Affinity Photo: Beyond the Basics!

Master selections and masks in Affinity Photo, the most important yet tricky tools. Dive deep into these features to bring out the best in your photos.

Hold option on a Mac or alt on a PC and click the mask button to reveal masking options in Affinity Photo after the update. Then practice selections and masks.

Learn to remove a photo background using a selection brush, refine edges with matte adjustments, and paint on the mask to soften hair and improve edge quality.

Explore gradient masks in Affinity Photo to control where adjustments apply, using black and white masks, linear and radial gradients, and inversion to shape lighting and focus.

Use masking groups to apply one mask to multiple layers, refining the dress selection and applying color, brightness, and other adjustments within a grouped layer.

Explore hue masks and how they select specific colors to adjust skies, dress, and greenery with targeted brightness, contrast, and blur. Master color ranges and color picking for precise edits.

Explore luminosity masks and the luminosity range mask to selectively brighten or darken image areas using left and right control nodes, blur adjustments, and brush refinements for precise photo editing.

Explore blend ranges in Affinity Photo, compare them to luminosity masks, and adjust brightness and contrast on individual layers for precise edits.

Master the pen tool to make precise selections using polygon and smart modes, with rubber band previews; convert selections to masks to remove backgrounds and replace images.

Softening the mask edges with a Gaussian blur on the mask, not the photo, using the alt/option key to select the mask and adjust radius for natural pen tool results.

Master how to combine selection tools in Affinity Photo to create precise masks, refine hair edges, and blend cutouts using masks, the pen tool, and a brightness and contrast adjustment.

Explore advanced color and light adjustments in Affinity Photo, moving beyond basic adjustment layers to reveal the most powerful tools for color and light.

Explore the curves adjustment to brighten or darken photos, build contrast with an s-curve, and fine-tune highlights, shadows, and midtones using nodes and blend ranges.

Master curves to adjust color by manipulating red, green, and blue channels. Target highlights and shadows to reveal shifts, add cyan or magenta, and warm photos with red and yellow.

Apply color balance to adjust shadows, midtones, and highlights using cyan, magenta, yellow, and RGB sliders; compare with curves, and create warm or cool tones with clear before and after.

Master hsl adjustments to selectively recolor leaves, butterflies, and pillows using hue channels, color ranges, and masks. Refine with color picker, curves, and brush painting for precise results.

Learn how blend modes mix layers and control color with darken, lighten, and color modes. Apply textures and photos, adjust opacity, and blur to create light effects and detail.

Master three color correction techniques in Affinity Photo: white balance with an adjustment layer, curves on color channels, and divide blend mode with a curve.

Perform targeted skin color correction with an HSL adjustment and mask, painting only the skin to remove green tint and adjust warmth and opacity.

Brighten the photo with curves and midtones, then boost color saturation by channel to add warmth. Sharpen focus on the subject with selective contrast and a subtle sunburst.

Learn to clean up photos by removing unwanted elements with the inpainting brush on a new pixel layer, then use the clone brush for tougher real-world edits.

Learn the clone brush basics in Affinity Photo, from sampling with alt/option to painting on new pixel layers, cloning animals, and refining with eraser and move tools.

Learn how to clone edges in Affinity Photo by combining the inpainting brush and clone brush, using new pixel layers, sampling with alt to clean hair edges and wall textures.

Learn to remove a logo from clothing with the inpainting brush on a new pixel layer, then refine with the clone brush on the layer by sampling from adjacent areas.

Learn to remove power lines from photos using the inpainting and clone brushes, sampling sky colors, and careful blending for a clean sky and seamless edits.

Apply a mask to a cloned pixel layer to remove white paint from the ground, using inpainting and clone brushes while sampling multiple points and preserving the subject's legs.

Move cloned areas to cover the trash can on a brick wall by sampling bricks and masking for a seamless blend, aligning grout lines.

Learn to remove a person from a photo using cloning, inpainting, and masking; blend textures, adjust brightness, and crop for polished retouching.

Master the art of retouching in Affinity Photo by exploring the most common techniques to improve your photos, gaining practical editing skills you can apply right away.

Learn to remove shadows in affinity photo by using curves, masks, and hsl adjustments to brighten the subject while preserving natural shadows and avoiding halos.

Master dodging and burning to control lighting in photos, using four different lighting strategies with blend ranges to darken highlights and brighten shadows.

Extend photo backgrounds in Affinity Photo by cropping outward, duplicating background layers, and using marquee selections to stretch walls, then refine with the clone brush to blend textures.

Learn to blur backgrounds in Affinity Photo by selecting the subject, refining edges, inverting the selection, and using Gaussian blur, plus a two-layer masking method to remove halos.

Learn to defringe by refining selections and masks, desaturating, and using clone brush and color fill methods to remove pink fringing in Affinity Photo.

Learn advanced skin retouching using frequency separation to separate texture and color, and practice high- and low-frequency painting, cloning, inpainting, and Gaussian blur for high-resolution portraits.

Edit three images from start to finish using Affinity Photo curves, HSL, and cloning tools to bring together all learned skills and make your photos look their best.

Learn a six-step workflow for editing a wedding portrait: clean up, global lighting, global coloring, targeted lighting, targeted coloring, and finishing touches, using inpainting, cloning, and selective adjustments.

Enhance the ocean and rock with global lighting and color adjustments, then clean up with inpainting and cloning, apply targeted lighting and coloring, and finish with final touches.

Apply global lighting and color adjustments, then cleanup the portrait with inpainting. Use targeted lighting, sunburst coloring, and frequency separation plus eye sharpening to finalize the sidewalk model image.

Master compositing in Affinity Photo using a ten-step method that guides you from selecting photos to masking, resizing, matching lighting and color, adding shadows, a contact point, and final edits.

Find and compare free photos from Pexels, Unsplash, and Pixabay for composites, evaluating camera angle, lighting, and ease of masking to create convincing blends in Affinity Photo.

Mask the subject in a compositing workflow using the selection brush, refine the selection, apply a mask, and deselect to reveal the bunny for subsequent placement and resizing.

Resize and position a bunny in a background using copy, paste, and move tools; refine the mask to remove a white edge and prepare for lighting adjustments.

Match the global lighting in Affinity Photo by using a curve on a child layer to blend bunny with the forest, exploring six options of midtones, shadows, and highlights.

Match color for composites using three layers: Gaussian blur the background and apply color blending to the subject, adjust color balance across highlights, midtones, and shadows, then fine-tune with HSL.

Add a shadow in step six by determining light direction from the rock's rim, then paint a black shadow on a new layer beneath the bunny, fading with opacity.

Mask the bunny in Affinity Photo to create a grounded contact point on grass. Paint a pitch-black contact shadow along the edge under the bunny and blend for a transition.

Add shadows and highlights in Affinity Photo: darken the bunny's front and brighten its back to match the forest lighting, using curves and masking to control exposure.

Learn to match photo clarity in a composite by balancing front and back sharpness. Use gaussian blur, invert layers, and clarity adjustments to achieve a convincing result.

Complete the composite by editing the entire image so changes affect bunny and forest equally, then adjust lighting and hues for a more monochromatic, blended look.

Embark on three compositing projects to practice the ten compositing steps and solidify a workflow you can use to create composites on your own.

Find the photos for a wedding composite and place the bride into a new image, using side lighting and similar angles to aid masking, with photos from Pexels and Unsplash.

Master subject masking in affinity photo by creating precise selections, refining hair edges, and applying masks before placing the subject on a new background.

Resize and position the model, copy and paste into the background, and flip horizontal for consistent lighting. Refine the mask and edges to blend hair and reduce flyaways.

Learn to match global lighting in a wedding composite by using a curves adjustment to balance midtones, shadows, and highlights; upcoming video covers global colors.

Match global colors to blend the subject with the background by applying blur, color blend mode, HSL adjustments, and color balance across shadows, mid-tones, and highlights.

Add a ground shadow in Affinity Photo by painting on a pixel layer, using a black brush with low flow, softening edges as light hits from the right.

Paint on the mask to blend the edge and darken the grass with low-flow strokes, then add a subtle contact shadow on a new pixel layer to ground the subject.

Enhance the wedding composite by adding shadows and highlights with a curves adjustment and a low-flow brush, painting light on the model and invert to darken opposite sides.

Learn to match subject clarity against a background by applying a subtle gaussian blur to the model, keeping the radius around 0.2 to blend seamlessly.

Continue editing the final wedding composite in Affinity Photo by applying a curves adjustment to brighten the image and performing per-channel hue and saturation edits to warm skin tones.

Select two photos with matching camera angle, distance, and lighting to build a city composite, and plan for masking the subject, noting that hats ease hair masking.

Learn to precisely mask a subject in Affinity Photo using the pen tool with smart mode and rubber band mode, refine edges, and remove fringing for clean composites.

Resize and position the subject by copying the background layer, pasting it in, and using the move tool with snapping to center and align the top and bottom edges.

Match the global lighting with the background using the curves adjustment, create a child layer, and adjust shadows and highlights for a moody, matched look.

Match global colors in a city composite using Affinity Photo tools: duplicate with blur, blend as color, then refine with saturation, hue, and color balance to create rim lighting.

Add depth to a city composite by painting light and rim lighting with a curve adjustment and inverted masks, then balance shadows with a dark curve and selective darkening.

Apply a subtle Gaussian blur to the city background, use a gradient to fade blur from top to bottom, and soften the subject mask for a seamless composite.

Continue editing the city composite by adjusting shadows and midtones, warming via white balance, adding a sunburst, and refining with curves, brushes, and selective darkening.

Select two photos from Pixabay and Unsplash that match eye-level angles and moderate distance; mask the man from his background to create a convincing street composite with back lighting.

Mask the subject with the selection brush, use a larger brush for a clean selection, apply the mask, and deselect to prepare for placing the man into a new image.

Resize and position the subject in a street composite using copy, paste, and the move tool with snapping off; clean white line artifacts with the mask and observe rim lighting.

Match global lighting in Affinity Photo by applying a curves adjustment on a child layer, then fine-tune midtones, shadows, and highlights to balance the subject with the scene.

Match global colors across three color layers by duplicating background, applying blur, and using color blend mode, then warm image with HSL and color balance for shadows, midtones, and highlights.

Learn to paint a soft, angled shadow under a subject in Affinity Photo by using a new pixel layer, low-flow black brush, and eraser to refine the fade.

Create the contact point by cleaning the mask with a brush and painting a shadow where the shoes touch the ground, then blend a transition shadow to ground the subject.

Refine the subject's shadows and highlights with curves, inverted masks, and white painting; add rim lighting and edge brightening, then balance warmth in highlights using blend ranges.

Select the top layer and apply add noise filter to the subject to match the background in this street composite, then use blend ranges and opacity to blend highlights.

Continue editing a street composite by applying a global curve, desaturating the sky behind the subject, adding moody light bursts, and finalizing shadows and midtones.

Celebrate completing the course and become an Affinity Photo Master. Apply your new skills to real-world photo editing and get ready for the next Affinity Revolution tutorial.