There are many reasons you might want to add text to your images. It's very simple to do so let me show you how…
Add a watermark
You may want to add a watermark to your images like I did at the bottom of this photo:
Make your posts Pinterest-worthy
Or you might want to add text to make your post better for pinning on Pinterest. That was my intention in my last post, How to Make a Photo Collage, when I added this white rectangle and text over the top of my collage.
Several of you asked how I added the text. In this case, I used my go-to image editing program called GIMP, but it is possible to do the same thing using iPiccy (which is what I used to create the photo collage in the first place).
So in this video, I explain how to create a simple watermark and I also explain the general steps you'd take to create the semi-transparent white rectangle with text.
Can't see the video? Watch it here.
Video Notes:
- Go to iPiccy.com and click "Start Editing."
- Upload your image (or create a collage).
- To add text without a rectangle beneath (for a watermark): Click the Blender tab at the top of the screen (looks like a stack of papers) and then click the "Text" button.
- Enter your text and adjust the font, color, size, etc. from the options in the left column.
- To get the watermark look like I did above, choose white from the color options and reduce the opacity.
- To get the rectangle behind the text, first use the Painter tab at the top of the screen before adding text. Click on the rectangle tool, then click and drag the crosshairs across your image wherever you want the rectangle to sit. (Don't forget to change the color first if you don't want the default gray. Also, adjust the opacity along the top menu; mine is at about 68%.)
- You can then add text on top of the rectangle as outlined in steps 3-5 above.
- Click "Done!"
- Save your image by clicking the save tab at the center top (it's the icon that looks like an old school floppy disk).
- That's it!
Like this post? Share it below. And check out more of my design tips as well, and The Ultimate List of Pinterest Tips.
Thanks for the great info, as always, have pinned it to refer to when I'm photo editing! Thanks!
You're welcome, and thank you!
Thanks for the tips.
Also try this : editphotosforfree.com
Thanks Amy, I was looking for ways to do that just the other day.
I find I spend about as much time editing pics as I do blogging *smiles
Amy, you are awesome!!! Yet again, you have explained something so well that even *I* can understand it. LOL You are just the best!!! Thanks!
Awesome! Thanks. I spent some time of the weekend playing with ipiccy. It is pretty easy to use.
I know I am way behind the times – for some reason I always thought Pinterest was for crafts or pretty foods – is it for anything?
Also, do you just pin other people's things and just hope someone pins your stuff, or do you pin your won stuff? perhaps I should "google it" . . .
I wrote about that in The Ultimate List of Pinterest Tips. Short answer: I think it's OK to pin your own stuff in moderation.
Thanks, Amy – I feel like I am back in the 7th grade needing to go to "cotillion class" for bloggers or something to learn the etiquette rules.
Maybe that could be an e-book for you to write . . . 
Amy's Guide To On-line Etiquette 
Looking at my previous comment, I would say: Rule #1 – do not put a smiley face after every sentence.
LOL! I find myself using them a lot too.
Oh joy! Thank you Amy for posting this. I have been trying to figure this out and it works on a Mac too!
Photoscape is another great free and easy to use photo editing tool.
Thanks, Sally!
Amy, thank you for the great articles about iPiccy!
Just wanted to show you one more way to add white rectangle to the picture:
1. Click "+ Sticker" and drag square shape from geometry section
2. Stretch it horizontally (manually or select "Stretch Horizontally" in the context menu of the layer )
3. Set color to white and Fade to 60% in the sticker's properties
4. Done!
It allows to do everything in the Blender, no Painter editor needed.
Hope it helps!
Alex, iPiccy Team
Very easy, helps me!!
Awesome, thank you Alex!
I think I have officially read your entire blog twice! Thank you so much for all the helpful information you provide. Adding to my "favorites"!!
I tried to start one this morning, but had to leave – so I made up this quote while I was in traffic and gave it a try when I got home:
http://plasticbackbooks.com/writers/quotes-notes/
This is fun.
Thanks Amy. Great post easy to follow instructions!!
THANK YOU for posting this and the collage tutorial. You have just helped me do something I've wanted to do for a long time on my blog!!! You made it so easy to understand!
Glad it helped!
Uh oh, Amy has unleashed the comedy Meme generating beast in me! Hahaha And may I say that you've brilliantly titled this post Amy. May it sky rocket to the top of Google and unleash many other people's creativity as well.
I've had good luck using the editing tools in photobucket.
I don't see this site mentioned as much, so maybe there's a reason-lol, but I added text to one of my pics in about 10 seconds this morning.
Thanks Maegen for another option!
This was on my agenda for today for a guest post I'm working on! I was trying to add text for tutorials and couldn't figure out how to do it. Thank you for saving me once again!!!
You. are. my. hero! I seriously owe you!!!
LOL, I'm glad to help.
Hi, I use Picasa to create my collages but I might give ipiccy a try as it looks really good. Thanks for the tip.
You're awesome. Serioulsy.
I've been trying to come up with ideas for creating my Facebook timeline cover photo and have found so many great ideas on your site. Thanks for all that you do!
I have a question. I took a picture of a postcard offer I received in the mail recently and watermarked it for a post. Another blogger in my nitch gave us a ping/link back when they posted the info. But our watermark was in a place that could be replaced. So they covered our watermark and added their own (very obious that is what they did). So isn't a watermark supposed to be like an autograph to say I created this pic? Wouldn't blogging etiquette say you leave on the creators mark? I was thinking I would email the blogger and just nicely ask next time for her to leave the watermark on or create her own pic. Do you think that would be appropriate?
Thanks so much for the tips…my photos now look 100 times way better using iPiccy!!!
http://gourmetglobal.blogspot.com
I am working on setting up my own blog and this video was helpful. Thanks a lot and God bless.
Anna
Glad to hear it was helpful and you're very welcome, Anna!
Is there anyway you can save your watermark logo in ipiccy and plug it in quick with out going through all those steps? I also have Photoshop Elements, but haven't been able to figure it out in that either. I want to use my logo that looks just like my blog heading. it seems like Photoshop should have something built in to let people watermark their photos.
I've never tried any myself, but I'd search for a plugin. I think there's one called Watermark Reloaded. Just go to Dashboard –> Plugins –> Add New and search for "watermark" or something similar.
Hi Amy,
I've got my watermark ready however, I am interested in adding the white transparent line to my picture watermark (hope this makes sense to you). Is there any way to do that? I've been searching online but couldn't find what its called. I've got Aperture, LR & PS.
I look forward to hearing from you soon! Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Natalie
Hi Amy, many thanks for this valuable tutorial. I have add it to my Pinterest board. I am a blogger and I have been blogging for two years and I have many photographs which I have taken. I would be interested in Watermarking all of the photographs on my blog. I wonder, is there an easier way of adding a Watermark to all photographs which appear on a blog (by the way I use Blogger) without going through the time consuming and tedious steps of Watermarking each photograph?
Thank you, Bronte
Hi Bronte, I would google "watermarking in bulk" or "watermarking plugin." I know there are plugins that watermark automatically but I haven't used any myself.
Google+ photos will let you do this as well.
THANK YOU for all your wonderful tutorials and help! I needed to know how to watermark an image for my new blog, and knew EXACTLY where to turn – to you! You are so generous with your tips and help…couldn't do this without you! (Ok well I probably could, but it would be SO MUCH harder.)
Thanks, Karie. I'm glad it's helpful and I appreciate your encouragement.
Hi Amy, thanks for easy to follow your instructions. I wanna ask you something I can not find answer to. When I go on Pinterest site without me being logged in Pinterest, and I find something interesting and I want to pin it. So I click on it, then I have to log in and pin it. OK, but then, when I want to go back to the same page which had that image I just pinned (because there were more things I liked to pin), I can not find it anymore, some other pages come up and I just cannot find those from the original first page. I am not sure if I explain this properly. But it is so frustrating. What am I doing wrong, what am I missing here? Thanks for you help. (I do not have website, but my ready to go blog is still sitting not active…I am a "chicken")
hi amy, i've wanted to learn how to watermark for the longest time. i didn't know that it was called 'watermark' so could look it up. thank you for your generous video.
You're welcome, Irene!
Thank you so much for posting this! I am just entering the blogosphere and since my pics are of my son I definitely want a watermark on them, however I had no idea how to do it! And I love the collage with text across it. I will definitely be using this in the near future.
Glad it was helpful, Amber!
Hi Amy,
Not sure how I found you, but I want you to know that your information is sooo valuable and timely for me! Your content is by far the best I have seen in a very long time among all of the blogs I read.
Thank you
You're welcome, Sylvia. Thanks for your kind words and I'm glad it's helpful.
Thank you so much for this walk-through, Amy! I'm a newbie to both Pinterest and collage-making. I was wondering though (beginner's question), how do I move the text box? The little circles around the box allow me to stretch and slant it but not move it. Hm… Thank you again for helping me out! Happy Holidays.
Hover over the center of the box and then click and drag it the place you'd like it to be. Great question!
Hi Amy,
Could you recommend a site for me to use that can resize my images and add an image for a watermark (not just text)? If I could do a batch of photos that'd be great. I know I could use a search engine, but thought you might have a trusted recommendation. Thanks!
I don't know of a good tool off the top of my head. I definitely thing Google is your better bet on this one.
Thanks! This will be so much easier than using the multiple programs my computer had already loaded on it and looks way better…My blog is still very new so I may have to go back and re-do some of the pictures for my past posts. Thanks again for the advice!
A HUGE thank you for taking the trouble to show us how to add a watermark
I have trawled the internet for a simple-non jargon description for how to do it-and your instructions were so clear and simpe that this computer numpty managed it very easily !
Very best wishes,Nessa xx
You're welcome. Glad it helped!