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Oliversmith
Participant
July 29, 2026
Answered

How can I keep image quality when resizing multiple photos in Photoshop?

  • July 29, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 37 views

Hi everyone,

I need to resize several high-resolution photos for website use, but some of them become slightly blurry after resizing and exporting.

What is the best Photoshop workflow for reducing image dimensions while keeping the details sharp?
 

I normally export the images as WebP or JPEG. Any recommended settings would be helpful.

Thanks!

    Correct answer D Fosse

    Obviously, the fewer the pixels, the less detail the image can hold. But even aside from that, any resampling will soften a pixel image. The common practice, that we all do, is to carefully resharpen after resizing. 

     

    The operative word is “carefully”. Don’t overdo it. I know it’s tempting. What I usually do is set a certain sharpening that looks appealing, then dial back 50%.

     

    Use the ACR filter, where you can control artifacts and halos very well. Play with the sliders and see what they do.

     

    Image Size has some sharpening built in, but personally I don’t particularly care for the result. The “Bicubic Sharper” algorithm looks horribly oversharpened to me. I’d recommend “Bicubic smoother”. That doesn’t actually make it smoother, it just means there’s no built-in sharpening, so that you can better control it yourself.

     

    The proper amount of sharpening depends on a lot of things, not the least image content, so it’s not possible to give fixed numbers.

     

    Always view at 100% to assess sharpening and noise reduction! That’s important. 100% has nothing to do with size; it means one image pixel is represented by exactly one physical screen pixel.

    2 replies

    c.pfaffenbichler
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    July 29, 2026

    Aside from what ​@D Fosse already elaborated on could you please post a pair of images (the original and the downsampled version) or at least post screenshots taken at View > 100%, so we can see the unwanted effect? 

    some of them become slightly blurry after resizing and exporting

    Does this manifest in Photoshop or on the web-page? 

    D Fosse
    Community Expert
    D FosseCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    July 29, 2026

    Obviously, the fewer the pixels, the less detail the image can hold. But even aside from that, any resampling will soften a pixel image. The common practice, that we all do, is to carefully resharpen after resizing. 

     

    The operative word is “carefully”. Don’t overdo it. I know it’s tempting. What I usually do is set a certain sharpening that looks appealing, then dial back 50%.

     

    Use the ACR filter, where you can control artifacts and halos very well. Play with the sliders and see what they do.

     

    Image Size has some sharpening built in, but personally I don’t particularly care for the result. The “Bicubic Sharper” algorithm looks horribly oversharpened to me. I’d recommend “Bicubic smoother”. That doesn’t actually make it smoother, it just means there’s no built-in sharpening, so that you can better control it yourself.

     

    The proper amount of sharpening depends on a lot of things, not the least image content, so it’s not possible to give fixed numbers.

     

    Always view at 100% to assess sharpening and noise reduction! That’s important. 100% has nothing to do with size; it means one image pixel is represented by exactly one physical screen pixel.