As a portrait photographer, one problem I run into more often than I’d like is this:
A client sends an old image they want printed larger, or I need to crop a portrait tighter after shooting, and suddenly, the resolution just isn’t enough.
You can sharpen it, resize it, try to save it in Photoshop… but sometimes the image still ends up looking soft, overprocessed, or weirdly fake.
So recently, I spent some time testing different ways to increase the resolution of an image without ruining skin texture or facial details.
Because honestly, for portraits, if the skin turns plastic or the eyes look unnatural, the whole image feels off.
What I Tested as a Portrait Photographer
My main goal wasn’t just to upscale images — it was to keep portraits looking realistic.
I mainly focused on:
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facial clarity
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eye sharpness
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hair detail
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skin texture (without fake smoothing)
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print quality after enlarging
Quick Thoughts on the Tools I Tested
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HitPaw FotorPea
As a portrait photographer, this was the easiest one to fit into my workflow. Facial details looked more natural after upscaling, and the one-click process saved me a lot of editing time.
Best for: portraits, old photos, eCommerce images, and beginners. -
Photoshop
Still the most powerful option if you want full control, but honestly takes much longer for simple resolution fixes. Great results if you already know retouching.
Best for: professional photographers and advanced editing. -
GIMP
A solid free alternative for editing, but it felt more like traditional resizing than true AI upscaling for portraits.
Best for: budget users and casual editing. -
Bigjpg
Worked better than I expected for softer images, but I personally liked it more for anime or illustrations than portrait photography.
Best for: anime, illustrations, and digital art. -
VanceAI
Quick and convenient for enlarging photos online, though portrait details sometimes looked slightly overprocessed to me.
Best for: fast online image enhancement. -
Stockphotos
Simple to use and decent for quick fixes, but I wanted more consistency for portrait detail recovery.
Best for: quick online enhancement. -
Let’s Enhance
Easy workflow and decent overall quality, especially for social media visuals and general photo enhancement.
Best for: creators and everyday use. -
BeFunky
Very beginner-friendly, but I see it more as a casual editor than a serious portrait upscaling tool.
Best for: simple edits and hobby users.
One thing I realized quickly:
Traditional resizing mostly stretches pixels.
AI tools work differently — they actually try to reconstruct missing details, which makes a huge difference when you’re trying to increase image resolution for portraits.
Why I Ended Up Using HitPaw FotorPea More Often
I’ll be honest — I don’t mind editing, but when I’m handling multiple client photos, I don’t want to spend forever fixing resolution issues manually. What made HitPaw FotorPea practical for me was how fast the process felt.
My workflow was basically:
upload the portrait
choose the Upscale Model
select 2X or 4X depending on crop size
preview before export
That’s it. No complicated settings or endless tweaking.
What stood out to me most was that facial details stayed relatively natural.
For client work, I found 2X upscale usually looked the most natural. 4X worked when I really needed extra resolution, but I still prefer not to overdo enlargement for portraits.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a photographer (or even just someone trying to print family portraits), I think choosing the right tool matters more than people realize.
Photoshop still gives the most control if you enjoy manual editing.
But for speed and ease of use, I honestly found HitPaw FotorPea the easiest way to increase the resolution of an image while keeping portraits looking natural.
Curious if other photographers here have found tools that work well for portrait upscaling — especially for client work?