For instance, the icons may list “L,” “M,” “S1,” “S2,” and “S3,” meaning “large,” “medium,” “small 1,” “small 2, " and “small 3. " If it lists the resolution by megapixels, you’ll just see a list of numbers. Know that the higher the number, the higher the resolution. You can always shoot in a high resolution and then change it to a lower resolution later when you edit. You can’t do the opposite, though. There’s no way to move a resolution up in editing, so always use the highest resolution setting available. [2] X Research source
If your camera doesn’t use the standard icons, it will say things like “fine,” “basic,” or “normal. ” Choose “fine” or “superfine” if your camera doesn’t use the standard icons. Compression refers to how much information is lost when you take a photo. The less compression there is, the sharper the image will be. However, a lack of compression makes files extremely large. That’s something to keep in mind if you’re storing your photos on a smaller hard drive. Compression is technically not a resolution setting, but it contributes directly to the accuracy of the resolution, so it’s often tied to a resolution setting in your camera.
If your camera doesn’t offer a RAW shooting mode, use JPEG instead of TIFF or whatever other formats are offered.
The darker it is, the higher your ISO needs to be. In regular light conditions, you typically don’t need more than 100-400 ISO unless you’re shooting something in motion. ISO is one of the 3 big settings when it comes to the quality of your shots. The other 2 are aperture and shutter speed, which won’t impact resolution.
Remember, resolution is just the number of pixels. When you zoom in digitally, you’re zooming in on the pixels and making them bigger, thereby lowering the resolution.
Like a photograph’s resolution, bigger is always better here. 4K is about as good as it can get these days, and the newer iPhones can shoot it! If your phone doesn’t have 4K, shoot in 1080p if you want the highest resolution.
The photo size is often listed in a ratio. A 4:3 photo, for example, is 4 pixels long for every 3 pixels tall. Ignore the ratio and choose the highest overall number to get the highest resolution.
This has nothing to really do with resolution per se, but it does ensure that the integrity of the resolution remains accurate.
Use auto-ISO if you can, as it will adjust for you. Otherwise, pick the lowest ISO speed you can given the light you have available (100-400 is ideal if there’s light). For shutter speed, use one that’s 1/(2x the length of your lens). For a 135-millimeter lens, you’d want 1/270. This is more difficult to do on a phone. However, if you use continuous burst mode, the camera will likely keep the same focus and exposure throughout the shots. Merging multiple photos is the only way to artificially increase the resolution so that it’s higher than what your camera is capable of.
Similarly, turn your camera or phone so you’re taking pictures in portrait. Width-wise, you’re taking in less of the subject at a time, so it leads to higher resolution when you stitch the pictures together if you shoot in landscape. You can take a picture of pretty much anything using this setting, as long as it’s fairly still. Since you’re taking multiple shots, you can focus on a small area or take a wide landscape shot.
If you do catch some photos with people walking or cars moving, just leave those out of your group when you stitch the photos together.
If you don’t have continuous burst, just take photos that overlap at least 50% as you move your camera over the subject. [15] X Research source
You can use any photo editing program that you’d like. Most editing programs can do this. It just so happens that Photoshop is considered the industry standard when it comes to photo editing.
Leave the resolution where it is. You’re going to artificially increase the resolution, so lowering it now would defeat the purpose.
Hit “OK” to complete the process. If any photos look out of place in the layers, you can just delete them for a smoother photo.
It doesn’t matter if you end up with duplicate opacity percentages near the top, which will have much lower opacity percentages.
Don’t forget to save your final image!
