How to Depixelate Photoshop

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Image Credit: Ciaran Griffin/Lifesize/Getty Images

Pixelation is a term that describes an image that is blurry and hard to distinguish. This occurs when an image's resolution is very low and the individual pixels become large enough for the human eye to see. It is impossible to completely remove pixelation from a low-resolution image, but you can reduce the problem. Adobe Photoshop has an easy-to-use tool that allows you to smooth out some of the pixelation that you commonly see in these low-resolution images.

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Step 1

Open the image in Adobe Photoshop. If the picture that you want to depixelate is on its own Photoshop layer, make sure that you click to select that layer in the Layers window.

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Step 2

Click "View"and then "Actual Pixels" so that you get a clear view of the extent of the pixelation.

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Step 3

Go to "Filter" and then "Noise" on the main menu. Select "Despeckle." This option helps to smooth out the pixels in your image.

Step 4

Press the CTRL and F keys two or three times to further despeckle the image. If you despeckle the image any more than four times, it will probably start to blur past recognition.

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Step 5

Perform a Smart Blur on the image as an alternative to help get rid of pixelation. Go to the Filter menu and choose the "Smart Blur…" option. Set the radius at about 1.5 pixels and the threshold at about 15 pixels, then hit "OK." You can always go back and adjust these settings by pressing the CTRL + Z keys.

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