings that capture more pixels, and what no upscaler can repair.
What high resolution means for a photo
A photo's resolution is its pixel count, written as width x height. More pixels let it be printed or displayed larger before it looks soft. What counts as high depends on where the photo is going:
| Where the photo is going | Pixels you need | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram feed post | 1080 wide | Instagram sizes wider photos down to 1080 |
| HD (1080p) screen or video | 1920 x 1080 | YouTube's recommended 16:9 sizes |
| 4K (2160p) screen or video | 3840 x 2160 | YouTube's recommended 16:9 sizes |
| 4 x 6 photo print | 1200 x 1800 | 300 pixels per inch |
| 8 x 10 framed print | 2400 x 3000 | 300 pixels per inch |
| 18 x 24 poster | 2700 x 3600 | 150 pixels per inch, for viewing from a few feet |
So a 1080 x 1350 photo saved from Instagram is plenty for Instagram but only 3.6 x 4.5 inches as a sharp print. The print resolution guide has the full table of print sizes.
What is upscaling an image?
Upscaling an image means adding pixels so it gets wider and taller. Basic resizing, like the "Resample image" option in Preview on a Mac, fills the new pixels with blends of their neighbors, so the photo gets bigger but not sharper. An AI upscaler predicts what the missing detail probably looked like. Upscayl's FAQ says the app works by guessing at what the missing details might be, and that guess is why AI results look crisper and also why they can invent texture, letters or facial features that weren't in the scene.
How to make a photo HD, and what "HD quality" means
"HD" gets used for two different things. As a pixel count, HD usually means 1920 x 1080 (1080p) for a 16:9 frame, though YouTube also labels 1280 x 720 as HD. An upscaler can bring a smaller photo up to that size. As a look, "HD quality" usually means sharp and clean, which calls for sharpening, noise reduction and light fixes rather than more pixels. Brightness, color and noise fixes are in enhancing photo quality with and without AI, and soft focus or shake is covered in the unblur guide.
7 ways to make a photo high resolution
As of September 2026, here is how the options compare, starting with the free and built-in ones:
| Method | Works on | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoot at 24 or 48 MP | Supported iPhone models | Included with iOS | Photos you haven't taken yet |
| Upscayl | Windows 10 or later, macOS 12 or later, Linux, with a Vulkan-compatible graphics card | Free and open source | Free AI upscaling on a computer |
| Preview's Adjust Size | Mac | Built into macOS | A basic enlargement with no new detail |
| Galaxy Enhance-X, Increase resolution | Galaxy phones, Android 14, One UI 6.0 and up | Download from the Galaxy Store | Upscaling on a Samsung phone |
| Super Resolution in Lightroom | Lightroom desktop on macOS 10.14 or Windows 10 version 1903 or later | Part of Lightroom | Doubling a raw, JPEG or TIFF file |
| Generative Upscale in Photoshop | Photoshop desktop | Part of Photoshop; the Topaz models need a premium subscription | 2x or 4x with a choice of AI models |
| Smart Editor at 4K in Toybox AI | Any browser; needs Pro or higher | Currently 110 credits | A larger redraw plus other fixes in one instruction |
How to make a photo high resolution on iPhone
The editing tools in the iPhone Photos app (Adjust, filters, Clean Up, Extend and Reframe) don't include an upscaler, so the way to get high resolution photos on an iPhone is to capture more pixels when you shoot. On supported models, the Main or Fusion camera shoots 24 MP by default and can be set to 12 MP, and a separate switch turns on 48 MP.
- Open the Settings app and tap Camera, then Formats.
- Tap Photo Mode and check that 24 MP is chosen, not 12 MP.
- For 48 MP, go back to Formats and switch on Resolution Control (on some models it's called ProRAW & Resolution Control).
- In the Camera app, tap the format button at the top of the camera view to turn the higher-resolution format on for the next shot.
For a photo you already took, work from the original in your library rather than a screenshot or a copy someone sent you, since either one can be smaller than the file the camera saved. Then upscale it with a browser-based tool, or move it to a computer and use one of the methods below.
How to make a photo high resolution for free
Upscayl is a free, open-source AI upscaler for Windows 10 and later, macOS 12 and later, and Linux. Download it from the project's releases page or official site and install it like any other app. It needs a Vulkan-compatible graphics card, and its developers say many integrated graphics chips won't run it. Their FAQ also notes that it helps with low-resolution and pixelated images but can't fix a photo that's out of focus or badly blurred.
Preview on a Mac gives you a basic enlargement at no cost. Open the photo, choose Tools, then Adjust Size, select "Resample image", and type a larger width. This makes the file bigger for a layout or a print shop's minimum, but the new pixels are blends, so it won't look any sharper.
How to upscale an image with AI in Lightroom or Photoshop
Adobe's two upscalers sit in Lightroom and Photoshop, and both save a new file so your original stays untouched.
Super Resolution in Lightroom
Super Resolution doubles the width and the height, which means four times the pixels. It works on raw files, JPEGs and TIFFs.
- Open the photo in the Detail view.
- Choose Photo, then Enhance, or right-click the image and choose Enhance.
- Select Super Resolution. Press and hold the preview to compare it with the photo before the change.
- Select Enhance. Lightroom saves a new DNG file stacked with the original.
You can only run it once per photo: Lightroom won't apply Super Resolution to an image that has already been enhanced.
Generative Upscale in Photoshop
- Open the photo with File, then Open.
- Choose Image, then Generative Upscale.
- Pick the output scale, 2x or 4x.
- Pick a model. Firefly Upscaler is meant for low-resolution images and outputs up to 6144 x 6144 pixels. Topaz Gigapixel keeps the detail already in the photo and handles up to 56 megapixels. Topaz Bloom, which Adobe says invents fresh creative detail, tops out at 9 megapixels. Both Topaz models need a premium subscription.
- Select Upscale. Photoshop opens the result as a new document.
For family photos and portraits, pick the detail-preserving Topaz Gigapixel over Topaz Bloom. A model built to add creative detail can make a face look like someone else.
How to upscale an image to 4K
4K is 3840 x 2160 pixels for a 16:9 frame, which YouTube lists as 2160p. How far you need to upscale depends on the starting size:
| Starting size | Scale to reach 3840 wide | One way to get there |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 x 1080 (HD) | 2x | Super Resolution in Lightroom, or Generative Upscale at 2x |
| 1280 x 720 | 3x | Generative Upscale at 4x, then resize down to 3840 wide |
| 960 x 540 | 4x | Generative Upscale at 4x |
At 2x, the upscaler invents 3 of every 4 pixels in the result. At 4x, it invents 15 of every 16, so a 4x result needs a close look at faces, hands and text. To upscale an image to 4K for free, Upscayl is the free AI upscaler on this list; Preview also costs nothing but only blends pixels. For a photo that isn't 16:9, aim for a long side of about 3840 pixels to get the same level of detail as a 4K frame.
Tips for a clean upscale
- Start from the original file. A photo re-saved or screenshotted several times has lost detail that no upscaler brings back.
- Fix blur before you upscale. An upscaler enlarges blur along with everything else, and Upscayl's developers say outright that it can't de-blur.
- Crop first, then upscale. Enlarge only the part you'll use. Adobe notes Super Resolution is especially useful for cropped images, and a smaller crop stays inside each model's size limit.
- Upscale once. Two passes stack two sets of guesses, and Lightroom blocks a second Super Resolution pass anyway.
- Check at full size. Zoom in on eyes, teeth, hands, lettering and repeating patterns like brick or fabric, and check them against the original.
- Skip it for Instagram. Instagram sizes every feed photo down to 1080 pixels wide, so a 4K upscale won't post any sharper there.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The upscaled photo looks painted | The model smoothed fine texture | Use a detail-preserving model or a 2x scale instead of 4x |
| A face looks like a different person | The face had too few pixels, so the model guessed | Start from a larger original, or keep the photo small |
| Text is sharp but spells something else | The letters were too small to read, so the model made some up | Retype the text in an editor, or leave it soft |
| Super Resolution is grayed out | The photo was already enhanced, or the file type isn't supported | Go back to the original raw, JPEG or TIFF |
| Upscayl won't start an upscale | No Vulkan-compatible graphics card | Try another computer, or a browser-based tool |
| Still blurry after upscaling | The blur came from the camera, not the size | Sharpen the photo first, then upscale |
Sharpen, then enlarge, in Toybox
Toybox has no dedicated upscaler, so pick the tool by the problem. Image Unblur sharpens a soft photo, but it isn't built to enlarge one: it has no size setting to raise. For a set pixel count, Smart Editor's 4K setting (Pro plan) redraws the photo at up to about 8.3 megapixels, whatever size you upload:
| Smart Editor 4K shape | Pixels | Megapixels | Sharp print at 300 PPI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original (a 4:3 phone photo) | 3312 x 2480 | 8.2 | 11 x 8.3 in |
| Square 1:1 | 2880 x 2880 | 8.3 | 9.6 x 9.6 in |
| Social 4:5 | 2560 x 3200 | 8.2 | 8.5 x 10.7 in |
| Wide 16:9 | 3840 x 2160 | 8.3 | 12.8 x 7.2 in |
That means a 1200 x 900 photo comes back almost three times wider, while a 12 MP phone photo comes back at about 8 MP. Neither tool can get back detail the camera missed; both fill it in, so faces and small lettering can shift. Two example notes for Image Unblur, each naming what to sharpen and what to keep:
A scanned 4 x 6 print of three cousins on a lake dock. Sharpen their faces and the wood of the dock, keep the soft film grain and warm summer colors, and don't change anyone's expression.Product photo of a ceramic mug on a wooden shelf. Make the glaze texture and the printed dot pattern crisp, and keep the pattern's spacing and colors as they are.- If the photo is soft, open Image Unblur and sign in. It's on the Free plan.
- Add the photo under "Your photo" (JPG or PNG, 10 MB at most).
- Open "More options" and type a note like the ones above into "Notes".
- Tap "Sharpen photo", then download the PNG once the eyes, hair and lettering look right next to the original.
- In Smart Editor, upload the sharpened copy (or the original) under "Your image".
- In "What should change?", type "Keep the people, colors and framing the same, and make it cleaner and sharper."
- Under "More options", set Quality to 4K and Shape to Original, then tap "Apply edit". Most image tools finish in about 30 seconds.
- Compare faces, hands and text with the original once more before you print.
Image Unblur currently costs 75 credits. Smart Editor needs a Pro plan and currently costs 110 credits at 4K, and Pro is currently $9.99 a month for 1,000 credits. New accounts get 20 free credits, which don't cover either tool; see current prices.