Image scaling is referred to as the process involved in altering the size of a digital photo or image. Altering the size can be done by down sizing or making the image smaller or enlarging it. Retaining the sharpness of a digital photo while being enlarged or downsized from its original size is the ultimate goal of every photo enthusiast. This is possible with the use of online or standard digital photo enlargement tools. Many interpolation algorithms available online or from downloadable software make it possible. But it should be always noted that the size and texture of the original photograph can affect the quality of the enlarged output image.
In digital photo enlargement, the size of a photo or image is increased and pixels normally become more visible in doing so. Most often, some of the details in the photo or the image are lost in the process, i.e. image or photo becomes blurred. However, there are many picture enlargers that can even out the appearance of the pixels from the original, thus retaining important details in the photo or image.
There are many methods of scaling like the nearest neighbor interpolation, bilinear interpolation and bicubic interpolation. The later is most preferred because it retains the sharpness and most of the details of the photo or image. Another good picture enlargement approach is found in some computer graphic software, called super sampling. This is also an advanced photo enlargement method that is best used when magnifying images or photos with low resolutions.
Why is it very important to pay attention to the details when enlarging or magnifying an image or photo? Photos and images taken from any digital camera have various purposes. Aside from personal purposes, digital photos especially are being used today by many professional practitioners. For instance, in the medical field, digital photos and images are used to present case studies and enhance reports. In dermatology for instance, digital shots of before and after acne photos may be used to explain a patients progress.
In aeronautics, there are already a number of attempts to discover life and other information in other planets, the moon and even the sun. Digital photos serve as evidence of these space expeditions. In forensics, though special UV or IR digital cameras are to be used, digital photos are also important not only to present evidence from the scene of the crime but also discover additional details of what transpired. These are some of the many professionals that benefit from digital photo enlargement.
Going back to the question earlier, why is it important to pay attention to details when enlarging or magnifying an image or photo? In relation to professional use, details are essential and very vital, especially in forensics as these may be used in litigation. Therefore, a major consideration when selecting a photography enlarger method or photographic enlarger service is that it should retain sharpness and valuable details while scaling the photograph. There are many software and even online providers that can do this service efficiently. Especially in large scale investigative projects, where sometimes the camera used is not set to its maximum or is not really a professional camera, it is very essential that digital photo enlargement capabilities of your software or the provider can handle photos with sub-quality.