How can I add text to a picture?
"I want to add a caption on a photo I'm uploading. I know it can be done because I see this on other people's pictures. Is there a way I can add text to a picture before I put it on the web?"
You are correct, you can add text to a picture before you upload it. For very basic text, you have all the tools you need already installed on your computer. To show you just how simple this is, I'll walk you through an example.
The program I'm going to use for this is called Paint. It comes with every version of Windows. While there are more powerful photo editing apps, like Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro, Paint is free and will likely do what you need. You can find it on your computer from Start > All Programs > Accessories > Paint.
Once you have Paint open, you want to open the photo you want to add text to in Paint. This is where it gets a little tricky because you have a number of options for how you caption your photo. You could place text directly on the picture, or you may want to add a background for the text so that it is easier to read. I'll walk you through text with a background. If you don't need a background for your text, just skip that step.
Before you start adding text, click the menu icon in the top left corner of the application window and choose Save As. Pick a name for your photo that is something different than the current name of the file. By doing this one step, you keep the original version of the photo intact.
The first thing you want to do is click on the rectangle in the shapes next to the brushes. Next make sure you choose solid color for both the Outline and Fill drop down menus. Over in the Color choices, make sure that Color 1 and Color 2 are both the same, so that the outline of your background and the fill color match up.
Now that you have all the settings ready, it's time to create the rectangle on the picture. Start by positioning the cursor in the upper left most spot where you want your caption to go and then dragging to the lower right. My goal in this demo is to take up about the lower 1/4 of the photo with the background. You can always click the undo button if you don't get it quite right.
Next, it's time to add the text. Click on the 'A' to the left of the brushes and click inside the background you just created on the photo. This will cause Paint to show you text editing options.
From here, you choose the font you want to use, the font size, and be sure to set Color 1 to the text color you want to use.
When you are finished, save your file and use it however you would like to.