How to Add Text to Photos

Let’s say you want to quickly create a meme, or design a logo, signature, brochure, business card, so you need to add text to a photo. You can do this quickly and completely for free with both free and paid software. You may already have the necessary software installed. If you want to add text to photos, there are many software that can help you do this.

Table of Contents

Steps

Before start

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Check the photo. Before you add text to an image, you should determine if the image is suitable for adding text. If the photo is messy, your text needs to stand out in the background. Text will be difficult to read when switching from a dark background to a light (or vice versa) unless there is a border.

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Determine the most effective method. There are many ways to add text to photos, depending on your needs and what you have.

If you want to quickly add text to your photos for free and require nothing else, you can use Paint on Windows or Preview on OS X.
If you want to create a meme to post online, there are many online meme creators that automatically add text in the standard meme style. Please refer to more articles on how to use the online meme maker.
If you want to adjust the shape and size of your text, photo editing software like Photoshop or freeware like GIMP are a good choice, allowing you to do advanced editing.
If you want to add text to photos on your phone, you can use apps that are compatible with your device.
If you are creating a document, Word processing software can perform the function of adding text to images.

Use Paint (Windows) or Preview (OS X)

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Open the image with Paint or Preview. If you don’t have any other photo editing software installed, you can right-click on the photo and select “Edit”. If you use OS X, double click on the image to open it in Preview.

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Click the “Text” button. An “A”-shaped icon, located in the toolbar at the top of the screen. If you’re using Preview, you’ll first need to select the “Edit” button next to the search bar.

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Click and drag the text to the position you want. This field includes the text you write, and displays only text that fits the size of the field. You can adjust the size of this field when writing text.

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Write letters. Before adjusting the format, write the text you want so you can see the change when editing.

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Change the font. If you want a font that is easy to read, you can choose Calibri and Arial, which are standard fonts, and Impact is the font commonly used to create memes.

Remember to edit the size to fit the requirements.
You can change the size of the text frame if the line does not fit into the frame after editing.

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Change font color. You can choose from pre-made colors or mix your own. Make sure that the text color contrasts with the background color. Choosing the wrong color can make it difficult for people to read the text.

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Review the text. Before continuing, review the text you just wrote. Because on basic software, you can’t make any changes other than starting from scratch.

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Save the text by clicking outside the text frame. Once done, you can go back and edit.

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Save Image. Click the Save button to save the image. Remember to rename the image so that it doesn’t overwrite the original image. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Using Photo Editing Software (Photoshop, GIMP, etc.)

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Open the photo you want to add text with with photo editing software. If you can’t install Photoshop but still want to use a more advanced software than Paint, you can use the free image editing software GIMP.

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Click the “Text” button. This button is in the list of tools, usually on the left side of the screen.

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Click and drag to create text frames. When you create a text frame, the software will create a new layer. This is the biggest benefit when using image editing software, you can change the text layer as you like without affecting the original image.

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Typing. Before adjusting the format, type in the text to easily see the change when editing.

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Change the font. If you want a font that is easy to read, you can choose Calibri and Arial, which are standard fonts, and Impact is the font commonly used to create memes.

Remember to edit the size to fit the requirements.
You can change the size of the text frame if the line does not fit into the frame after editing.

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Change font color. You can choose from pre-made colors or mix your own. Make sure that the text color contrasts with the background color. Choosing the wrong color can make it difficult for people to read the text.

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Use other editing tools to animate the text. After adding text, you can use other tools to edit.

For example, you can use the Rotate tool to drag text above the image.
The Transform tool allows you to bend and shape text to match the effect you want to use.
Image editing software offers more editing options, such as allowing you to use gradients from the beginning of the text to the bottom of the text.
You can adjust the transparency of the text, which can make the final product look more professional.

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Export the image after finishing editing. Most photo editing software will save the image as a project unless you want to save it as an image. It allows you to set the format and quality. Choose “File” → “Export As” to proceed. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Using an iOS or Android Device

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Download a photo editing app. There are countless iOS and Android compatible apps that allow you to edit photos stored on your device. Here are some popular apps. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Word Swag (iOS)
Photo (iOS and Android)
PicLab (iOS, Android and Windows Phone)

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Open the app. You will be asked to select the photo you want to edit to open in the app. Depending on the app, you can choose from the storage on your device, or access photos from other online services.

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Select the “Text” button. The process will be different for each application (for example, on PicLab, you will be asked to stretch and crop the image before adding text).

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Typing. You can set text color as well as text alignment and position during editing.

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Change the font. Most editing software allows you to choose the font, you can also change the transparency of the text.

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Save the image when finished. After you are satisfied with the text, save the image. You can save to Gallery (Gallery) or Camera Scrollbar (Camera Rpl), or share directly to social networks.

Using a Word Processor

Advice

Choose the font color carefully as it is easy to lose the black or white text on the background. Changing the text color, or using a text border can make the text stand out more.
If you use a word processor, you may need to modify the text wrapping and the foreground/background area so that the text displays correctly above the image.
If the text is not visible after editing, check that you have arranged the layers correctly. If the arrangement is not in the correct order or opening the wrong file, it can cause an error.