Is there a way to sharpen low quality images

Question

I have a lot of images for a project that are not really sharp and crisp. I think these were old images that were resized a lot etc.

This is because I am working on a website for a client and she does not have the high quality pictures anymore, the pictures I have to work with are somewhat pixelated.

Here's an example of one I think could be better:

Now as you can see the parts around the text 'Azule' is not so sharp. Is there a way to sharpen this.

Now I have another one, and I think there is no hope for this one.

Is there any hope for the picture above to make it sharp again, I highly doubt it.

Answer 1

If my eyes don't deceive me, what you're seeing around Azule is a compression artefact - ie it comes from taking an original high quality image, and compressing it heavily. You can try to minimise the effects of this, but you really want the originals wherever possible. Here's a (random!) link about reducing compression artefacts using Photoshop. Google for more. (And always keep a copy of your pictures that doesn't use lossy compression.)

EDIT: Forgot the link - http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photoshop/ss/cs2reducenoise.htm

Answer 2

You can use tools like Lightroom or DXO Optics Pro.

In DXO OP there is a thing called mikro sharpening which can help - but in the end it will be better to make new images and let your customer learn the lesson to keep originals.

Micro Sharpening works best with raw images and tries to interpolate fine structures. Normal sharpening often only makes a sort of edge sharpening. For example I use images with insects or spiders. With normal sharpening you get more crisp but e.g. sharp legs. With micro sharpening you sometimes get the small hairs of the legs, even if you can't see them in the original image. In DXO it is a slider called micro sharpening. This won't work with very low resolution images well and requires a minimum size of image.

Answer 3

The labels seem to be the main issue where the pixelation is noticeable. If you have one of those labels on hand, you could make a high res scan of it and photoshop it onto the bottles. Getting the curving and shading right might be hard for someone new to photoshop, but would be pretty quick and easy for someone with a few years of experience for it, so it might be relatively cheap to pay someone (probably wouldn't be a huge project for them). This should be significantly cheaper than hiring someone to retake photos.