Adding text to photos is very practical whether it is quickly explaining content to colleagues, drafting poster design drawings, or adding watermarks to photos. Whether you use an iPhone or Mac, as long as you master some skills, these operations are easy to do.
This article will introduce a variety of default and third-party apps to help you easily add text to your photos and choose the tool that suits you best.
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How to add text to photos on iPhone and iPad
If you need to quickly add text to images on your iPhone or iPad, you can use the default Photos app.
Here's how to overlay text in the Photos app:
- Open the Photos app.
- Click Edit in the top toolbar.
- Click the mark icon in the top toolbar.
- Click the plus icon in the bottom toolbar.
- Select Add text.
- Select your preferred font, size, and alignment from the bottom toolbar.
- Click on the text to edit.
- Click "Done".
Note: Adding text changes the original photo. To keep the original photo unchanged, press and hold the photo you want to edit in advance and click "Copy" to back up.
The best apps for adding photo text on your Mac
There are a variety of free and paid tools available for annotating images on your Mac. If you just need to add a simple text box, you can start with "Preview".
1. Preview: Default Markup Tool on Mac
On your Mac, you can add text on your photos using the Tag Tool in the Preview app.
Here is how to add text using Preview:
- Double-click the photo to open in Preview.
- Click the Mark icon in the top toolbar.
- Click the Text icon in the top toolbar.
- Use the Text Style icon to select the appropriate font, size, and color.
- Click the text box and add any text you like.
While "preview" does the job, it's not the best choice for adding text to images on your Mac. What "Preview" is best at quickly displaying photos and PDFs without causing distractions. But to edit them in any way, you have to click on those non-obvious icons and use controls with limited options and less desirable.
Why not try CameraBag Pro.
2. CameraBag Pro: Professional-level photo editing function
CameraBag Pro is a fully functional photo and video editing application with a simple and easy-to-use interface. CameraBag Pro, a shortlisted for the Apple Mac App of the Year Award, has dozens of professional presets and various precise adjustments to help you achieve the desired results.
You can also easily create text overlays using CameraBag Pro. It offers more options and customization than Preview.
Here is how to add text on an image using CameraBag Pro:
- Open CameraBag Pro and load your image.
- Click "Adjust" and scroll down to open "Utilities".
- Click "Text Overlay".
- Resize, font, color and alignment.
- Place the text box on the image.
Not all added text must be the title of the photo. Another common use case is to quickly explain something on a screenshot (for example, showing how to do it). If you do this frequently, we recommend that you use CleanShot X.
Please read also:
- Add watermark on Mac
- Take a photo on your Mac
- Take a scrolling screenshot
- Remove Mac screenshot shadow
3. CleanShot X: Top Screenshot Annotation Tool
CleanShot X can greatly improve the functionality of the default screenshot tool for Mac. It can capture a variety of screenshots (including scrolling web pages and timed screenshots), read text on the screenshots via OCR (optical character recognition), hide desktop icons, and annotate any image with graphics and text.
You can even set CleanShot X as the default screenshot tool, or access it from the menu bar at any time.
Here is how to add text to a photo or screenshot using CleanShot X:
- Click the CleanShot X icon in the menu bar to open it.
- Click "Open..." and select the image you want to annotate.
- Use various tools in the top toolbar to enhance your images. For text, click the "A" icon.
Another common use case, especially among photographers, is adding watermarks to photos. When you send photos to others or share photos online, you need to make sure they mention that you are the copyright owner. Use PhotoBulk to make it easier to add watermarks to a large number of photos at once.
4. PhotoBulk: Edit multiple images at once
PhotoBulk is an app designed for fast batch photo editing. You can add hundreds of photos and apply changes to them at the same time. You can add watermarks, resize, optimize, change formats, rename and edit metadata in one click.
Here is how to add watermark text to an image using PhotoBulk:
- Open PhotoBulk.
- Drag and drop the image into it.
- Select the check box in the sidebar that works for you (for example, "Watermark").
- Configure its settings.
- Click "Start".
What if you receive an image with text? Or what if someone sends you a PDF with text that cannot be copied? If you have a solution like TextSniper, don't worry.
5. TextSniper: Copy text from an image
TextSniper is one of the most practical tools on your Mac. It allows you to select any area on the screen and instantly copy any existing text to the clipboard (you can paste it into any application). TextSniper is suitable for photos, screenshots, PDFs, websites, system files, videos, and any other applications.
To copy text using TextSniper:
- Click the TextSniper icon in the menu bar and select Capture Text (or use the Shift Command 2 shortcut key).
- Drag to the area from which you want to copy the text and release it.
- Paste text from the clipboard into any application.
Finally, if you want to quickly make your photos look better with the power of AI, try Luminar Neo.
6. Luminar Neo: Utilize AI to enhance your workflow
Luminar Neo is a powerful AI photo editor where you can use its proprietary machine learning model to decorate photos in real time, or manually adjust images until you get the desired effect.
Unlike other editors that overcomplicate photo adjustments, Luminar Neo uses clear tags and AI-assisted simple brushes or sliders to improve your images. Additionally, the professional preset directory gives you a lot of creative freedom and can completely change the atmosphere of the image in seconds.
How to add text to photos online
If you only need to add simple text to your images occasionally, you don't need to download the Mac app - you can do it online using Canva's photo editor.
Canva is an easy-to-use design tool for everything from videos to printed posters. While you have to download Canva's app to complete large tasks, its photo editor is available online and is free for everyone.
To add text on an image in Canva:
- Open Canva's photo editor online.
- Upload your image.
- Use various stickers or font combinations in the sidebar, or click Add Text Box.
- Double-click the text box and type any text you want.
- Download your image when you are finished.
How to add text to an image in seconds
Now you've learned how to add text directly to images in the Photos app on your iPhone or the Preview app on your Mac. But try using CameraBag Pro for more editing options, annotate screenshots with CleanShot X, edit multiple images at once with PhotoBulk, copy text from anywhere with TextSniper, and use Luminar Neo to decorate photos with AI.
Sign up for the seven-day trial version of Setapp to try these apps for free. Setapp is a platform with over 240 great Mac and iOS apps to help you with any task. Explore and download the entire collection now for free to discover your new essentials.
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