Photo Enhancing using CS3?

I dont have cs3 yet,but i would guess there is nothing magical about it verses cs. basically just using image size to resize. i think you have quite a task before you since you will be having photoshop create fake information to upsize that much. you cannot hold details from such extreme size changes,unless you have some spectacular scanner, or you use a film scanner on the original neg to gain more info. the other problem you face is 4×6 is not proportional to 8×10,so cropping or some other trick is in the future.

That’s what I was thinking, too, in terms of the difference between the two programs…

As far as the immensity of the job at hand, I am SO not looking forward to this!! (I was kind of hoping there was some amazing software out there that automatically "fills in the blanks" as it enlarges the photo, but I’m gonna guess that’s wishful thinking… 😉

My next task is going to be looking into top-of-the-line scanners to see what they have to offer.

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I really appreciate it! 🙂

Actually there is a plugin for PS that you can purchase to generate very large blowups of images with no noticeable degradation. You should check out Genuine Fractals from On One Software.
Regards, MM

I wouldn’t suggest scanning at more than 600 pixels/inch; the grain, noise, ink dots, paper texture, etc. will simply be too prominent at higher resolution scans. My next suggested step would be to process this image to retouch any dust spots, etc., do any necessary color or curves corrections, and apply a small amount of Gaussian blur if necessary to smooth out any grain/noise/ink dots/paper texture.

Now you need to consider what resolution you need for the final image. If this is going to a professional print shop, get the advice of their printer; also find out whether you need to convert to CMYK. If you are printing on roll paper on a wide-format inkjet, don’t convert to CMYK.

You definitely don’t need to print the photo at anything approaching the resolution you would use for a normal sized print, such as 300-360 ppi. If the photo was scanned at 600 ppi, it will be 2400 x 3600 pixels, which produces 30 ppi resolution at 8 x 10 feet if resized without resampling. That may be sufficient, as this will likely be viewed at a considerable distance. On the other hand, you may need to increase resolution a bit to avoid obvious pixelation if it will be viewed at distances of 5-10 feet. I don’t think it would be either necessary or appropriate to go over 75 ppi, and 50-60 might be more like it. Try making some partial test prints at various resolutions and view from the appropriate distance to see what works and what’s overkill.

Use Image Size, with resampling checked this time, and enter the desired resolution, using bicubic soften. The next step would be to add an appropriate degree of sharpening, either via USM or Smart Sharpen; make sure you are looking at actual pixels (100% zoom) when doing this.

Before actually printing the entire thing and using up a few hundred (thousand?) bucks worth of paper and ink, I would suggest doing a soft proof with the appropriate printer profile and tweak the color and curves if necessary. Multiple partial test prints would be a good idea.

wrote:

I have Photoshop CS and am curious about the upgraded features of CS3. I have an assignment to enhance a scanned 4×6" snapshot to a very large 8×10′ (feet–not inches) digital image. Does CS3 offer somewhat fast, easy, and effective ways to do this, or should I be looking for a different program? Also, does my version of CS offer the same techniques as CS3 for a job like that?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!

Deborah

I would be very interested in seeing the results
of such an attempt. I can’t see how it can be done
from a 4X6 print.

"Rod" wrote in message

wrote:

I have Photoshop CS and am curious about the upgraded features of CS3. I have an assignment to enhance a scanned 4×6" snapshot to a very large 8×10′ (feet–not inches) digital image. Does CS3 offer somewhat fast, easy, and effective ways to do this, or should I be looking for a different program? Also, does my version of CS offer the same techniques as CS3 for a job like that?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!

Deborah

I would be very interested in seeing the results of such an attempt. I can’t see how it can be done from a 4X6 print.

PS enlarges images by interpolation (adding pixels). In your example, for every original pixel in the 4 x 6, PS will add 484 pixels dependant on the surrounding pixel information. As to the quality….
All depends on the viewing distance as to what it will look like.

TWK

Toobi-Won Kenobi wrote:

"Rod" wrote in message

wrote:

I have Photoshop CS and am curious about the upgraded features of CS3. I have an assignment to enhance a scanned 4×6" snapshot to a very large 8×10′ (feet–not inches) digital image. Does CS3 offer somewhat fast, easy, and effective ways to do this, or should I be looking for a different program? Also, does my version of CS offer the same techniques as CS3 for a job like that?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!

Deborah

I would be very interested in seeing the results of such an attempt. I can’t see how it can be done from a 4X6 print.

PS enlarges images by interpolation (adding pixels). In your example, for every original pixel in the 4 x 6, PS will add 484 pixels dependant on the surrounding pixel information. As to the quality….
All depends on the viewing distance as to what it will look like.
TWK

I understand what interpolation is but I can’t see
it working. If it ain’t there to begin with it
ain’t there. Like I said I would like to see the
results. Take a 4X6 print and try to make an
8"X10" from it and it doesn’t look very good. 8’X10′? I still don’t think so.

"Rod" wrote in message

Toobi-Won Kenobi wrote:

"Rod" wrote in message

wrote:

I have Photoshop CS and am curious about the upgraded features of CS3. I have an assignment to enhance a scanned 4×6" snapshot to a very large 8×10′ (feet–not inches) digital image. Does CS3 offer somewhat fast, easy, and effective ways to do this, or should I be looking for a different program? Also, does my version of CS offer the same techniques as CS3 for a job like that?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!

Deborah

I would be very interested in seeing the results of such an attempt. I can’t see how it can be done from a 4X6 print.

PS enlarges images by interpolation (adding pixels). In your example, for every original pixel in the 4 x 6, PS will add 484 pixels dependant on the surrounding pixel information. As to the quality…. All depends on the viewing distance as to what it will look like.
TWK

I understand what interpolation is but I can’t see it working. If it ain’t there to begin with it ain’t there. Like I said I would like to see the results. Take a 4X6 print and try to make an 8"X10" from it and it doesn’t look very good. 8’X10′? I still don’t think so.

Original print size is irrelevant, it all depends on pixel dimensions. A 2400 x 3000pixel image will make an excellent 4 x 6 (1.5:1)@ 500 ppi (cropped for aspect ratio)and also a 8 x 10 (1.25:1)@ 300. If your image is only 40×60 pixels to begin with though…

TWK