How to add text to a photo on iPhone
Open the photo in Photos, tap Edit, then the Markup button. Tap the Add button (+), choose Add Text and type; the tools let you change the font, size and color. Tap Done to save.
Add text with Markup
- Open Photos and tap the photo.
- Tap Edit, then tap the Markup button.
- Tap the Add button (+), then tap Add Text.
- Tap the text box and type with the keyboard.
- Tap the tools to change the font, size, justification, style or color. To cut, copy, duplicate or delete the text box, tap the More button.
- Tap outside the text box when you’re finished, then tap Done to save.
The same Add menu has Add Sticker, Add Shape and Add Signature. These are the steps in Apple’s guides to editing photos and to Markup.
Write on a picture by hand
To handwrite instead of type, use the drawing tools in the same Markup toolbar.
- In the Markup toolbar, tap the pen, marker or pencil.
- Write or draw with your finger.
- Tap the selected tool again to change the line weight or opacity. For a new color, tap the Color Picker button and choose Grid, Spectrum or Sliders.
- Made a mistake? Tap the eraser and scrub over it.
For a speech bubble, heart or star, draw the shape in one stroke and pause: Markup swaps in a perfect version. Tap Undo if you’d rather keep your freehand one.
Adding text as you share
If the photo is going straight into a message, you can mark it up there: after you add a photo in Messages, tap Markup to add labels, shapes and stickers, then tap Save. Instagram stories have their own Text tool too.
Handwritten doodles that move
Tada doesn’t have a text tool, so there’s no typing and no fonts. What it has is Draw: you draw on the photo with your finger, then choose My lines to keep your lines exactly as drawn, wiggling like a hand-drawn cartoon. It’s free, and it suits a quick heart, an arrow or a short word written by hand. Make it cute uses AI to turn your lines into a cute doodle that moves. Tap Save and it goes to Photos as a Live Photo.
See how to draw on photos, or add stickers that move.
Questions
How do I add text to a picture on iPhone?
Open the photo in Photos, tap Edit, then the Markup button. Tap the Add button, tap Add Text, type, then tap Done.
How do I change the font or color of the text?
With the text box selected, tap the Markup tools to change the font, size, justification, style or color.
How do I write on a picture with my finger?
In Markup, tap the pen, marker or pencil and write with your finger. Tap the Color Picker button to change the color.
Can Tada add text to photos?
No, Tada has no text tool. Its Draw tool lets you doodle with your finger, and My lines keeps those lines wiggling in the saved Live Photo.
Sources: iPhone User Guide: Edit photos and videos · iPhone User Guide: Add text, shapes, stickers, and more with Markup · iPhone User Guide: Draw and handwrite with Markup · iPhone User Guide: Take and edit photos or videos in Messages · Instagram Help: Share a photo or video to your story