Your first project in PhotoCraft

Prepare a small practice project

Use a photo you own and work on a duplicate. For this exercise, choose a modest JPEG or PNG rather than a large client PSD. Your goal is a title card with a photograph, an editable heading and a color adjustment.

Install the desktop app using the guide for your platform. Menu names below use English; translations and placement can differ by release. This walkthrough is based on upstream documentation and screenshots, not a claim that every step has been tested on every operating system.

1. Open a photo and find your workspace

Choose File → Open and select your practice image. The canvas is the working area; the toolbar selects tools; the Layers panel holds the parts of your composition. Locate History so you can inspect and undo changes.

1. Check the image dimensions before editing.
2. Find the image layer in Layers and select it.
3. Duplicate the layer with Ctrl + J on Windows/Linux or ⌘ + J on macOS.
4. Give the copy a meaningful name, such as “Photo edit”. Keep the original layer available for comparison.

2. Adjust color without overwriting the photo

Choose Layer → New Adjustment Layer → Curves. Start with a small curve adjustment; compare the result by switching the adjustment layer’s visibility off and on. If the result is too strong, reduce the layer opacity rather than repeatedly applying a destructive correction.

An adjustment layer separates the instruction from the photo. Keep it as a separate layer while you experiment. The official example below shows adjustment layers and histogram controls; it is an upstream example, not the result of this exercise.

3. Add a heading on its own layer

Select the Type tool, click the canvas and enter a short heading. Choose an installed font and a readable size. Keep the heading inside the canvas edges. In Layers, verify that it remains a text layer rather than merging it into the photograph.

Try moving the heading over a quieter part of the photo. If your chosen font is unavailable on another machine, its appearance can change. For a shared project, record the font family and check the document on the receiving system.

4. Save the project, then export an image

1. Use Save As to save a new editable project. Choose a format offered by your installed build; keep a separate PSD copy if Photoshop interchange is your goal.
2. Use Export As for the finished image. PNG is useful when you need transparency; JPEG is useful for a photographic image without transparency.
3. Review dimensions and quality in the export dialog. Save to a new filename.
4. Open the exported image outside the editor, then reopen the editable project. Check text, layers and color.

A JPEG export is not your editable master. Keep both the project and the exported image.

Before you call it finished

• The original photo is preserved.
• The title remains editable in the project.
• The export has the intended dimensions and background.
• The saved project reopens correctly.
• Any important PSD has been checked against a reference rendering.