How can I make a JPEG passport-style photo file larger without changing its pixel dimensions?
Asked 11/9/2022
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I have a biometric/document photo that already meets the required pixel dimensions of 1300 × 1600, but the government submission rules say the file must be a color, unedited JPEG between 1 MB and 5 MB. How can I increase the JPEG file size without resizing the image?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
3y ago
2 Answers
6
Just load the file into a graphics editor and save with considerably higher quality settings. While theoretically the current state of the image would be perfectly represented by just writing the same file, the JPEG compression algorithms aren't able to exploit this chance of never increasing file size.
You'll not actually gain any image quality (in fact, it will rather deteriorate though very slightly so), but you may well gain file size.
Another expedient would be to add a large EXIF comment in a graphics editor or even in a pure EXIF editor, like some photo managers may be able to do without changing the image data as such. While it will not contribute anything to the actual image data, it will add to the file size.
Originally by user109110. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user109110
3y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
If the image already has the correct 1300×1600 pixel dimensions, the usual way to make the file larger is to re-save it as JPEG with less compression (higher quality setting). That increases file size without changing the pixel dimensions. In an editor such as GIMP, export as JPG/JPEG and raise the quality until the previewed file size is at least 1 MB.
Be aware this does not improve image quality; re-saving JPEG can slightly degrade it, even if the file gets larger.
Another way to increase file size is adding metadata such as an EXIF comment, but that only pads the file and does not add image detail.
Also, double-check the official requirement. A 1–5 MB minimum for a 1300×1600 JPEG is unusually large, so make sure it really specifies JPEG and that the size range is correct. If the rules truly require JPEG, don’t switch to TIFF or another format.
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