---
title: Controlling detail with enhancement strength — Topaz Labs Wonder 3.5 | Runware Docs
url: https://runware.ai/docs/models/topazlabs-wonder-3-5/guides/enhancement-strength
description: "How to control how much detail Topaz Wonder 3.5 rebuilds with settings.enhancementStrength: what low, medium, and high change, and when to dial it down for faces or up for texture."
---
Upscaling and detail are two separate decisions. `upscaleFactor` sets how much bigger the image gets, and `settings.enhancementStrength` sets **how hard Wonder works to rebuild detail** as it scales. It takes `low`, `medium`, or `high`, and defaults to `high`, so every upscale is already reconstructing as much texture as it can unless you tell it otherwise.

Step through the same pizza from its soft source to each strength, and the crust and cheese gain texture at every level:

**Source**:

![A soft, low-resolution overhead photo of a rustic pizza on a slate board](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/source-food.yUcSJaT4_aVK3E.jpg)

**Low**:

![The pizza upscaled at low strength, cleaner but still restrained](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-food-low.D8odunRa_7HEbu.jpg)

**Medium**:

![The pizza upscaled at medium strength, with more defined crust and cheese](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-food-medium.DTbKPgcf_1wMwru.jpg)

**High**:

![The pizza upscaled at high strength, with crisp blistered crust and stringy cheese texture](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-food-high.Crf3b4E7_IwNXS.jpg)

The move from `low` to `high` is not sharpening the same pixels harder, it is **inventing more texture**: the blister on the crust, the pull of the cheese, the flecks of char. A 100% crop of the crust shows how much further `high` goes:

![A close crop of the pizza crust at low strength, smooth and restrained](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/crop-food-low.dlJuektP_24h8AV.jpg)

*Low · 100% crop*

![The same crust crop at high strength, with crisp blistering and char detail](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/crop-food-high.C4B2C0yR_Z1scqB4.jpg)

*High · 100% crop*

### [The request](https://runware.ai/docs/models/topazlabs-wonder-3-5/guides/enhancement-strength#the-request)

Enhancement strength lives under `settings`, alongside the upscale itself. Set it explicitly when you want a level other than the `high` default.

TypeScriptPythoncURLCLIJSON

```typescript
import { createClient } from '@runware/sdk'

const client = await createClient({ apiKey: process.env.RUNWARE_API_KEY })
await client.connect()

const [result] = await client.run({
  model: 'topazlabs:wonder@3.5',
  upscaleFactor: 3,
  settings: {
    enhancementStrength: 'medium'
  },
  inputs: {
    image: 'https://im.runware.ai/image/os/a14d18/ws/2/ii/9f0a1b2c-3d4e-5f60-a1b2-c3d4e5f6a708.jpg'
  }
})
```

```python
import asyncio
import os

from runware import Runware

async def main():
    async with Runware(api_key=os.environ["RUNWARE_API_KEY"]) as client:
        results = await client.run({
            "model": "topazlabs:wonder@3.5",
            "upscaleFactor": 3,
            "settings": {
                "enhancementStrength": "medium"
            },
            "inputs": {
                "image": "https://im.runware.ai/image/os/a14d18/ws/2/ii/9f0a1b2c-3d4e-5f60-a1b2-c3d4e5f6a708.jpg"
            }
        })

asyncio.run(main())
```

```bash
curl https://api.runware.ai/v1 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $RUNWARE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '[
    {
      "taskType": "upscale",
      "taskUUID": "c8d9e0f1-2a3b-4c4d-9e5f-6a7b8c9d0e1f",
      "model": "topazlabs:wonder@3.5",
      "upscaleFactor": 3,
      "settings": {
        "enhancementStrength": "medium"
      },
      "inputs": {
        "image": "https://im.runware.ai/image/os/a14d18/ws/2/ii/9f0a1b2c-3d4e-5f60-a1b2-c3d4e5f6a708.jpg"
      }
    }
  ]'
```

```bash
runware run topazlabs:wonder@3.5 \
  upscaleFactor=3 \
  settings.enhancementStrength=medium \
  inputs.image=https://im.runware.ai/image/os/a14d18/ws/2/ii/9f0a1b2c-3d4e-5f60-a1b2-c3d4e5f6a708.jpg
```

```json
{
  "taskType": "upscale",
  "taskUUID": "c8d9e0f1-2a3b-4c4d-9e5f-6a7b8c9d0e1f",
  "model": "topazlabs:wonder@3.5",
  "upscaleFactor": 3,
  "settings": {
    "enhancementStrength": "medium"
  },
  "inputs": {
    "image": "https://im.runware.ai/image/os/a14d18/ws/2/ii/9f0a1b2c-3d4e-5f60-a1b2-c3d4e5f6a708.jpg"
  }
}
```

Response

```json
[
  {
    "taskType": "upscale",
    "taskUUID": "c8d9e0f1-2a3b-4c4d-9e5f-6a7b8c9d0e1f",
    "imageUUID": "5b6c7d8e-9f0a-4b1c-8d2e-3f4a5b6c7d8e",
    "imageURL": "https://im.runware.ai/image/os/a14d18/ws/2/ii/5b6c7d8e-9f0a-4b1c-8d2e-3f4a5b6c7d8e.jpg"
  }
]
```

### [Reading the three levels](https://runware.ai/docs/models/topazlabs-wonder-3-5/guides/enhancement-strength#reading-the-three-levels)

The three settings sit on a **faithful-to-invented axis**, not a quality dial where higher is always better.

- `low` **stays close to the source**. It cleans and firms up what is there with the least invention, which is the safest choice when the source is already decent or when the subject has to stay true to the original.
- `medium` is the **balanced middle**. It rebuilds real detail while holding back on the textures a model is most likely to get wrong, and it is the sensible default for people and mixed scenes.
- `high` **reconstructs the most**. It produces the richest texture and the sharpest result, and it is also where Wonder is most likely to over-invent on a subject that cannot support it.

### [Faces need a lighter touch](https://runware.ai/docs/models/topazlabs-wonder-3-5/guides/enhancement-strength#faces-need-a-lighter-touch)

Skin is the classic place `high` goes wrong. Pushed hard, it can turn pores and fine lines into an over-etched, waxy surface that reads as processed rather than real. The same portrait at each level shows it:

**Source**:

![A soft, low-resolution portrait of a woman with dark hair tied back](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/source-portrait.1A10RPAJ_kUFoA.jpg)

**Low**:

![The portrait at low strength, clean and natural but soft](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-portrait-low.C6nL0r_u_18uBNP.jpg)

**Medium**:

![The portrait at medium strength, natural skin with recovered detail](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-portrait-medium.B7U9AAJv_2p0bAt.jpg)

**High**:

![The portrait at high strength, skin texture pushed hard and slightly over-etched](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-portrait-high.DiG6M5Di_ZJx30X.jpg)

Compared side by side at 100%, `medium` keeps the skin believable while `high` starts to over-render every pore:

![A close crop of the cheek and eye at medium strength, natural skin](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/crop-portrait-medium.DsQ6Bd1J_ZSHAEx.jpg)

*Medium · 100% crop*

![The same crop at high strength, skin texture over-etched](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/crop-portrait-high.DV1db0Kp_LYcbk.jpg)

*High · 100% crop*

> [!NOTE]
> For portraits and close-up faces, start at `medium` and only move to `high` if the result looks soft. The `high` default is tuned for detail-rich scenes, and skin is the subject most likely to look artificial when it is pushed too far.

### [Texture rewards a heavier hand](https://runware.ai/docs/models/topazlabs-wonder-3-5/guides/enhancement-strength#texture-rewards-a-heavier-hand)

The opposite is true for subjects that are all fine detail. Fur, foliage, fabric, and food give `high` real structure to rebuild, so it lands crisp instead of artificial. The retriever's coat is exactly the case `high` was made for:

**Source**:

![A soft, low-resolution close-up of a golden retriever](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/source-dog.Cw3smO0L_1Ug6V2.jpg)

**Low**:

![The retriever at low strength, clean but soft fur](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-dog-low.Cm9DAv4e_Z16pASN.jpg)

**Medium**:

![The retriever at medium strength, more defined fur](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-dog-medium.B5_vet8l_1IYdW.jpg)

**High**:

![The retriever at high strength, crisp individual fur strands](https://runware.ai/docs/assets/output-dog-high.DLjQD_Be_ZxTzmW.jpg)

Individual strands separate out at `high` where `low` leaves the coat smooth. When the subject is texture, the aggressive default is the right one, and dialing down mostly costs you detail.

### [Tips](https://runware.ai/docs/models/topazlabs-wonder-3-5/guides/enhancement-strength#tips)

1. **Match strength to the subject, not the resolution.** Texture-heavy scenes take `high` well, while faces, flat colour, and simple graphics usually look more natural at `medium` or `low`.
    
2. **Keep the aggressive default for texture.** `high` is the shipped default and the right call for landscapes, fur, fabric, and food. Reach for a lower level when the subject is a person or something that must stay faithful.
    
3. **Start portraits lower.** Skin is the first thing to look artificial under `high`, so begin at `medium` and step up only if the face comes back too soft.
    
4. **Read the result at 100%.** The gap between levels is easy to miss at page width and obvious in a crop. Judge skin and fine texture at native size before committing.
    
5. **Lower strength to stay faithful.** When the goal is a clean, honest enlargement rather than a reconstruction, `low` invents the least and drifts from the original the least.