Tips for Adding Text to Your Favorite Photos

Whether you're adding text to photos to boost your social media presence, creating inspirational wall art, or enhancing the stories in your family memory albums...these simple tips for adding text to your photos are sure to come in handy. (I've even included a couple free photos for you to download and practice!)


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If I'm working on my computer, Photoshop CC (part of the Adobe CC Photography Plan) and Photoshop Elements are still my go-to programs for editing and embellishing photos. That being said, with my iPhone almost always in reach and a love of Instagram, I find myself using apps on my phone for more and more of my workflow. Today I'm pointing out a few of my favorite apps for editing and embellishing photos. Snapseed is probably my favorite app for adjusting and editing photos on the go. I have to credit Chari over at Persnickety Prints for getting me hooked on that one. I really like the flexibility of working with layers, and once she pointed out the selective adjust tool, there was no going back! When I've got the look I want, I save to my camera roll and pull the photo into another app if I'm adding text. There are lots of great editing apps out there. My advice, try a few until you find one that works for you:)


One of the most popular posts to date is a photo I shared last summer taken in my sister's garden. After adding some simple text with an app called Phonto, we uploaded it to Costco's photo center and had a poster made for her home. Quick & easy, low-cost wall art! (She's actually got a copy in her classroom too.) If you love it as much as she did, stop by and download a copy for yourself. (Or, if you're in the mood for a fall image, I used the same technique to create this Be the Change fall photo printable.)



More recently, I found an fun app called WordSwag. Here I used it to embellish a favorite summer photo with an inspirational message before sharing on social media.


The WordSwag app comes with a variety of quotes pre-loaded as well as a custom option for adding your own favorites. Load your photo and type your text, then scroll through a variety of styles and layouts until you find one you like. Save and share. There's an option for adding your watermark or logo when saving. Just make sure the logo image file is in your camera roll.

If you'd like to add more design elements along with your text, be it filters, graphics or effects, the A Beautiful Mess and Rhonna Designs apps are both great options. A Beautiful Mess app is a fun one for embellishing photos with text and graphics. It makes adding borders, doodles, text, and pre-designed phrases a snap. The app includes some photo filters too. The Rhonna Designs app and the companion RD Magic app are a powerful combination, and I'll admit that I've only scratched the surface of what they can do. Here I took a photo of a daisy that I liked and added a quote using the Wordswag app. Then I used RDMagic to add the texture. (And, adding a watermark in RDMagic is a breeze. Make sure the image file is in Dropbox or Creative Cloud and select "My Magic" to add it.)



I follow Rhonna's feed on Instagram where I've learned lots of tips about using her app. Recently I watched her Periscope series, Ten Tips for Making Your Images Pop. If my post has sparked your curiosity, check out some of her social media channels for tons more inspiration. (And, she's been giving sneak peeks off what the next Rhonna Designs update will include. It sounds amazing!)

In closing, just a few more thoughts about adding text to photos. Don't overlook old photos when playing with photo-editing apps. I love taking a scanned photo from the family archive and adding a little something new before sharing. Here's a link to one in my Instagram feed where I used multiple apps to add text and light leaks. [Instagram]

Have fun playing with composition. When adding text, take advantage of open space in your photo such as the blue sky below. When you're out shooting, even try taking a few extra shots where you deliberately leave room for a caption, title, or quote. Titles added to photos also make great additions to albums and photo books. Here I added a descriptive hashtag as fun twist on a title. Wouldn't it make a great cover or title page for an album of summer memories? Or, print it and add to a pocket-page layout.



If you would like a printable copy of the first image, Bloom Where You Are Planted, download it here. It should fit in an 8x10 frame. And, just for fun, if you'd like to start practicing with any of these ideas or apps right away, here are a couple of my photos sans text for you to use: Daisy (square crop) and Coneflower (square crop) . (As always, personal use only please. If you post your edits on social media, please give me a shout out. Thx!)

Thanks for stopping by today!

I originally shared these Tips for Adding Text to Photos with Landeelu readers on August 27, 2015.




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1 comment

  1. Hi, thank you for sharing your tips. Tell me, plaese, how you reducing noise on photos? I'm using macphun noise ruction software now https://macphun.com/noiseless. And it it very simple and effective.

    ReplyDelete

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