How to Use Photopea: A Beginner’s Guideline in 2025?

Feeling stuck with photo editing software that’s too expensive or confusing?

Many people want to make their pictures look great, but get frustrated with complicated programs.

Good news! Photopea is a free website that functions like a professional photo editor.

But it’s much easier to start with. 

This guide will show you how to use Photopea, helping you make your photos shine without all the hassle.

Let’s get your creative projects going!

Getting Started: Your First Steps

Ready to start making awesome images?

Photopea is extremely easy to use because it works directly in your internet browser.

This means you don’t need to download or install anything!

You can use it on virtually any device that connects to the internet.

Whether it’s your home computer, a tablet, or even your smartphone.

• How to Open Photopea: Open your web browser (like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge) and type in www.photopea.com. That’s it! You’ll be on the main screen in seconds.
• Your First Look: The Photopea Screen
• When you first see Photopea, it may resemble Photoshop if you’ve used that program before. Don’t worry if it seems overwhelming at first; we’ll break it down for you. Think of it like a professional design studio:
  • Tools on the Left: On the left side, you’ll see a long column of icons. This is your toolbox! It has everything you need to change your image, from drawing brushes to tools for cutting out elements.
  • Menus at the Top: Above your main work area, you will find menus such as “File,” “Edit,” and “Image.” These are similar to dropdown lists, offering a wider range of options and commands.
  • Settings Bar (Below Menus): This bar changes a lot! It displays different options depending on the tool you’ve selected from the left side. So, if you choose a brush, you’ll see the brush size listed here.
  • Panels on the Right: On the right side, you’ll find different boxes, called “panels.” The “Layers” panel is crucial – it displays all the various components of your design. We’ll discuss layers in more detail very soon!
  • Your Workspace (Middle): This is the biggest part in the middle. This is where your graphic or photo will appear, and where all your editing magic happens.
• Opening and Starting Projects:
  • Open an Existing Image: Want to edit a picture you already have? Go to File in the top menu, then click. Open. A window will pop up, allowing you to locate the file on your computer. Photopea can open various image file types, including JPG, PNG, and PSD files, which are native to Photoshop.
  • Start a Brand New Design: If you want to create something from scratch, go to File > New. A box will pop up asking for details such as the width and height you want the image to be, as well as its background color. Don’t stress too much about these numbers right now; you can always change them later.
  • Drag and Drop: A super quick way to open a file is to drag the image file from your computer and drop it right into the Photopea window. It’s that easy!

Now you know how to get into Photopea and set up your first project.

In the next part of this tutorial.

We’ll delve into layers, which play a significant role in how Photopea enables you to create stunning content.

You might also want to check out a video tutorial on YouTube or Google if you prefer watching.

Understanding Layers: The Foundation of Photopea

Think of Photopea like making a really cool sandwich, but instead of bread and fillings.

Perhaps one layer features a picture of your friend, while another showcases some cool text.

And a third has a colorful background.

This is a highly important feature because it allows you to change one part of your image without affecting the others.

• The Layers Panel: Look to the right side of your Photopea screen. You’ll see a box that lists all your layers. The layer at the very top of the list is also the one that appears visually at the top in your picture.
• Adding New Layers: Want to add something new without touching what’s already there? Click the little square icon with a plus sign at the bottom of the Layers panel. This creates a new, empty layer ready for your use.
• Seeing (or Hiding) Layers: Next to each layer, there’s a small eye icon. Click it to make that layer disappear or reappear. This is extremely handy if you want to see how your picture looks with or without a specific element, or if you’re going to focus on a particular part of your design.
• Naming Your Layers: As you add more layers, things can get messy! Double-click on a layer’s name in the Layers panel to change it to something you’ll remember, like “My Picture” or “Red Text.” This helps keep your project organized.
• Moving Layers Up and Down: To make an object appear in front of another, click on its layer in the Layers panel and drag it up the list. Drag it down to put it behind other things. It’s like re-stacking your clear plastic sheets!
• Making Copies (Duplicating): To create an exact copy of a layer, right-click on it and select “Duplicate Layer.” Alternatively, a quick trick is to choose the layer and press Ctrl+J (on Windows) or Cmd+J (on Mac). This is great for trying out different ideas.
• Removing Layers: If you make a mistake or no longer need a layer, select it and click the trash can icon located at the bottom of the Layers panel. You can also press the Delete key on your keyboard.
• See-Through Layers (Opacity) and Blending:
  • Opacity: At the top of the Layers panel, you’ll see a setting called “Opacity.” This allows you to make a layer more or less transparent. Try lowering it to create an online image that faintly shows through another.
  • Blend Modes: Next to Opacity, there’s a dropdown menu for “Blend Modes.” These changes demonstrate how the colors of one layer blend with those of the layers below it. There are many options available, and experimenting can lead to some truly impressive effects. This feature is very powerful once you become familiar with it.

Understanding layers is a big step in using Photopea like a pro.

It allows you to try out different ideas, easily undo mistakes, and keep your artwork organized by saving your project as a PSD file. 

All your layers are saved, too, so you can always come back and change things later.

Essential Tools for Beginners: Your Photopea Toolkit

Photopea has numerous tools, but you don’t need to know them all at once.

Let’s look at the ones you’ll use most often when you’re just starting your digital projects.

These are your everyday helpers for making cool stuff on this site.

• Move Tool (Shortcut: V)
  • This is often your first stop. Imagine you’ve placed a picture or some text on your canvas, but it’s in the wrong spot. Grab the Move Tool (represented by a plus sign with arrows) and click and drag the item to its desired location. You can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard for tiny, careful movements.
• Selection Tools: Picking What You Want
  • Sometimes you only want to work on part of our image. That’s where selection tools come in handy.
  • Rectangular Marquee Tool (Shortcut: M): Use this to draw perfect squares or rectangles. Hold down the Shift key while dragging to get a perfect square.
  • Elliptical Marquee Tool (Shortcut: M): This one makes circles or ovals. Again, hold Shift for a perfect circle.
  • Lasso Tool (Shortcut: L): This is for drawing a freehand selection. It’s great if you need to select a weird, uneven shape.
  • Magic Wand Tool (Shortcut: W): This is a smart tool! Click on a color, and it will try to select all nearby areas that are similar in color. You can adjust the appearance of “similar” in the “Tolerance” setting at the top of the screen.
  • Quick Selection Tool (Shortcut: W): This is even smarter! It works like a brush. As you “paint” over an object, Photopea tries to guess the edges and select just that object. If it selects too much, hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) to tell it what not to pick.
• Crop Tool (Shortcut: C):
  • Do you have extra items around the edges of your photo that you’d like to remove? The Crop Tool is for cutting out the unwanted parts. Just pick the tool, drag the corners of the box to frame what you want to keep, and press Enter to tour your image. This helps make your pictures look much better!
• Brush Tool (Shortcut: B):
  • Want to draw or paint directly on your canvas? The Brush Tool is what you need.
  • Size and Hardness: Examine the top bar when selecting the brush. You can make the brush bigger or smaller, and adjust its edges to be sharp (“hard”) or fuzzy (“soft”).
  • Colors: At the bottom of the toolbar, you’ll see two overlapping squares of color. These are your foreground and background colors. Click on them to pick new colors.
• Eraser Tool (Shortcut: E):
  • Made a mistake? The Eraser Tool functions similarly to a real eraser, removing pixels from your current layer. You can change its size and hardness, just like the brush.
• Text Tool (Shortcut: T):
  • Need to add words to your pictures or design? Select the Text Tool, click on your canvas, and start typing! The bar at the top allows you to change the font, size, color, and alignment of the text.
• Shape Tools (Shortcut: U):
  • Want to add perfect squares, circles, or other shapes? These tools are helpful for creating clean, vector-like elements for your graphics. You can also choose if your shape has a solid color inside or just an outline.
• Zoom Tool (Shortcut: Z) and Hand Tool (Shortcut: H):
  • Zoom Tool: Sometimes you need to get a closer look at tiny details. Click with the Zoom Tool to zoom in. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) and click to zoom out.
  • Hand Tool: When you’re zoomed in closely, you might not see the entire picture. Use the Hand Tool to click and view, allowing you to see different parts of the object. A pro tip: hold down the Spacebar on your keyboard, and any tool you’re using will temporarily turn into the Hand Tool! This is an advance trick but super useful.

These tools are your starting point.

As you become more comfortable, you can explore other tools, such as the filter menu for cool effects (like blurring or sharpening).

Or even check out the Photopea Reddit community for tips!

Basic Photo Editing Techniques in Photopea

Now that you know the basic tools, let’s put them to work!

These are some of the most common things people do to enhance their photos in Photopea.

It’s like giving your pictures a quick makeover.

• Resizing and Cropping Your Pictures:
  • Cropping: We previously discussed this with the Crop Tool (C). It’s like using scissors to cut out the parts of your photo you don’t want. This helps you focus on the most important part of your picture and can make your photos look much stronger, especially on platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
  • Resizing: Do you need to resize your picture to make it bigger or smaller? Go to the top menu aImageck Image > Image Size. You’ll see numbers for width and height. Ensure the little chain icon next to them is closed (linked together) – this prevents your picture from appearing squished or stretched when you resize it. It helps keep the correct format.
• Making Your Photos Brighter or Darker (and More):
  • Brightness and Contrast: The quickest way to make your photos pop is to go to Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast. You’ll see two sliders. Move “Brightness” to make it lighter or darker, and “Contrast” to make the dark parts darker and the light parts lighter.
  • Levels and Curves (More Control): For more exact changes, try Image > Adjustments > Levels or Image > Adjustments > Curve. The curve option may look a bit tricky at first, but it provides you with amazing control over how light or dark different parts of your photo appear. Don’t be afraid to try them out! Your teacher or a quick online search can show you video tutorials on how these work.
• Fixing Colors in Your Photos:
  • Hue/Saturation: Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation. This is great for changing colors. “Hue” changes the actual color (like making a blue sky purple). “Saturation” makes colors more vibrant or more faded. “Lightness” makes everything lighter or darker.
  • Color Balance: Find the Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. This allows you to push the colors in your photo more towards red, green, or blue (or their complementary colors). It’s good for fixing pictures that look too yellow or too blue.
• Removing Backgrounds (Magic Cut Feature):
  • This is a really cool feature in Photopea! If you want to cut out a person or an object from its background, try selecting “Magic Cut” from the “Select” menu. Photopea utilizes intelligent technology to automatically determine what you want to keep and what you want to remove.
  • You’ll see green and red brushes. Use the green brush to paint over the stuff you want to keep, and the red brush to paint over the background you want to remove. It’s a quick and easy alternative to manual selection! This is extremely useful for creating transparent images, such as logos or vector graphics.
• Adding Text to Your Pictures:
  • We previously discussed the Text Tool (T). Click on it, then click on your photo and start typing your message.
  • Remember, the bar at the top allows you to change the font, size, and color of your text. Adding text is perfect for making posters, invitations, or social media graphics.

These basic steps will help you quickly improve your photos and create new designs.

Keep practicing, and you’ll become faster and more proficient at using Photopea!

Retouching and Enhancing Your Photos

Once you’ve done the basic stuff, you might want to “retouch” your photos.

This means fixing minor flaws or enhancing certain parts to make them look even better.

Photopea has some neat tools for this, almost like magic wands!

• Spot Healing Brush Tool (Shortcut: J):
  • Ever have a tiny blemish on someone’s face or a speck of dust on your camera lens appear in a picture? This tool is perfect for addressing those minor issues.
  • Select the Spot Healing Brush, ensure its size is slightly larger than the spot you want to remove, and click on the spot. Photopea will intelligently fill it in using the colors and textures from the surrounding area. It’s super fast for small fixes!
• Clone Stamp Tool (Shortcut: S):
  • This tool is a bit more advanced but incredibly powerful. Imagine you want to remove a larger object, or maybe duplicate a pattern.
  • Here’s how it works:
    1. Select the Clone Stamp Tool.
    2. Hold down the Alt key (on Windows) or Option key (on Mac) and click on an area you want to copy from. This is your “source” area.
    3. Now, release the Alt/Option key or click on the area you want to fix. Photopea will “stamp” the pixels from your source area onto where you’re painting. This is great for making unwanted things disappear by replacing them with something from a cleaner part of the picture.
• Dodge and Burn Tools (Shortcut: O):
  • These tools are designed to adjust the brightness of specific parts of your picture.
  • The Dodge Tool (which resembles a lollipop) brightens areas. Use it to bring out details in shadows or make highlights pop.
  • The Burn Tool (looks like a hand making an ‘O shape) makes areas darker. Use it to add more depth to shadows or make colors richer.
  • When you use these tools, look at the top bar – you can choose to apply the effect only to “Shadows” (dark parts), “Midtones” (middle colors), or “Highlights” (bright parts). This gives you very good control.
• Blur and Sharpen Tools:
  • You can find these tools grouped, usually under a brush icon, if you click and hold it down.
  • The Blur Tool softens details. You can use this to create a slightly fuzzy background, making the main subject stand out more, or to smooth out rough areas.
  • The Sharpen Tool enhances edges and details, making them stand out more. Use this carefully! Excessive sharpening can make your photo appear grainy or unnatural. Just a little bit can make things look crisper.

Using these tools helps you transform a good photo into a great one.

Addressing minor issues and ensuring your main subject truly stands out. 

Practice makes perfect, so try them out on different pictures to see what they can do!

Conclusion

Photopea is an amazing, free tool that brings powerful photo editing right to your web browser.

You’ve learned how to get started.

Utilize the primary tools and perform essential edits, such as cropping, color correction, and retouching.

Now, the best part: start creating!

Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things.

The more you use Photopea, the more comfortable and skilled you’ll become.

Open it up and let your imagination bring your pictures to life!

Alternatives to Photopea

Here are some other tools you might consider for photo editing and design, depending on what you need:

• Picsart: A very popular all-in-one editor with a huge community, offering tons of stickers, effects, and drawing tools. Great for broader creative design and collages.
• Canva: More of a graphic design tool, excellent for creating social media graphics, presentations, and designs with its vast template library. It has strong AI features for visual content.
• Design Pickle: This is not a DIY app but a graphic design service. You pay a monthly fee, and professional designers handle your design requests, perfect for ongoing needs.
• Blaze: This refers to an AI writing and content generation tool. While it can generate basic images with AI, its primary focus is on creating written marketing content, such as blog posts and emails, rather than photo editing.
• Fotor: A user-friendly photo editor offering a wide range of online tools for cropping, resizing, adding text, creating collages, and basic graphic design.
• Remini: Specializes in enhancing old, blurry, or low-quality photos. It uses AI to unblur, denoise, and restore images, making them clearer and sharper.
• YouCam Perfect: A selfie and photo editor app that specializes in beauty enhancements, automatic embellishment, background removal, and fun effects.
• Pixelcut: Focuses heavily on AI-powered background removal and product photo creation, making it excellent for e-commerce sellers needing clean product images.
• VSCO: Popular for its unique, film-inspired filters and advanced photo editing controls. It caters to users seeking a specific artistic aesthetic and has a strong community.
• PhotoRoom: Excels at effortless background removal and creating professional product photos with AI. It’s designed to generate clean images, especially for online selling quickly.
• Photoshop: While the full desktop Photoshop is industry-standard for professional editing, Photoshop Express offers robust mobile tools for editing, collaging, and quick enhancements.
• Pixlr: A web-based photo editor that works in your browser, offering a wide range of general editing tools for quick adjustments and creative effects without downloads.
• Photopea: A free online editor that works very much like Photoshop, letting you open and edit PSD (Photoshop) files directly in your web browser with many advanced features.
• Phedra: An AI-powered image editing and creation tool that lets users modify images through text or voice commands, simplifying complex tasks with AI.

Frequently Asked Questions