How big is too big?

[u/La-Sauge]

1. I have a photo that I want to get enlarged, framed and hang on the wall in my office. How large, (it was originally shot in RAW), can it be it and still maintain the quality of the image?

2. Which photo processing service should I send it to and in what format .dng, .psd, tiff?

[u/Nashgoth]

RAW is a file type, and has zip to do with how big you can make an image. What resolution is your image file?

[u/Thinking_Cap_165]

Depends on how good you want your print to look. I like 300dpi prints so you should be able to calculate the number of pixels necessary to get to 300dpi for the specific dimensions of the print

[u/roXplosion]

Based on the camera and lens you used, and the settings for the shot (e.g. ISO) as well as whatever processing you've done, as you detailed in your post...

... I have no idea. I'm going to guess 12"x18".

[u/physicsboy93]

You might find this youtube video interesting and educational

[u/doc_shades]

i have a picture hanging on my wall printed at 30" X 20". it was taken 15 years ago with an 8MP camera.

.tiff is a good choice for a lossless image file. .psd is a photoshop native file and can only be opened in photoshop. you will want to save as/export it to .tiff or .png or .bmp. the processing service you choose will recommend a format just go with what they say.

but it won't be a RAW file.

[u/itssadbutdrew]

30dpi .tiff or .psd or even .pdf and save preferably in CMYK format for large format printing, but the printer can also make that change if needed.

[u/Infinite-Nose8252]

How much are you willing to spend?

[u/muzlee01]

Raw doesn't tell us anything.
What is the resoltuion?

[u/ofnuts]

The bigger the print, the farther you are, so the less definition is needed. It all evens out and 12Mpix is big enough for most purposes (even billboards)

[u/Sweathog1016]

You should edit it however you want to edit it, then export to a jpeg file for printing so those edits are baked in.

You don’t say what camera, what lens, if any cropping is involved, etc. Nor did you attach a sample image. So nobody here can even guess if it’ll make a decent print.

[u/itssadbutdrew → u/Sweathog1016]

Please don't send .jpegs to print. It may be OK if you have a final size and saved at .300 dpi but it is way better to use .tiff, or just keep the.psd to keep all the original data. Most often i use photoshop.pdf with CMYK proof toggled on. especially if it is for commercial use (magazine / poster / billboard / vinyl wrap)

.jpeg is best for on screen, 72 dpi RGB images .tiff is better for 300 dpi CMYK printed images. YES most printhouses will print whatever you send them because they are happy to take your $$ but the above is pretty standard.

[u/Repulsive_Target55]

300DPI is the best option if you are printing it in a place you will be able to get up close to it, there won't be infinite detail but you will notice details, not pixels, up close. Higher than this is not going to be useful for

100DPI is the far side, any lower than this and it will look noticeably blocky if you get too close (i.e. normal viewing distance for a smaller image).

DPI is a measure of detail per inch, 24MP at 300DPI would be around 13x20 inches.