Affinity Photo Desktop Course: The Basics (lesson 1)

Are you trying to learn Affinity Photo? If you are, even if you’re struggling, this video will help you quickly learn photo editing in Affinity Photo.
Affinity Photo isn’t an easy photo editing tool to learn. Whilst some find it easier than Photoshop, for most people it has a similarly steep learning curve. In this short series of videos, I’ll share the essential things that you need to know to quickly learn Affinity Photo.
This is a beginner's course, but it can help anyone who doesn’t feel confident using Affinity Photo. It won’t tell you everything about Affinity Photo, but then there’s too much to remember. Instead, you will learn the more important tools and techniques. By the final lesson, you will feel confident in your abilities to open and edit photography using Affinity Photo.
Here are the links to the other published lessons:
👉 Lesson 2: • Affinity Photo Desktop...
👉 Lesson 3: • Affinity Photo Desktop...
👉 Lesson 4: • Affinity Photo Desktop...
👉 Lesson 5: • Best Layers Advice For...
👉 Lesson 6: • Power up Your Affinity...
👉 Lesson 7: • Selection Tools and Te...
Links to other videos I mention in this lesson are:
👉 Why You're Confused by Affinity Photo: • Why You Find Affinity ...
👉 Customise Your Affinity Photo Layout: • Customise Your Affinit...
👉 Demystifying Affinity Photo Personas: • Affinity Photo Tutoria...
Download your Affinity Photo trial: tinyurl.com/2g... (affiliate link)
AFFINITY PHOTO BOOKS
Make learning Affinity Photo easy: geni.us/essent...
Extend your Affinity Photo skills: geni.us/aphowt...
Produce complex, accurate selections fast: geni.us/Affini...
FREE BOOK
Don't forget to join my free monthly newsletter to get your free copy of my book "6 Steps to Shooting Brilliant Landscape Photography". bit.ly/3GbtmE9
PHOTOGRAPHY & PHOTO EDITING BOOKS
Make learning easy with my collection of books: lenscraft.co.u...
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#robinwhalley #lenscraft #lenscraftphotography

[@WilfForrow]

Brilliant! I got nowhere with Affinity Photo until I watched Lesson 1, and I'm making massive progress already - it's so brilliantly explained, with really helpful annotations to highlight the key points. Best intro ever.

[@RobinWhalley]

Thank you. Don't forget to watch the other lessons in the series. There are links to all of them in the video description.

[@jcj2249]

I completely agree with you : this video series is simply excellent and professionally made. The sound could be a bit clearer but my hearing is not too good. Thank you Robin.

[@RobinWhalley]

@@jcj2249 You're very welcome. I accept the issue with the sound. I had cleared out my office at the time and there was a terrible echo. I did my best to remove it but it left the sound a bit "tinny".

[@markgilder9990]

I watch a lot of Robins videos. This guy is absolute gold.

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks. I’m glad you think so.

[@PoetryFilms]

Many thanks. This is the tutorial course I need after struggling to adapt to Affinity photo over the past year or so. No nonsense and no unnecessary waffle, just brisk, clear, logical instruction, well laid out and full of useful detail. I’ll be watching the rest with great interest. Already I’m hoping you’ve done a course on Publisher which I confess I purchased about the same time then gave up on, simply because the basics I needed were almost impossible to find in other tutorials online. Well done and thanks again!

[@RobinWhalley]

I hope that you like the other course lessons as well and there’s always my Essential Affinity Photo book to help (sorry about the shameless plug). Whilst I do use Affinity Publisher and Designer, I don’t have any videos or books about those. Sorry.

[@daveshaul618]

While Robin provides some of the best Affinity Photo tutorials for Affinity Publisher check out the tutorials from Elaine Giles. Like you I struggled with Publisher but the mist is now starting to clear.

[@PoetryFilms]

@@daveshaul618 Thanks for the suggestion. Will follow up: I’m sure it’s a great application but I haven’t found a tutorial that addresses my (relatively simple) needs. Cheers!

[@RobinWhalley]

@@daveshaul618 Thanks also from me.

[@markredshaw84]

I'm new to AF and struggling to get to grips with the interface. This is a really good video - no waffling, just straight to the point. Looking forward to watching your other tutorials.

[@RobinWhalley]

Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. Also don't forget to watch the subsequent lessons which build into a complete course (if you haven't already). The details and links are in the video description.

[@kenalexander8714]

This is a very useful video as I've only just started to use Affinity. Looking forward to further videos on this course.

[@RobinWhalley]

That's great to hear. I hope to have the next one out in a couple of weeks time.

[@tonydias7577]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I just bought Affinity Photo and i am looking forward to all your tutorials.

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad you like them. I'm sure once you get to grips with Affinity Photo that you will love it. Do keep in mind that Affinity Photo has quite a steep learning curve initially. I hate seeing people give up on it because they coudn't immediately use it.

[@Samantha-rv4ss]

I just bought Affinity Photo V2. I am completely new to this software and have been wondering how I am going to understand it! Then I stumbled across your FB channel and thank goodness I did! I have just watched your first video on using Affinity Photo and your video/tutorial is so helpful . I love how you start off with showing us how to use the basic stuff! and I am really looking forward to watching your other videos! Thank you so much!

[@RobinWhalley]

You are very welcome. It's always great to hear when someone finds a video helpful. I never like recommending paid products but I recently released version 2 of my popular Essential Affinity Photo Book (lenscraft.co.uk/learn-photo-editing-books/essential-affinity-photo-2-book/). If you don't mind reading and want to get to grips with Affinity Photo 2 then I would really recomend taking a look at it.

[@smellyrhinostudio]

totally! Yeah, there is a learning curve!

[@ItsWillLee]

Essentially everything I've learned about Affinity has come from watching your videos for the last three years, specifically Affinity based. This is a great condensed video that is perfect for anyone that maybe overwhelmed with everything Affinity can do, and a nice refresher for me. Thanks Robin! Is there any chance you could explain how we can use the snapshot feature with the history brush? I watched a series of videos from Allister Benn (Expressive Photography on KZbin) who explained how with Adobe/PS/LR and the workflow pretty much transferred over to Affinity, but I can't seem to find those videos on his channel anymore, (I believe he made them for members only), I think it is a great way to edit photos once you understand how to use it and it's nondestructive too. Thanks so much for your time!

[@RobinWhalley]

Thank you. It's great to know that I've helped you. The next video in this series should be out in a few weeks time.

[@Balchre]

I have both of your Affinity Photo books and they are great. I worked through both of them but will definitely have to do that a few more times. This video is a good overview and reminder of the things I learned. Thanks for the quality and clarity of your training materials.

[@RobinWhalley]

You're very welcome and thank you for purchasing my books. I hope you like the next lesson in this series which comes out in a few weeks time.

[@smellyrhinostudio]

Great stuff! I have probably already commented, but I'm watching again. I find your explanations easy and you voice easy to listen to. Thanks!

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad you like them. Thank you.

[@weldonf4081]

Thank you Robin for these 4 Affinity Photo courses. I was used to using Photoshop for many years, and although there are many similarities between the two, there are also many differences. Much appreciated!!

[@RobinWhalley]

You're very welcome! There are more to come so keep your eyes open.

[@weldonf4081]

@@RobinWhalley I certainly will. You have a wealth of information that I need to learn. Thanks again for your generosity and your professional Affinity Photo videos. I will start watching them all in the next couple of weeks.

[@RobinWhalley]

@@weldonf4081 You're welcome.

[@charliebridgnorth9649]

This is excellent, thank you. I look forward to your video on Layers and their hierarchy, something I find confusing ! How to combine photos would be very helpful too. Thanks again.

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks. The second lesson is also live in case you haven't seen it (kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXPUomSdg62Jotk). It takes a brief look at layers but there will be a later lesson going more in depth.

[@mongoose9594]

Excellent! Many thanks indeed Robin, it must’ve taken you ages but it’s of great use to me as a newbie to AF! Your efforts are much appreciated.

[@RobinWhalley]

Yes, it did take a long time to produce not just this video but the series. I'm glad you appreciate it. Thank you.

[@kieranproven4874]

I needed a refresher on Affinity Photo. Very clear and well-paced tutorial. Much appreciated. New sub 😁😁

[@RobinWhalley]

Thank you. I'm pleaed to hear that it's helped you.

[@tokyoobro]

Great vid. I'm a newbie to Affinity Photo so this video series is perfect. Thank you!

[@RobinWhalley]

You're welcome. I'm glad that you liked it.

[@markbonham]

Thank you, this has answered a pile of questions and is a clearer view on Affinity Photo. 👍👏

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it was helpful. Thank you

[@sevenchickenarmy]

Thank you so much for this video! I already feel more at ease navigating around Affinity's many options.

[@RobinWhalley]

That's great to hear. Affinity is a wonderful tool and extremely powerful. You just need a few basics and things begin to fall into place.

[@martinr5362]

VERY USEFUL FOR REVIEWING MY RAW NOTES. Much appreciated.

[@RobinWhalley]

You are very welcome. Thank you.

[@philips6664]

Still the best beginner guide to Affinity Photo!

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad you think so. Thank you

[@hellfrozen3678]

This is such a good tutorial,it's not boring at all I can watch this all day long

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks, that's great to hear. There are another six in this series.

[@junior.von.claire]

I'll be watching the other six, as well. Thank you. I recently bought Affinity 2.0. Having used the software 10-15 years ago, when it was called Serif Photoplus, much has changed and much has stayed the same. One thing I'm looking for right now, which is rather useful, is the "crop to selection" and the ability to change the selection size by percentage. Perhaps you've covered these and I'll find out soon. Surely they're available, being so useful. Thanks again.@@RobinWhalley

[@winwhitmire2387]

Photoshop has finally ticked me off! I have a brand new Mac Mini T1 with max memory & hard drive. PS creates the "spinning basketball" icon ALL the time. Nothing that has been suggested to speed it up has worked. Those who use Affinity say that it's the best alternative to PS and I'm willing to give it a try. Thanks for the great video. So far...so good!

[@RobinWhalley]

I think you might find Affinity Photo quicker, especially on the kit you are now using. It's also nice to hear that you liked the video and don't forget to watch the additional lessons I published (if you haven't already). They are building into a complete beginners course to Affinity Photo. The details and links are in the video description.

[@DavePawson]

An excellent intro Robin, thanks. Very tempting.

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad you like it! Thanks you and don't miss the other lessons in this course. I've already released a second one kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYbcm5ioj9man5I

[@NegativeCompensation]

Always learn something new from your videos. Thank you.

[@RobinWhalley]

That's great to hear. Thank you.

[@WeirdRedFreak]

Excellent course. Well explained. Thank you so much.

[@RobinWhalley]

You're very welcome. Thank you.

[@stevewhiteley9249]

Thanks, Robin - as always, clear, concise and practical.

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you.

[@jalfc46]

Very useful video thank you for making the effort to explain such detail

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you.

[@l0rdcroissant]

this is so weird, lol I was thinking I need to find courses to really home in on my skills... AND HERE YOU ARE!!! wth lol awesome

[@RobinWhalley]

Great to know that people are looking for what I've been publishing. I hope you like this video and the others in the course.

[@l0rdcroissant]

@@RobinWhalley I am looking forward to sitting back and have my mind blown on how much I can do thanks to your videos ;)

[@tom3568]

Thanks for the video. It is very helpful to newbys like me explaining why some tools are only available when opening photos

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you.

[@TheDKninja]

Thanks teach, this is the future much love

[@RobinWhalley]

You're welcome.

[@RFD7]

Excellent tutorial very helpful thank you

[@RobinWhalley]

Thank you and I'm glad that you found it helpful.

[@gbarr711]

This tutorial series is just what I need as I'm struggling with Affinity. Nice job. 👍

[@RobinWhalley]

I'm glad it's helped. The next one in the series should be in a few weeks time.

[@gbarr711]

Good stuff. As well as showing us what to do, could you explain, why, as well. A lot of tutorials never explain the "why" part and I think knowing "why" helps us learners to get to grips with it easier.

[@RobinWhalley]

@@gbarr711 Yes, most of my tutorials do explain the why but it's not always possible. This first part of the course needs to be more of an introduction to become familiar with the software. Once we get into editing you'll find I explain more. If something is important like not doing too much work in the Develop module, I will explain why.

[@gbarr711]

@@RobinWhalley excellent. I'm lookin Ng forward to your next video. Keep up the good work. 👍👍

[@jeowhi]

Very informative video. Thank you!

[@RobinWhalley]

You're welcome. Thank you.

[@jordanking7711]

I have your books to go along with it, but it's nice to be able to follow along with this course as well. One thing though Robin and no offence intended. The idea that you can ONLY edit RAW files in the Develop persona is false. You can edit JPEG's and TIFF's in the Develop Persona too. You just have to manually click on the Persona with those files, rather than it automatically going to the Develop Persona with RAW files upon import. But you CAN certainly edit Non-RAW files in the Develop persona.

[@RobinWhalley]

No offence taken and I agree you can edit other image formats in the Develop Persona. What I thought I had said is that the only place you can edit a RAW file is in the Develop Persona. If you try to open one in the Photo Persona you will be switched to the Develop Persona.

[@jordanking7711]

@@RobinWhalley No. At about 13:27 of that particular video, in the text overlay it says 'You can only edit RAW files in the Develop Persona'. While I agree with you, it can be taken both ways and someone could think that you can ONLY edit RAW files in general in the Develop Persona. All good though Robin don't worry. I just thought I would let you know and bring that up.

[@RobinWhalley]

@@jordanking7711 Sorry if you find it misleading. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to change it.

[@kizzykat]

Helpful thank you. A tutorial that i can see the mouse icon hurrah!

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it helped and that you could see the mouse pointer.

[@commonsense955]

Nice job Mate!

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks.

[@markbusby9709]

Hi Robin, fairly new to Affinity took the plunge brought all three Photo, Designer, Publisher. Just noticed this post on youtube, has there been a basics lesson on designer and publisher yet ?

[@RobinWhalley]

I also have and use the other products and they are great. Unfortunately, I won't be publishing courses on the other products as they are not really in my niche which is photography.

[@markbusby9709]

@@RobinWhalley Thank you for your reply

[@Michael-NZ]

this is my backup plan. it was great when I got Adobe CC for free as a student. now Im paying a reduced rate. no way I am paying their exorbitant amounts after the student rates run out unless Im earning a lot using Adobe CC

[@RobinWhalley]

Affinity Photo is a great replacement for Photoshop but there are some confusing differences. I hope the videos in this course help you although I haven’t published them all yet.

[@manuelferreira1279]

Good night Mr. Robin :) Thank´s for the vídeo :) What a nice tutorial for remenber basic steps for affinity Photo. Thank´s for the course Big Hug Manuel

[@RobinWhalley]

You are welcome! Watch out for the next lesson in the series. It's out in a couple of weeks. I'm just putting the finishing touches to it.

[@manuelferreira1279]

Ok Thank´s :) I´m waiting for :)

[@nikonrulz]

Excellent tutorial

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad you think so! Thank you.

[@TheWiiModz]

Hi Robin Hope you're well. The images you have used here to demonstrate the features - Is this meant to be a follow along video, or more observational? If the former, is there anywhere to download the images to follow along, I think I may have missed that! If the latter, no worries, Cheers

[@RobinWhalley]

Sorry for not responding earlier but your comment only just popped up. No, the photos aren’t available. You can follow with any photos of your own.

[@pistonempire5989]

This course would be great, except from the moment you press File nothing on the screen corresponds to what I’m seeing on the video.

[@RobinWhalley]

I think that must have been a glitch in KZbin. It's correctly synched up when I view it.

[@ipb1966]

Really useful - thank you. But please think about people who might watch on a big screen TV - the white background that you kept displaying was painful.

[@RobinWhalley]

I understand your pain and I appreciate the feedback BUT the white screen is something I can't control. It's the default for an empty document in Affinity Photo. You can't change to a different colour. The only alternative is transparent but then I needed to explain that as part of the lesson. I don't think we go back to using the empty document after this first lesson though so hopefully it won't be a problem for you.

[@g.g.rebimik8455]

Love the help Robin! Thanks. GG Rebimik

[@RobinWhalley]

My pleasure. Thank you

[@herlingadventures]

Thank you so much for this tutorial. I have a question. Why do you need to make a document. And not open a file/ image directly. What is the difference or the reward of creating a document and then copying a image in the document instead of going directly with a image. thank you 🙏

[@RobinWhalley]

You don’t need to create a document. I was trying to show the different ways of opening and creating images. Just remember, any image you open in Affinity is treated as a pixel layer in a document.

[@nigelellis9482]

Great Tutorial, However when I copy and paste to white background it is only copying small section of the photo. I confused!!!

[@RobinWhalley]

It sounds like you may have a layer selected when copying that dosn't contain the entire image.

[@jorghahn2903]

Great tutorial! Looking forward already to the next lesson. One question: do I always have to start by creating a document first? Until now I‘ve directly opened the photo I wanted to edit without previously creating a document. Am I doing something wrong? Thank you!

[@RobinWhalley]

Thank you, that's great to hear. No, you don't need to start with an empty document and you can simply open any existing image to edit it. All images you open for editing are placed in documents by default. Most of the time you don't see the document as it's exactly the same size as the image and documents don't show in the Layers Studio panel.

[@jorghahn2903]

@@RobinWhalley Thank you Robin! Well understood.

[@ruudmaas2480]

I use Affinity photo for printing and local adjustments when the heal tool in Capture one does not give the wanted result. I hope to see some of your explinatons concerning printing.

[@RobinWhalley]

It's on the list for one of the future lessons in this series. Whilst I'm trying to concentrate on the main futures, it will still require a few lessons.

[@stephengibbons]

Just managed to buy for the MAC with a 50% off code. Thanks for this course. A bit confused about the document section. Do you have to create a document every time you want to edit a photograph, or can you just bring the photo in and start working on it?? Thanks

[@RobinWhalley]

No, you don’t need to create a document every time. Each image you open is already on a document. It's the same for other editors like Photoshop but it's often overlooked. For someone who want to use Affinity Photo for something like photo compositing, the document is essential to understand. But if you are only editing existing images, you may not use the feature often.

[@stephengibbons]

@@RobinWhalley Thank you.

[@g.g.rebimik8455]

Robin, I have Affinity V2 and for some reason cannot get the Navigator panel to open. It is greyed out? Do I have to upgrade? what is going on?

[@RobinWhalley]

I'm sorry, I don't know. I've never had that problem and can't think what might cause the panel to be greyed out. Try going to the Window menu in Affinity Photo and select the Studio submenu and then "Reset Studio" option. This will reset the Studio panels to the default. If that doesn't fix it, raise the question on the Affinity Photo Forum (forum.affinity.serif.com/). Hopefully someone will have other suggestions that might work.

[@g.g.rebimik8455]

@@RobinWhalley I contacted them and they helped me to figure it out...thanks.

[@chrismooney-singh2055]

Thanks for this informative tutorial. One question: @6.40 you introduce the transparent background option, toggling it on or off under the 'Documents' tab to reveal a checkerboard pattern. I note that there is a faint one in your video but not on my Affinity work canvas. Toggling, I cannot see the checkerboard background. If I save a png file it saves with transparency but I don't much like the white background when editing some images. Is there another action I need to do to activate the checkerboard?

[@RobinWhalley]

That's a good question and not one I've come across before. It could be a setting in the Affinity Photo Preferrences but it's not anything I could find. Try creating a new document as I did in the video (any size) and when you do this, check the New document dialog settings. Over on the right side of the dialog is the Colour section where you should see an option for a "Transparent Background". Make sure this is ticked and then create the new document. You then know you have a document with a transparent background. If it doesn't show with the checked pattern it points to there being a setting burried somewhere to hide it.

[@gossedejong9248]

thank you, Sir!! Do photoshop presets work in Affinity?

[@RobinWhalley]

I don't believe they do, but it depends what you mean by presets. The preset system in Affinity is for things like brush settings and the like. Some people tend to call special effect macros "presets" in Photoshop when they are really macros. Whilst Affinity also has a Macro capability, it's not compatible with Photoshop macros.

[@11941leechie]

Would like to know how to increase resolution. Making A3 jigsaw puzzles .

[@RobinWhalley]

When you export an image from Affinity Photo you can select to resize the image and would be able to enlareg it. How much by really depends on teh size of the image you start with and the print quality you want to achieve. This video has 5 mthods of resizing images using Affinity Photo kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3-cfJ2Ff7mtg7s

[@jamesterrance]

I've just begun using Affinity. One of the first problems I've encountered is importing from the Mac Photo app. My photos import as JPEGs not RAW. Very frustrating. Do you address this? I'm using a Monterey 12.6 Mac. Is there a fix for this? Why is this happening? I'm looking forward to watching all your Affinity videos.

[@RobinWhalley]

That will be because your Mac is converting the image to a JPEG before passing the image to Affinity Photo. I think there is an Export option in the Mac Photo App to export the original unmodified image. You can then open the exported image using Affinity Photo.

[@jamesterrance]

@@RobinWhalley Ok, found it. As far as I can figure out, I can only export one photo at a time, which is ok. Thanks so much for your quick reply.

[@robertlefering]

Even when you uses AF for a while, this video stays interesting. By the way how do you place en resize 2 pictures in the same document?

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks. To answer your question, create a new empty document and then copy and paste the two images onto that as I did in the video. They will then appear as two separate layers and you can use the Move tool to resize each one. Just click on the layer in the Layers Studio panel and then use the drag handles to set the image size.

[@robertlefering]

Tried it out this morning and I managed to get my combination (EU and Dutch flag)!

[@robertlefering]

Thanks for your quick resonse

[@RobinWhalley]

@@robertlefering That's good to hear.

[@siimseiin]

When you start to edit RAW photos you kind of lost me. I did not have any RAW images to open and follow along with.

[@RobinWhalley]

Ignore the bit about the RAW photos then. I need to mention it because it causes a lot of problems. When someone opens a RAW file and they suddenly find themselves in a different area of the software it's very confusing.

[@LeoAugustRocks]

Was disappointed the narration was not by the woman in the poster frame.

[@nh-ss5pw]

👍👍

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks

[@genegustafson715]

Does affinity have catalogs like Lightroom, or is it only allow loading one image at a time?

[@RobinWhalley]

No, it doesn't have a photo browser or Catalog like Lightroom. You can open multiple images in it for editing, and they exist as separate tabs, but I don't think that's what you mean.

[@DAStaggPhotos]

I have been a subscriber to PS/LR for many years. Due to covid, I know it has past but I am suffering the backlash. For this reason, I have been looking at cancelling many of my subscriptions to various suppliers. Although PS/LR is only 10 Euro / month, it adds up, and after so many years it costs a small fortune, Many like myself jumped onto the subscription bandwagon because you were just making small monthly payments, I think the days of subscriptions are coming to an end? Although, the subscriptions are fully tax deductible. I changed to Affinity because of another colleague of mine (ivanweiss.london), also a professional photographer who turns out amazing work. I called him and asked what can't Affinity achieve compared to PS. His answer, "I have never used PS". Reason enough for me to change! Like others on here I find the learning curve very steep compared to PS, but very slowly getting the hang of it. Normally I do not retouch my work, I outsource (magazine / print ready) because the time I spend retouching, especially as I am not a pro in this area, can be more productively spent taking photos! I could never achieve the results of my retoucher! I do have the offical Affinity books to all three applications. Although they are very good, I don't have time to read through pages of information. They are big and cumbersome as well as heavy. A video made by a competent (very) person is a far better idea.

[@RobinWhalley]

I must agree that Affinity Photo has a steep learning curve, similar to Photoshop. But when you have existing Photoshop experience it becomes even steeper. Many of the features and tools are similar enough to Photoshop to make you think that you know how to use them. Then you discover they work quite differently. I hope my short course videos help you.