If you’ve ever encountered blurred text in an image, either at work or for a personal project, you’ll understand how frustrating it can be. Whether you’re deciphering the quick snap you took of a friend’s phone number or are trying to read a poorly rendered digital ad, knowing how to unblur text in an image is a useful skill to have. In this article we’ll explore the options you have at your disposal and the best ways you can unblur text with Adobe Express.
What causes blurred text in an image?
Blurry text in an image can be caused by both photography and digital issues. Factors like camera shake, low resolution, or image compression can all affect clarity, making it difficult to read or extract text from photos. Here are some common culprits:
- Poor lighting. If you’re taking photos in low light, you phone may overcompensate by increasing the exposure to let in more light. However, long exposures are prone to blurs because any movement will be captured also.
- Motion blur. This occurs when something moves while capturing an image. Whether it’s the camera moving or the text, you’ll find motion will often lead to blurred images.
- Poor focus. Today most cameras come equipped with autofocus functions. Even so, it’s possible for the auto focus to track something other than the intended text, leaving you with a blurred, or out of focus, image.
- Distance. If the image you’re trying to capture is too close or too far away, the resulting text in the photograph is going to be blurry.
- Compression. Image compression reduces file size by removing visual data. In lossy formats like JPEG, this can degrade sharp edges and fine details—like text—making them appear soft or blurry. Using lossless compression can be a real lifesaver.
- Improper upscaling. Digitally enlarging a low-resolution image can stretch and blur the text, reducing legibility.
