This guide shows you how to fine-tune a photo and apply image effects inside the Design Studio. It is for merchants who have already placed an image on a surface and want it to look right before customers personalize the product. If you are still adding photos, start with add images and photos.
Image properties separate the Edit, Effects, and Personalization tabs. Open the adjustment controls from Edit; use the Effects tab for the applied stack and available effect tiles.
Open the Adjustments drawer
The Adjustments drawer holds the sliders that tune light and color. Each slider is non-destructive, so your original image stays intact and you can change any value at any time.
Select the image
Click the image on the canvas. Its properties open in the right-hand panel.
Open Adjustments
In the image properties, click Adjustments. The drawer opens with the full set of sliders.
Drag the sliders
Adjust the controls to taste. The drawer includes:
- Exposure for overall brightness.
- Highlights and Shadows to recover bright areas or lift dark ones.
- Whites and Blacks for the brightest and darkest tones.
- Temperature and Tint to warm, cool, or color-correct the photo.
- Vibrance to lift muted colors without oversaturating skin tones.
- Sharpness to add edge detail.
- Vignette to darken the edges and draw the eye to the center.
- Print colors to reduce the image to a set number of colors, which is what screen printing and embroidery need.
The canvas updates live as you drag, so you can see the result before you commit.
Apply image effects
Effects are filters and tools that change how the image looks. They appear in the Effects tab, grouped into categories, and stack on top of the adjustments you have already made.
Open the Effects tab
With the image selected, open the Effects tab in its properties.
Pick an effect from a category
Effects are organized by category so you can find the right one fast:
- Filters: black and white, sepia, portrait sketch, and watercolor mask.
- Adjust: a color adjust effect with warm, cool, faded, vibrant, and muted presets.
- Blur: soften the whole image.
- Shadows & Glows: drop a soft, hard, or glowing shadow behind the image.
- Artistic: AI style, which restyles the photo.
- Decorative: border, outline, and texture overlay.
- Smart tools: remove background.
Click an effect to apply it. It then appears in the applied-effects stack, where you can adjust or remove it.
Stack and tune effects
You can apply more than one effect. Each applied effect shows in the stack. Effects that have settings expand so you can tune them inline. Remove an effect from the stack when you no longer want it.
Smart tools that run with AI
Two effects leave the canvas to do their work: AI style under Artistic, and remove background under Smart tools. Both need a connected AI provider. See connect an AI provider and the AI styles you can offer.
Some configured effects involve background processing or network requests. Check the processing state and any notice beside the applied effect before relying on the result.
Provider requirements depend on the selected effect and its configured execution path. Do not treat an effect tile as proof that the effect completed successfully.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Adjustments and Effects?
Adjustments are sliders for light and color, like exposure, temperature, and vibrance. Effects are filters and tools, like black and white, blur, borders, and remove background. You can use both on the same image.
Are these changes permanent?
No. The adjustment sliders are non-destructive, so your original image stays intact and you can change any value at any time. Effects can be removed from the applied-effects stack.
Why does an effect say it cannot apply?
Read the notice next to the applied effect. Requirements differ by effect; a missing usable provider or a processing error needs attention before you rely on the result.
Can I apply more than one effect?
Yes. Each effect you apply appears in the applied-effects stack, and effects that have settings expand so you can tune them.
Next
Once your image looks right, decide whether shoppers can edit it. See make fields customer editable.