Hi, I have a photo taken with my Nikon D700, which is 4256x2832 pixels. My client wants me to print it in 2 x 2 meters which is 6 feet 56 by 6 feet 56. As you can see, I'm loosing even more pixels since it's a square format. Which uprez program should I use to ensure the best results? The photo will be seen from close up since it's supposed to be hung in the entrance hall of a building. Thanks in advance, Marie
Marimagen,
May I suggest an approach to editing your image? I've recently completed a major commission of 5 pieces that were 4'x8' tall, the largest. The smallest were 4' x 6'. What I found was that the best and most positive results were attained by opening the image in RAW in NX2. Just opening it, with no adjustments. Then opening that image in PS CC2015 and immediately upsizing it to the actual finished size it will be, using "automatic" and setting the dpi at 300.
Once the image is at actual size, you would be editing "real time". I advocate doing duplicate adjustment layers and making layer masks filled with black, where the lighter or darker areas can be painted in with the white brush at opacity of 23 and flow of 27. If your computer can't handle many layers at that scale, make your adjustments and flatten the image and begin again with the next adjustment layer. This is labor intensive and uses up a lot of hard drive space, but I believe this works better than making all the adjustments then finally making the image large at the end.
I suggest little if any sharpening if possible, but rather use unsharp mask at 20-40-0 (+/-).
Try this and perhaps you will find less noise and acceptable sharpness as far as you can push the image. This approach is contrary to how many experts espouse, yet I have had the best results doing many images this way. If you need a noise layer, do it , paint it, then flatten it.
I really urge staying away from sharpening programs - it's just noise noise noise at that scale. If you absolutely must sharpen, do a global sharpen layer then paint in the areas needed carefully. I recommend Imagenomic for noise reduction with the Nikon camera you have.
Again, many may disagree with my approach, but I do work large, and this works for me. See if this approach helps you.
Good luck -
Mark