How to Add Transparent Text to a Photo in Photoshop



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In this tutorial I’ll show you how you can add transparent text to images in Photoshop. Now obviously that does sound a bit daft as surely no-one will ever be able to see transparent text. However, if you take a look at the main image, you’ll see that the text is indeed transparent, though the area immediately around it isn’t. Still it’s quite a nice way to add legible text to photos without obscuring the image too much.

It can work particularly well with photos that have had a texture applied to them, like the shot that I’ve used – you can read about how that was created in this article on applying textures.

Add Text to Your Photo

1

The first job, after opening the photo that you want to work with, is to add some text.

Click on the Text tool in the Tools palette, which is represented by the letter T icon. Now click on your photo, somewhere near the center, and type the text that you want to apply. At this stage the text may be very small and barely visible, so go to Select > All to select all the text.

Now you can adjust the size of the text using size control in the Tool Options bar above the working area. You can type a value straight into the size box or choose from the drop down menu. I set the size of my text to 600pt.

Set the Font Face

2

Now that you can see the text more clearly, you can select the font face that you want to use.

You just need to click on the font drop down menu near the left of the Tool Options bar and select the font from the list. I’m using a free font called Blox that was created by Ænigma – you can download your own copy from http://www.dafont.com/blox.font if it appeals.

You may need to adjust the font size again once you’ve changed the font.

Add a New Layer

3

Click on the Background layer in the Layers palette and then go to Layer > New > Layer and, in the dialog, click the OK button to add a blank layer above the background layer.

Make a Selection from the Text

4

Now hold down the Cmd key on a Mac or Ctrl key on Windows and then click on the small layer thumbnail in the Layers palette next to the text layer – the thumbnail is the rectangle with the letter T in the center of it. You should now see that a selection has been created that matches the text.

Before moving on, click the eye icon to the left of the layer thumbnail to hide the text layer.

Fill and Blur Your Text Selection

5

Click on the blank layer you just added in the Layers palette and now go to Edit > Fill and, in the dialog that opens, set the Use drop down to White and click the OK button. Go to Select > Deselect to cancel the selection.

You could use any color that you like for this stage by setting the foreground color to your chosen color and then set the Use drop down to Foreground Color instead.

Now go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and make sure the Preview checkbox is turned on. Now adjust the Radius slider until the text appears to be suitably blurred. I set mine to 42 pixels, but the size of your image, text and font choice will all affect the size that you choose. Click OK when it looks right.

Delete the Transparent Text

6

Next make a selection from the text layer again as you did before and, ensuring that the new text layer below is active, go to Edit > Clear and then Select > Deselect. You can now select the move tool from the very top of the Tools palette and position the text on your image.

Strengthen the Appearance of the Text

7

The main image on this page shows the result using just a single layer of transparent text, but if you want to strengthen the appearance, right-click on the transparent text layer, select Duplicate Layer from the context menu and click the OK button on the dialog that opens. You could add more layers if you want to make it even stronger.