If a picture has a slight amount of pixelization (meaning, the blocky areas are relatively small, and limited in quantity) you can usually apply the following method:
Step 1: Reduce the size of the image. For purposes of simplicity, scale this image down to 25% of it's original size. When you do this, it thins out the pixelated areas.
Step 2: Increase the size of the image. To restore the image to it's original size, scale the image to 400% of its current size. It is remarkable how well Photoshop interprets the in-between pixels of a small image when it is being enlarged.
There you have it! Pretty easy, huh?
Now, wait... if you're looking at my fix you're probably saying 'well, mine doesn't quite look THAT good'. Well, I am just showing you the basic principal. Many other methods can be apllied to restore an image. For example, when you perform the two steps above, the entire image is somewhat less defined than the original. To compensate for this, I typically merge the fixed 'pixelized' area with the original, unscaled image. That way the body is not changed at all, and the face is more viewable than in the original image.
Give it a try! It's super easy!
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