Edit photos on a Mac with layers and adjustment layers, without ruining the original
The golden rule of photo editing is to keep the original safe. Layers make that practical: instead of changing your photo directly, you stack changes on top of it, and you can hide, soften or remove any of them later. This guide shows the idea with WyzePhoto, an image editor for the Mac, and is honest about what it does not do.
1. Open your file
WyzePhoto opens PNG, JPEG, WebP, GIF, BMP, AVIF and TIFF files, PSD files and camera RAW files (CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG and others). Drag a file onto the window or use Open. Images can be up to 16,384 pixels on a side and 100 megapixels in total; larger ones are refused with a message.
A note on RAW: the app develops the file once using the camera's own settings and opens the result as a normal image. It is not a full RAW workflow with a non-destructive development step, so do your biggest exposure decisions with the adjustment layers described next.
2. Fix the light with an adjustment layer
Instead of changing the photo's pixels, add an adjustment layer above it. The choices are Brightness/Contrast, Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation, Vibrance, Exposure, Color Balance, Black & White, Threshold, Posterize and Invert. Because the photo underneath is never touched, you can reopen the adjustment at any time, change it, or switch it off with the eye icon.
A sensible order for a flat photo:
- Exposure or Levels to set the overall brightness and the black and white points.
- Curves to shape the contrast.
- Vibrance or Hue/Saturation to bring the colours back.
3. Shape contrast with curves
The curves editor is the most precise tool here. Click on the line to add a point, drag it to move it, and double-click to remove it. Lift the middle for a brighter photo, or pull the shadows down and the highlights up for more punch. You can work on all channels together, or on red, green or blue alone to correct a colour cast.
Make small moves. A curve that bends sharply usually looks processed.
4. Apply an effect to part of the picture with a mask
Every layer can have a mask: paint black to hide part of it, white to show it. That lets you brighten only the sky or lift only the shadows, without erasing anything. You can build a mask from a selection (rectangle, ellipse, lasso or magic wand), invert it, switch it off to compare, or apply it when you are done.
5. Paint on a separate layer
When you need to paint, add a new empty layer first and paint there with the brush. Set the size, the hardness (soft edges look more natural), the opacity and the flow. If you do not like it, hide or delete the layer: the photo is still intact. Use a blend mode such as Multiply, Overlay or Soft Light to make the paint interact with the picture.
6. Crop and finish
Crop with free proportions or a fixed one (1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9), and straighten with a rotation if needed. A filter such as sharpen can add a final touch, but remember that filters change the pixels of the layer they run on.
7. Save the layers, then export
Exporting to PNG, JPEG, WebP or TIFF produces a flattened image. To keep your layers and adjustments editable, also save as a PSD or as a WyzePhoto project. If you open a PSD made elsewhere, layers, groups, masks and many adjustments come through, but text layers become plain pixels, and anything the app does not support is skipped, with a message listing what was ignored.
What it does not do
WyzePhoto is a focused editor, not a replacement for a full professional suite. It has no text tool, no shape or pen tools, no clone or healing brushes and no smart objects. If your work depends on those, pick a larger editor. For colour and light correction, retouching with layers and masks, and opening PSD and RAW files, it does the job offline, with no account, and your files stay on your Mac.
A quick checklist
- Open the file and keep the original untouched.
- Fix light and colour with adjustment layers, not direct edits.
- Use masks to limit an effect to one area.
- Paint on a separate layer.
- Export a flat image to share, and save a PSD or project to keep your layers.
