Sharpen a Blurry Image
Put the edge definition back into a slightly soft photo.
Drop a file here
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Runs on your device Your file is processed by your own browser and is never uploaded to a server.
Short answer
An image can be sharpened in a browser by convolving it with a small kernel that adds a scaled copy of its own edge detail back onto itself. The kernel's weights sum to one, so the picture keeps its overall brightness however hard it is pushed. Sharpening increases apparent detail by exaggerating the contrast at edges; it does not recover detail that was never recorded, which is why a genuinely out-of-focus photo cannot be rescued.
At a glance
| Accepts | JPG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP |
|---|---|
| Produces | Same format as the original |
| Processing | In your browser |
| Price | Free, no limits |
| Account | Not required |
The useful case is an image that is almost sharp: a photo that has been resized down, a scan, a frame from a video, a picture from a lens that is a little soft. Edges in those images are a pixel or two wider than they should be, and that is exactly what this corrects.
The useless case is a photo that was out of focus or shaken when it was taken. The detail is not hiding in the file, it was never captured, and no amount of edge enhancement invents it — it only makes the blur crunchy. Past the Balanced setting you start to see pale outlines along high-contrast edges, which is the effect being pushed further than the image can support.
How to use it
- 1
Add the image
Drop in the photo you want to crisp up.
- 2
Pick a strength
Balanced suits most images. Check the strongest setting at full size before trusting it.
- 3
Download it
Sharpen last, after any resizing — resizing softens again.
Frequently asked questions
Can it fix an out-of-focus photo?
No. Sharpening exaggerates the edges that exist; it cannot create ones the camera never recorded. On a genuinely blurred photo the result is a blurred photo with hard-edged artefacts.
What are the pale outlines I can see?
Halos — the sharpening overshooting on either side of a high-contrast edge. They are inherent to the method and the reason the strongest setting is labelled as a maximum rather than as better.
Should I sharpen before or after resizing?
After. Scaling an image down averages pixels together and softens edges, so sharpening first means sharpening detail that the resize then throws away.