[Help!] My Photo is too Low-Res!

Compression Artifacts
Image by Matt Laur, sourced from photo.net

How to get a larger file version?

Upon discovering that you need a larger file, here are some ways to track a better one down:

1) Was it sent via Instagram/Facebook/Messenger etc? 

Any file sent through (or taken from) social media platforms will already be compressed, and therefore too small to print. In this scenario, we recommend contacting the person who posted the photo to send you the file through email.

An image we uploaded to FB at full resolution (2.2MB, could be printed at 72x64 inches)became compressed to only 63KB. After being downloaded from FB, it could only be printed at 13x7 inches max!

2) When sending photos over email, make sure your sender is selecting "largest file size possible". Most email providers on mobile phones will list several options, and you are looking for either large size, or actual size. This should get you the original file with as much resolution information as possible.

3) Was your image found on Google? Try dragging the low-res image back into Google Reverse Image search. The engine should find all similar photographs, and list their sizes. Sometimes you may be able to find a larger version hosted from a different website. 

4) If your reverse-image search turns up nothing, and you are willing to find an image that is similar but not the same, we recommend hitting up some free stock photography websites. Stock photography websites will host beautiful photos with massive file sizes, perfect for printing large-format. All they request in return for your use is credit where you can (we can add it onto your photo before we print if requested).

And there are our go-to's when it comes to low-res images. If there are any methods we've missed, or haven't tried, please let us know in the comments below!