How to Upscale and Restore Marketing Images with AI

An upscaled image can look sharper while becoming less true. Faces, fabric, packaging text, and small product details are exactly where enhancement models invent plausible information.

Workflow

1. Preserve the original and record its provenance.
2. Correct exposure, crop, dust, and compression before generative work.
3. Produce conservative and aggressive versions in Krea, Freepik AI Suite, or Leonardo AI.
4. Use Adobe Firefly only for selected damaged regions rather than regenerating the whole frame.
5. Compare at 100% and overlay against the source. Review faces, hands, text, logos, product geometry, and historical details.

Decide what is acceptable

For a decorative background, invented microtexture may be harmless. For evidence, archival material, product listings, or before-and-after claims, it can be misleading. Label substantial reconstruction and keep the original accessible.

Measure success at the final display size. Do not spend compute generating pixels that disappear in a 400px card.

Sources & further reading

• Krea product
• Adobe Firefly