How to Edit a Gif in Photoshop
I had a friend ask how to edit gifs in Photoshop and honestly, I know there are infinite ways to do it, but this is my preferred method.
1) Open your gif in photoshop then go to Window and check that your Timeline is showing. It shows all your frames at the bottom of the window.
2) Select the top layer of your gif and the last frame in the Timeline. The numbers should match. (This excludes any adjustment or text layers you add)
3) To add an adjustment layer, make sure you’ve followed step 2 then click the adjustment layer addition over in your layer menu and add your preferred adjustment. For this gif I have chosen to up the exposure.
4) To add text, make sure you’ve followed step 2 then add your text where you would like it. Refrain from using the move tool to move it as Photoshop interprets this as you wanting the text to move.
5) To playback your gif, repeat step 2 then hit play on your timeline. The gif should play like in my 5th gif above.
6) Once your gif is looking how you want it to, then go to file, export, and save for web. Make sure you are exporting it as a gif by selecting a gif preset. Then hit save and name it. All done!
You can experiment with a lot of settings so long as you adhere to step 2 when you add layers of any kind. Just watch out on size if you are posting to Tumblr because if it is too big it won’t play. If you are looking for how to create a gif, my suggestion would be to use the Giphy Capture tool then import Photoshop to edit. Hope this helps future gif makers!