Adobe Photoshop Edit Text
How To Change Font In Photoshop

In this tutorial, we'll learn how to place an image in text with Photoshop, a very popular effect to create and one that also happens to be very easy to do thanks to the power of Photoshop's clipping masks, as we're about to see!

Adding Text in Photoshop On the left side of the Photoshop window is the toolbar, with a horizontal list of features and tools you can use to manipulate your image. To add text, click the T icon or press T on your keyboard. This will select the standard, horizontal text typing tool by default. Acrobat accesses Illustrator and Photoshop and uses them as super-advanced plug-ins. When you edit an element within a PDF file, Acrobat determines which program will be best to use as the editor, and it calls it up. How to Edit PDF in Illustrator Using Adobe Illustrator to Edit Text Direct From Acrobat (9 or earlier). In Photoshop, open your photo, then press Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) to duplicate the Background layer. Press and hold Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) and, in the Layers panel, click the New Layer icon to add a new blank layer between the two existing layers. Go up to the Edit menu in the Menu Bar and choose Fill.

This version of the tutorial is for Photoshop CS5 and earlier. If you're using Photoshop CC or CS6, see the fully revised and updated version of this tutorial. Here's the effect we're going for:

The final 'image in text' effect.

Let's get started!

How To Place An Image In Text

Step 1: Open A Photo To Place Inside Your Text

First, we need the image that we're going to place inside of our text. I'll use this panoramic photo of Hawaii:

Step 2: Duplicate The Background Layer

If we look in the Layers palette, we can see that we currently have one layer, named Background. This layer contains our image. We need to duplicate this layer, and the easiest way to do that is by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac). If we look once again in the Layers palette, we see that we now have two layers. The original Background layer is on the bottom, and a copy of the Background layer, which Photoshop automatically named 'Layer 1', is sitting above it:

Photoshop's Layers palette.

Step 3: Add A New Blank Layer Between The Two Layers

Next, we need to add a new blank layer between the Background layer and 'Layer 1'. Currently, 'Layer 1' is the layer that's selected in the Layers palette. We can tell which layer is selected because the selected layer is always highlighted in blue. Normally, when we add a new layer, Photoshop places the new layer directly above whichever layer is currently selected, which means that Photoshop would place the layer above 'Layer 1'. That's not what we want. We want the new layer to be placed below 'Layer 1'. Here's a useful trick. To add a new layer below the currently selected layer, hold down your Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) key and click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette. Holding down Ctrl (Win) / Command (Mac) is the trick to placing the layer below the currently selected layer:

Hold down 'Ctrl' (Win) / 'Command' (Mac) and click on the New Layer icon in the Layers palette.

We now have a new blank layer named 'Layer 2' sitting directly between the Background layer and 'Layer 1':

Adobe Photoshop Edit Text

The Layers palette showing the new blank layer between the Background layer and 'Layer 1'.

Step 4: Fill The New Layer With White

At the moment, our new layer is completely blank. Let's fill it with white so it will appear as a white background after we've placed our image inside the text. Go up to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Fill. This will bring up Photoshop's Fill dialog box. Select White for the Contents option at the top of the dialog box, then click OK to exit out of the dialog box:

Select White for the Contents option at the top of the Fill command's dialog box.

Nothing will appear to have happened in the document window, since the image on 'Layer 1' is blocking 'Layer 2' from view, but if we look at the layer preview thumbnail for 'Layer 2' in the Layers palette, we can see that sure enough, the layer is now filled with solid white:

The preview thumbnail for 'Layer 2' shows that the layer is now filled with white.

Step 5: Select 'Layer 1' In The Layers Palette

It's time to add our text, but in order to see the text when we add it, we'll need to have the text appear above 'Layer 1', otherwise the image on 'Layer 1' will block the text from view. To make sure we can see our text, click on 'Layer 1' in the Layers palette to select it. This way, as soon as we begin typing, Photoshop will create a new type layer for us and place the type layer directly above 'Layer 1':

Click on 'Layer 1' in the Layers palette to select it.

Step 6: Select The Type Tool

To add the text, we'll need Photoshop's Type Tool, so select the Type Tool from the Tools palette. You can also quickly select the Type Tool by pressing the letter T on your keyboard:

Step 7: Choose A Font In The Options Bar

With the Type Tool selected, go up to the Options Bar at the top of the screen and choose whichever font you want to use for the effect. Generally, fonts with thick letters work best. I'm going to choose Arial Black. Don't worry about the font size for now:

Select a font in the Options Bar.

Step 8: Set White As Your Foreground Color

This step isn't absolutely necessary, but to help me see my text, I'm going to use white for my text color. The color you choose for your text doesn't really matter since we'll be filling the text with an image in a moment, but it still helps to be able to see the text when we're adding it. To set the text color to white, all we need to do is set Photoshop's Foreground color to white. First, press the letter D on your keyboard, which will reset the Foreground and Background colors to their defaults. Black is the default color for the Foreground color and white is the default color for the Background color. To swap them so white becomes the Foreground color, press the letter X on your keyboard. If you look at the Foreground and Background color swatches near the bottom of the Tools palette, you'll see that white is now the Foreground color (the left swatch):

Setting the Foreground color to white sets the text color to white as well.

Step 9: Add Your Text

With the Type Tool selected, your font chosen and white as your Foreground color, click inside your document window and add your text. Since I'm using a photo of an ocean scene in Hawaii, I'm going to type the word 'HAWAII':

When you're done, click on the checkmark up in the Options Bar to accept the text.

Click on the checkmark in the Options Bar to accept the text.

Step 10: Resize and Reposition The Text With The Free Transform Command

You'll probably need to resize and reposition your text at this point, and we can do both of those things using Photoshop's Free Transform command. Press Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) on your keyboard to bring up the Free Transform box and handles around your text, then drag any of the handles to resize the text. If you want to resize the text without distorting the look of it, hold down your Shift key and drag any of the four corner handles. You can also resize the text from its center by holding down the Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key as you drag. Finally, to move the text, click anywhere inside the Free Transform box and drag your mouse to move the text around inside the document window:

Use Photoshop's Free Transform command to resize and move the text.

Press Enter (Win) / Return (Mac) when you're done to accept the transformation and exit out of the Free Transform command.

Step 11: Drag The Text Layer Below 'Layer 1'

Now that we have our text the way we want it, we need to move the type layer below the text in the Layers palette. Click on the text layer, then simply drag it down

Edit Text Photoshop