Resize images (make smaller) but keep same quality.

[eugchen]

i am trying to use free transform tool to shrink an image to a much smaller size. when i do this, it gets pixelated when zooming on the small size. when you make this image back to the original large size, the pixelation remains due to PS removing some pixels.

i have tried converting the image to a smart object. when i do this, the smaller image still seems poor quality compared to the original, but when i make it larger, the quality comes back.

so what i want is to reduce the size of an image and keep the exact same pixelation (meaning if i zoom in, it looks the exact same as the original image, just smaller). can i achieve this?





im running version CC 2015.

 

[IamSam]

Hello.

Scaling an image to a smaller size using Free Transform will cause some of the pixels to be removed, reducing the quality of the image. Basically it results in data loss through resampling.

Even if you're using Smart Objects, scaling the Smart Object to a smaller size will cause a loss of detail in the image but the Smart Object itself will not be affected. Which is why it can easily be upscaled/rescaled to a larger size again because the original pixel content has been preserved by the Smart Object. No matter what you do, you will have quality loss when scaling images down.

 

[eugchen]

so maybe the only solution is to start with a higher quality photo that wont lose as much when shrinking down?

 

[IamSam]

so maybe the only solution is to start with a higher quality photo that wont lose as much when shrinking down?

It would help. Remember you can't import a high res image into a low res document without affecting it's resolution. So your document resolution needs to be created to match or be greater than that of any imported images resolutions.

 

[eugchen]

well to be specific on what im trying to do, im creating a wallpaper for my android phone. im addiing several images to the wallpaper, like photos of my kids, pets, etc. when i reduce the size of them, the quality degrades. but whats weird is that each ICON avatar can be changed (like for maps). as you know these are small little images. when i select images for these, the resolution is still really sharp even though the icon image is so small. so it seems like it should be possible to keep the resolution the same. of course, increasing size is different. cant add pixels.

 

[IamSam]

so it seems like it should be possible to keep the resolution the same.

Icons and text are mostly vector based and the quality loss, while still there after reduction, is just not as noticable as it is in a photo. One thing you need to do is to NOT zoom in after reduction. View them only at 100%.

 

[IamSam]

Another option would be to resize the images individually using "image size" and choosing the interpolation. Save. Then add the reduced image to the wallpaper document and avoid using free transform.

 

[eugchen]

ok got it, thanks