How to use Photoshop to add images to text

Photoshop’s clipping masks are a great way of placing objects inside other objects and can be used for all sorts of wild and wonderful things.

Our example here may not be particularly wild, but it is a wonderful way of creating eye-catching titles.

The theory is simple; you begin with some type on a document. You open up a photo, copy and paste this into the type document and then use a clipping mask to make the photo appear inside the type. The most obvious use for this technique is in titles (it works especially well in digital scrapbooks) or you could create an entire image made from text and image.

Step 1 – Make your type

Create a new document and select the Type tool from the Toolbar. Go up to the Font area and click to see the available fonts and pick one that is a bit chunky (you want to see the photo, after all!). Click on your document and type your word.

Step 2 – Photo time

Step 3 – Outline

To add more emphasis, double-click on the type layer to open the Layer Styles palette. Click the Stroke option at the bottom and then pick a colour and size. You can also return to the Background layer and use the Edit>Fill option to change the colour if you wish. We decided black would be more dramatic.