Best way to resize images in Photoshop

[Prithviraj Dev]

Hi guys,

What is the best way to resize an image in Photoshop without losing quality?

Considering there are several methods, what is the one you would use?

I write for a website and our required dimensions are 926x517 (Pixels).
So if I download an image from AFP/Facebook etc and the file is too big,

I then create a blank document sized 926x517, open the large image in another tab, copy and paste it onto the blank document.

I then press Shift and then use the Free Transform tool to resize the image exactly to the dimensions.

It has been working fine, but I notice a considerable loss in image quality at times especially if one considers the original image was close to 5MB and the resized one is 500KB.

Is there a faster/better way than the above?

Thanks,

Prithvi

[Mylenium]

Not sure what you expect. File size per se has nothing to do with quality and even if it were - 500k is an awful lot for a web image still. Otherwise you simply have to live with it. The web isn't for people obsessing about image quality. Either you accept that your images are scaled and compressed or you don't. Which method you employ to resize them doesn't really matter.

Mylenium

[Silkrooster]

Just open your image then either -

1)Use Image>Image Size and scale down the image

2)Use the crop tool to visualize the scale (leave delete cropped pixels unchecked) then use ctrl-t to reduce the layer

3)Use File>Export>Export As and specify the image size in pixels or scale by percentage (your choice) and save.

As you can see there are multiple ways to accomplish the same thing. (And are many more) Some give better options than other for example Image size allows you to specify the resampling method whereas Export as allows you to specify multiple sizes to export at the same time.

If you have a lot of images the File>Scripts>Image Processor can help.

Just keep in mind the images you get from your clients may not match your needs ratio wise, where a combination maybe needed. That is where #2 above may help. Scale the layer first then crop out the blank area.

As Mylenium mentioned don't worry about file size.

[grahams50494134]

Save for web is one of the best option to resize an image proportionally.

By keeping the quality as 100 we can avoid the loss of quality.

If we have to do non-proportional resize , then we have to create a new document with the required dimensions

and then place the image and do the required transformation needed.

[Nicktendo28]

Be sure to convert to a smart object before using the Free Transform tool to resize the image. Smart Objects preserve an image's source content with all its original characteristics, enabling you to perform nondestructive editing to the layer.

[Prithviraj Dev]

Thanks Nick!

[szezee]

so it is now possinle to increase the size of the photo without loss of quality?

[Test Screen Name]

"it is now possinle to increase the size of the photo without loss of quality?"

No, of course not. That would be like turning chicken soup back to chicken. There are, however, some tricks for blurring and smoothing that make the result look ok sometimes.

[szezee]

has then be able to find the answer to this problem/