# Education | Upscale Workflow **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [February 1, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://community.topazlabs.com/t/education-upscale-workflow/100626 "2026-02-01T17:43:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![srwoolc](https://community.topazlabs.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@srwoolc](https://community.topazlabs.com/u/srwoolc)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 5:43pm UTC](https://community.topazlabs.com/t/education-upscale-workflow/100626/1 "2026-02-01T17:43:12Z")
I have a photo that will likely be heavily cropped. Do most people fix the photo including crop, the upscale using gigapixel, or upscale then fix and crop? I can think of arguments for both, but wondered what others process is. I did a search first and couldn’t find anything on this, but I probably missed the questions. ---
**Author:** ![AND-E](https://community.topazlabs.com/user_avatar/community.topazlabs.com/and-e/32/215196_2.png) [@AND-E](https://community.topazlabs.com/u/AND-E)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://community.topazlabs.com/t/education-upscale-workflow/100626/2 "2026-02-01T17:59:37Z")
Hi. Here’s the Topaz Recommended Workflow > **[Workflow Tutorials | Topaz Labs](https://docs.topazlabs.com/topaz-photo/workflow-tutorials)** > > View the Quick Start article for the basics on how to get started with Topaz Photo. Follow along with this article for more advanced workflow recommendations and tutorials. Although you’re asking about Topaz Gigapixel you’re have better results using Topaz Photo for this kind of work here a link explaining the difference between the two > **[Topaz Photo vs Topaz Gigapixel | Which image enhancer is right for you?](https://www.topazlabs.com/topaz-photo-vs-topaz-gigapixel)** > > Topaz Photo and Topaz Gigapixel are both software applications that are changing the way we interact with images. While they share some similarities, they also have key differences that make them unique. Hope this helps ---
**Author:** ![andymagee-52287](https://community.topazlabs.com/user_avatar/community.topazlabs.com/andymagee-52287/32/102446_2.png) [@andymagee-52287](https://community.topazlabs.com/u/andymagee-52287)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 1:11am UTC](https://community.topazlabs.com/t/education-upscale-workflow/100626/3 "2026-02-02T01:11:20Z")
I always crop first to speed everything else up. Then denoise before upscaling to avoid enlarging the artifacts. I never sharpen until after enlarging to minimize the dreaded halos. ---
**Author:** ![AND-E](https://community.topazlabs.com/user_avatar/community.topazlabs.com/and-e/32/215196_2.png) [@AND-E](https://community.topazlabs.com/u/AND-E)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 11:31am UTC](https://community.topazlabs.com/t/education-upscale-workflow/100626/4 "2026-02-02T11:31:08Z")
Just to tag a couple of notes to Andy’s good sound advice When Denoising an image even with AI this can often soften the image so, during the process Topaz automatically adds a subtle amount of sharpening to bring back the crispness to the image. For example; and you can try this for yourself open an image then apply Sharpening to it any Sharpening Model will suffice it’s just an experiment afterall once, the Sharpening has completed then apply Denoise and you’ll see the image get even Sharper. It’s a similar story or process with Upscaling because, when you enlarge an image with AI you are not increasing the size of the original Pixels that are already there the Software is actually interpolating the Pixels that would be there if that image would have been that larger size in the first instance thus, increasing the Details and Sharpness of the Upscaled image. Therefore, be very careful when applying Sharpening after both Denoising and Upscaling as we’re already established both processes can increase Detail and Sharpness. That’s why Topaz Recommends Cropping and applying Enhancements first before finally Upscaling here’s are the Topaz Recommendations ## **Recommended order** **RAW Denoise (if RAW file) → Dust and Scratch → Super Focus → Remove Noise → Sharpen → Remove Object → Adjust Lighting → Balance Color → Recover Faces → Preserve Text → Upscale** One thing you may be wondering why Topaz Recommends Sharpening before Upscaling let’s use another example; the three basics rule Denoise, Sharpen and Upscaling 1. Denoise is applied first to clean the Image 2. Sharpening is applied second to increase detail plus reduce softness and blurriness 3. Upscaling is applied last basically because, you’re actually giving the software the cleanest and most detailed image possible for Upscaling. Now then there are no hard and set rules here only Recommendations by all means apply Sharpening last if that’s what you prefer but, I’m suggesting just be a little vigilant when doing so Andy, mentioned applying Sharpening last because, there may be artifacts and halos within the image and applying to much Sharpening can make the image worse. This can happen especially from heavily compressed JPEG’s and images downloaded from the internet and as mentioned increasing the Sharpening to those will make them worse. By all means apply Sharpening before or After Upscaling it’s entirely up to you there are no rules just be careful when doing so. Hope this helps ---
**Author:** ![tyler.topazlabs](https://community.topazlabs.com/user_avatar/community.topazlabs.com/tyler.topazlabs/32/211057_2.png) [@tyler.topazlabs](https://community.topazlabs.com/u/tyler.topazlabs)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 9:19pm UTC](https://community.topazlabs.com/t/education-upscale-workflow/100626/5 "2026-02-02T21:19:40Z")
Hello! Great advice from everyone so far. Generally, Topaz Gigapixel is a _finishing_ tool for the end of the workflow. Depending on what your “fix” is, **it’s best to do all other work before the upscaling process.** In some cases, upscaling is done first in order to have more pixels to work with before certain retouching processes. 🙏 ---
**Author:** ![srwoolc](https://community.topazlabs.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@srwoolc](https://community.topazlabs.com/u/srwoolc)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2026, 11:39pm UTC](https://community.topazlabs.com/t/education-upscale-workflow/100626/6 "2026-02-02T23:39:37Z")
Thanks for all the feedback. I appreciate it. I upsized last.