Start with the photo

A template can look great in a gallery and still be wrong for the photograph in your hand. Maybe the crop fights the subject. Maybe the layout depends on camera details that did not survive an edit or an AirDrop. Maybe you simply cannot picture your image inside it yet.

We realized we were asking you to make the biggest decision too early. So we turned the gallery around: start with the photo, then choose the template.

Add one or more photos to the well at the top of Create and TMPLT redraws the template cards with your first image. You can compare the actual crop, type, border, and metadata treatment before opening the editor. Tapping a card takes you straight into that composition with the photos already in place.

The previews are intentionally large and image-first. Names and badges are there when they help, but the photograph gets to do most of the talking.

Photos carry different amounts of information. An original camera file might include ISO, aperture, shutter speed, lens, date, and location. A social download or screenshot may include almost none of it. TMPLT checks what is actually available and gently reorders the gallery so the most useful template groups appear sooner.

If a design relies on details your photo does not have, a Uses camera data badge makes that clear before you commit to it. We would rather explain the tradeoff than let you discover an empty field at the end of the edit.

A photo that has lost its camera details can still be the right photo. When a camera-focused template needs a little more information, TMPLT can help you add it and remember the gear you use for next time.

You are always choosing a design for the image—not choosing an image to satisfy the design.

The photo-first gallery makes the beginning of TMPLT feel more direct. Load the work, see it in context, and pick the story that fits.

That is the direction we want to keep following: less setup, clearer choices, and more time looking at the photograph itself.