Photo editing guide

Crop, adjust, and finish a photo in Studio on Free or Plus while keeping the uploaded original. Save your edit as a draft, then publish when you are ready to update your portfolio.

On this page

Make your first edit

Open the image editor
In Photos, select a photo to open Edit photo, then choose Edit image. The upload must be ready. Save any changes to the photo’s details before opening the image editor.
Frame the photograph
Open Crop to choose an aspect ratio, straighten the horizon, or correct perspective.
Balance light and color
Open Adjust. Start with Exposure, then Highlights and Shadows. Use White balance to correct a color cast.
Check the result
Use Compare to reveal the original beside your edit. Inspect fine detail at 100% before saving.
Save the draft
Select Save changes, or Save on mobile. Wait for processing, then preview and publish your portfolio when you want visitors to see the edit.

Navigate and compare

Control	Use it to
Fit	See the whole edited photo in the available space.
100% / 200%	Inspect detail. At 100%, one source pixel occupies one physical screen pixel; 200% doubles that size.
Compare	Drag the divider to compare the original and edited image. Available outside Crop.
Undo / Redo	Step backward or forward through changes in the current editing session.
Eye icon	Temporarily hide a section’s adjustments without deleting its settings.
Reset icon	Restore that section’s defaults. Double-click or double-tap a slider or its value to reset just that control.

Scroll over the photo or pinch to zoom. Drag the zoomed photo to pan; hold Space while dragging if a painting tool is active.
On mobile, the controls sheet initially fits around the photo. Drag its handle to choose a height, or tap the handle to collapse and reopen it. A manual height takes precedence for that editing session.
Swipe vertically over the controls to scroll. Drag a slider horizontally to change its value.

Crop, straighten, and correct perspective

Cropping selects an area of the corrected image; it does not change the perspective correction. The controls sheet stays steady while you crop.

Control	Action
Aspect ratio	Choose Freeform or a fixed ratio, then drag the crop frame to position it and its handle to resize it.
Rotate 90° / Flip H / Flip V	Turn the photo or mirror it horizontally or vertically.
Straighten	Level a horizon with a small rotation. Auto suggests an angle when it can find a reliable line.
Horizontal / Vertical perspective	Correct converging lines, such as leaning buildings. Empty edges are trimmed automatically.
Reset geometry	Restore the original framing and remove rotation, flips, straightening, and perspective corrections.

Set a focal point for gallery and cover crops A focal point guides responsive layouts. It is separate from changing the photograph’s crop here.

Adjust light

Open Light in Adjust. Start with the overall exposure, then work on the parts of the image that need attention.

Control	Effect
Exposure	Changes overall brightness. Auto suggests a starting point.
Brightness	Adjusts midtones while protecting the black and white endpoints.
Contrast	Changes the separation between lighter and darker tones.
Highlights / Shadows	Target bright or dark areas without changing the whole image equally.
Whites / Blacks	Adjust the brightest and darkest tones.

Open Histogram to see where the edited tones fall. RGB shows separate color channels; Luminance shows overall brightness.
Enable Show clipping to mark near-white highlights in red and near-black shadows in blue. Adjust Whites or Blacks if you are losing detail you want to keep.
A slider cannot recover detail that is missing from the uploaded image.

Correct white balance and color

Choose a neutral reference
In White balance, select the eyedropper and click or tap an area that should be gray or white and still contains detail. Avoid clipped highlights and colored surfaces.
Refine Temperature and Tint
Temperature moves between cooler blue and warmer yellow. Tint balances green and magenta. Check neutral surfaces and skin tones after each change.
Adjust color intensity
Open Colour. Saturation changes color intensity across the image; Vibrance favors less saturated colors. Select a swatch to adjust the hue, saturation, or lightness of one color range.

Set black, white, and midtone levels

The Levels histogram shows the image before Levels are applied. Start with RGB to adjust all channels together.

Set the endpoints
Move Input black and Input white to choose which input tones become black and white. Watch the clipping display so important details do not disappear.
Adjust Gamma
Move the middle handle to change midtones between those endpoints. Its default is 1, not 0.
Check individual channels if needed
Choose Red, Green, or Blue to correct a cast in that channel. Use small changes: channel endpoints also change color balance.

Auto levels sets shared RGB endpoints and resets channel levels and gamma. Use Undo if it removes too much detail.
Double-click or double-tap a handle to restore its default.

Shape tones with curves

Choose RGB for brightness changes, or an individual channel for color changes.
Click the curve to add a point. Lift it to brighten that tonal range, or lower it to darken it.
Focus a point and use arrow keys for fine adjustments. Delete or Backspace removes an interior point.

Grade shadows, midtones, and highlights

Three-way colour balance controls each tonal range separately. Use the section’s eye icon to compare. With a wheel focused, arrow keys move its color and Home returns it to neutral.

Control	Effect
Color wheel	Choose a tint by direction and its strength by distance from the center. Stay near the center for a subtle grade.
Saturation	Adjust existing color in that tonal range independently of the wheel tint.
Luminance	Brighten or darken that tonal range.

Refine detail and edges

Control	Use it for
Sharpening	Emphasize edges. Inspect at 100% and avoid bright outlines around high-contrast edges.
Noise reduction	Smooth luminance noise. Check that fine texture is not becoming too soft.
Color noise reduction	Reduce colored speckles.
Texture / Clarity	Adjust fine or broader local contrast.
Vignette: Amount	Darken the edges with a positive amount, or brighten them with a negative amount.
Vignette: Size / Feather	Set the unaffected central area and the softness of the transition.

Clone a small distraction

Choose the source
Open Clone, then click or tap a clean area to copy. Select Set source to choose another area, or Alt/Option-click on desktop.
Set the brush
Choose Brush size, Brush feather, and Brush opacity. Feather softens the edge; opacity controls how strongly the source is applied.
Paint over the distraction
Use short strokes and watch the source marker. It follows the brush at the same offset between strokes. Change the source if it moves into an unsuitable area.

Each stroke is one undo step. Brush settings affect new strokes.
Use the eye icon to compare all cloning, or Clear cloning to remove it.
Hold Space and drag to pan while cloning. Cloning copies image detail; it does not generate replacement content.

Adjust part of a photo with a mask

Add a mask
In Adjust, open the Image layer selector. Under Add mask, choose Brush mask, Linear gradient, or Radial gradient.
Place the affected area
Paint a brush mask, or position the gradient that appears on the photo. Drag its handles to adjust its size, direction, and transition.
Apply adjustments to that mask
Keep the mask selected and change the Light, White balance, color, Levels, Curves, color balance, Detail, or Vignette controls. Select Image layer again to adjust the whole photo.

Mask	Typical use
Brush mask	Paint an irregular area. Additional strokes extend the selected mask; use Add or Erase to refine coverage.
Linear gradient	Make a gradual change across the photo, such as darkening a sky. Adjust the endpoints for transition width. Hold Shift while rotating to snap to 45° angles.
Radial gradient	Adjust an oval area around a subject. Use the handles for size, rotation, and feathering.

Show mask reveals the tinted coverage and off-image handles. Changing an adjustment hides the tint so you can judge the result.
Invert swaps the affected area. The eye icon temporarily hides the mask’s effect; Delete removes the mask and can be undone.
Choose Add mask to create another mask. Up to eight masks can be used on one photo.
Crop and perspective affect the whole photo. Masks and cloning remain attached to their source areas when you crop or rotate.

Apply and save presets

Preset thumbnails use a consistent 4:3 preview crop. That thumbnail framing does not change the photograph’s saved crop.

Choose a starting look
Open Presets and select a thumbnail. Built-in looks preserve Exposure, White balance, Levels, Curves, and geometry. Check the result on your own light, skin tones, and neutral surfaces.
Set Strength
100% applies the look as designed; lower values soften it and values up to 200% increase it. Remove takes away the selected look. Use Undo to step back through changes.
Save a reusable preset
Choose the sections under Include in preset, enter a Preset name, and select Save preset. Custom presets change only their included sections. Crop, masks, cloning, and focal points are excluded.

Save and publish

Save the edit
Save changes stores the current adjustments as a draft and starts processing the full-resolution result.
Wait for processing
Check the processed photo before publishing. If saving fails, your working adjustments remain available to retry. If processing fails, use Retry saved edit.
Preview and publish
Preview your portfolio, then publish to update the public images. Until you publish successfully, visitors continue to see the previous published version.

Publishing a portfolio

Download the original or edited photo

In Edit photo, find the download controls under Source file.

Download	What you receive
Download original	The stored original file, without the image editor’s adjustments.
Download edited	A full-resolution JPEG of the latest saved, processed edit. Unsaved changes are not included.

Save the edit and wait for processing before using Download edited. If there is no saved edit or it is still processing, Studio explains what to do next.
Downloading does not publish the photo.

Export originals from your library

Copy adjustments to other photos

In the Photos selection menu, choose Copy image adjustments to copy a selected photo’s saved global settings to other selected photos.

Crops, masks, and cloning stay specific to each photo.
Review each result, especially photos taken in different light. Check any reported failures and wait for processing before publishing.

Keyboard shortcuts

Undo and redo work throughout the editor, including focused sliders and mask handles. Text fields keep their own text undo. Photo shortcuts such as F, 1, and O apply when the photo has focus. Use Option on Mac or Alt on Windows for the gestures below.

You can press or release modifiers during a drag. The control continues from its current position. Escape cancels the whole drag, including any modifier changes, without adding an undo step.

Shortcut	Action
Command/Ctrl + Z	Undo the last edit. Add Shift to redo. Each completed drag is one undo step.
F / 1	Return to Fit / select 100% zoom.
Space + drag	Pan while a painting tool is active.
O	Toggle the mask overlay.
Alt/Option + click in Clone	Choose a clone source.
Alt/Option + drag crop handle	Resize around the crop’s current center. Resizing stops at the image boundary without moving that center.
Shift + drag crop handle	Keep the current proportions in Freeform. A selected aspect ratio always stays locked. Add Alt/Option to resize around the center.
Shift + drag crop or mask	Move horizontally or vertically, following the initial drag direction.
Shift + drag radial-mask resize handle	Keep the ellipse’s current proportions. Shift-click Radial gradient when adding a mask to start with a circle.
Alt/Option + drag linear-gradient endpoint	Move both endpoints symmetrically around the gradient’s center.
Shift while adjusting a gradient angle	Snap to 45° angles.
Alt/Option while brushing a mask	Temporarily erase. Release to return to the selected brush mode.
Alt/Option + drag slider, Levels handle, or curve point	Make fine adjustments at one-tenth the normal drag sensitivity.
Arrow keys on a slider	Adjust its value. Home and End select its limits.
Arrow keys on the crop frame or a mask handle	Move or resize the focused control. Shift uses larger steps.
Delete / Backspace on a curve point	Remove an interior point.
Delete / Backspace with a mask selected	Remove that mask when you are not editing a field.
Escape	Cancel the current drag and restore its starting state. With no drag active, leave the local tool or cancel the white-balance picker.
Arrow / Page keys on the mobile sheet handle	Resize the sheet. Home collapses it; End expands it as far as space allows.

If something does not look right

What you see	What to check
An adjustment has no effect	Check which image layer or mask is selected and whether the section’s eye icon is enabled.
White balance looks too warm or cool	Try another neutral reference, then refine Temperature and Tint. Avoid choosing a clipped highlight.
A preview looks soft	Check at 100%, allow the detail preview to load, and inspect the processed edited download for the final result.
The public photo has not changed	Saving creates a draft. Wait for processing, then preview and publish the portfolio.
Edit image is unavailable	Wait until the upload is ready and save any pending photo-detail changes. If Edit image is not offered in your Studio, contact support.

Open Studio to make the change.

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Still need help? Contact support and tell us what you expected and what happened.