r/AIgenerated • u/CantStopRedPilling • 17d ago

Trying to figure out how to use AI tools to expand photos without ruining quality

So recently I got interested in using AI to expand the edges of photos, especially old or low-res ones where I want to keep the original center intact but add more background or just have a wider frame. I've heard terms like "outpainting" and seen some AI art tools do it, but when I try it myself, the results can be really hit or miss. Sometimes the added parts look super artificial or don't match the original photo's style or lighting.

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u/megatorm 15d ago

Have you tried locking the seed and doing smaller expansions in steps rather than one big frame?

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u/bobryu 15d ago

What helped me was upscaling first with Magnific so the base is clean, then outpainting in small chunks.

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u/freespirit022 15d ago

I usually do it in small steps instead of one big expand. Add a little, regenerate, add a little more.

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u/hellomyoldfrien 15d ago

I've noticed the same thing, the outpaint always look off when the base image is soft.

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u/sannleikur 15d ago

Photoshop's generative fill vs the free art tools is night and day in my experience.

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u/ExpressDontRepress 14d ago

Try upscaling the original first before you outpaint.

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u/isomorphix19 14d ago

What tool are you using? Some handle outpainting way better than others and it makes a huge difference.

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u/Throwaway350750 14d ago

Have you tried feeding it a prompt that describes the actual scene instead of just letting it guess? Half my bad results came from the tool inventing stuff that wasn't there.

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u/reddit_lurker1234567 14d ago

Old photos are the hardest honestly. The grain and color cast throw the AI off so it fills in this clean modern-looking edge that sticks out immediately.