Built In Caption

Built In Caption

My goodness, we’re nearing the end of the first month of 2025 already. How is this even possible? Thinking about this I couldn’t help but remember something my grandma used to tell me when I was being impatient about time moving so slowly.

“Don’t wish your life away sweetie. The older you get the faster it all goes. Enjoy the time while you have it.” A wise woman’s sage advice that I truly didn’t appreciate until she was gone.

This feeling that a month is “nearly over already” often stems from a combination of factors like the rapid pace of daily life, not consciously tracking time, and the perception that time seems to move faster as you get older; essentially, the days can feel like they are passing by quickly without you fully realizing it.

Time Flies

But it’s a known fact that as we age, our brains tend to process time differently, often making it feel like time is moving faster.

So, what does this have to do with a built-in caption? Honestly, nothing really. It was just a commentary on how I’ve been feeling lately. I guess I could somehow tie things together by saying that this tip could save you some time. But that would be a bit of a stretch 😉

Note: The featured image at the top of this post is a layout I created. Notice the subtle text near the top of the page. It was incorporated using the technique I’m discussing today. For more details on this layout you can find it in my 2025 Gallery.

Text On Mask

Photo Masks

I’ve written multiple posts that involve using photo (clipping) masks in Photoshop Elements (PSE). So, if you’ve been following me for a while you’re likely familiar with them. But, have you ever seen a mask that also includes text such as the ones you can see above?

Note: The masks in the image above are from “Photo Masks Vol. 1” by Jennifer of Word Art World. They are currently available in her shop at Gingerscraps.

These are the kind of masks I want to talk about today.

Masks like this are great because they come with their own “caption”. It kind of reminds me of the photo frames/stamps or overlays that used to be popular more than a few years ago. They looked something like this:

Photo Frame Stamp

The sample above is from “Photostamps Christmas Set 1” by Cindy Schneider (now retired). These kinds of stamps are meant to be an overlay placed on top of a photo, providing not just a frame/outline but also some text.

Using a mask like the ones in the image at the top of this section work completely differently. With those it just means clipping a photo to the mask so the text actually becomes “part of” the photo.

With either a purchased stamp/overlay or a mask, the text is fixed…not editable. So, purchasing a whole set of masks only to end up using just one may not be practical.

Let’s dig into these types of masks a bit more. Not necessarily about how to use them but how to make some of your own.

Creating Captioned Masks

Masks with text are available for purchase but they are not plentiful. And often times they are not sold as a standalone product. More importantly, the text is almost never editable. So even if you do find them…the text may not be what you want. Well today I’m going to tell you how to work around all of those issues.

Note: Reminder, I use PSE 2024. If you use an older (or newer) version, some of my screen shots may look different than what you see on your screen.

I’m going to start with a simple mask of my own creation:

Simple Mask

Note: If you don’t have a lot of experience creating your own mask you can refer back to my “It’s All About The Mask” post from October 24, 2023. But you can also use any mask you may have in your stash of supplies.

For fun, I’m just going to try and replicate (sort of) the words in that photo overlay I showed you above. I’ll even try to come as close as possible to the fonts. If you need some tips on how to identify fonts you see online just check out my “What’s That Font?” post from May 9, 2023.

I start by pulling my mask into a blank 12×12 file in PSE:

Plain Mask

I was able to find 2 similar fonts for the words: Beautiful (font: Aaron Script Regular) and Moment (font: Rustic Printed Stamp). Using a bright pink color so it can be seen easily over the dark mask, I type each word in its designated font and position them where I like over the mask:

Mask With Text

Before I start fully incorporating the text into the mask, I need to be certain that I have the words placed correctly for the photo I want to use. I’m going to use this Pixabay photo of sisters sledding:

Sisters Sledding

Note: If you’re following along you don’t have to use that photo. You can use any photo of your choosing.

I pull the photo into my file, re-size it, flip it horizontally and clip it to the mask:

Mask With Photo

I’m happy with how the photo looks in the mask but not so happy with the word placement. Now, I can do one of several things here. I could choose to expand the size of the photo & mask allowing me to keep the text closer to the bottom:

Mask Expanded

I could leave the mask/photo size the same and just rearrange the words and place them in different locations:

Words Moved

Or I could just re-size and reposition the text so it fits better near the original location:

Mask & Words Final

I think I like this last option the best. If you’re following along with your own mask/photo combination you can simply orient the text however it suits your photo the best.

Now, with my photo, text and mask positions/size finalized I can now prepare to incorporate the text into the mask.

Here is what my Layers Panel looks like currently:

Layers Panel

I want to preserve the original mask so I duplicate that layer and hide the original (and photo) for now. I then move this new layer to the top of the Layers Panel:

Layers Panel - Mask Duplicated

Next, I simplify the duplicate mask layer. I need to do this because it was pulled into PSE as a “Smart Object” and PSE won’t let me make any edits to the mask without first simplifying the layer.

Note: If you want more information about Smart Objects, you can refer back to my post about Managing File Sizes.

With the mask layer simplified and the active layer I can now Ctrl+Click on the Beautiful text layer’s thumbnail so I can see the marching ants:

Beautiful Selected

Next, ensuring that the mask layer is still active, I press the delete key and the word Beautiful is “cut out” of the mask:

Beautiful Deleted

You can see that the original text now shows through under the mask. I repeat this process with the word MOMENT. I no longer need to see the original text but I do want to keep them. I’ll explain why in a minute. Since I don’t need them right now, I simply hide those text layers.

I can now move this mask layer with the words “cut out” beneath the photo in the Layers Panel, unhide the photo and clip it to this new mask layer:

Words Cut Out

I know you probably can’t see the cut out words due to the transparent background so I’ll add a darker layer underneath the mask so you can see how this really looks now:

Darker Background

There it is, my own mask customized with my specific caption cut out. I’m going to save this as a PSD file so I can keep it for future use. I’ll explain that in a minute.

Now all I have to do is hide the background layer and the photo, crop the file to size ensuring I retain all the edges of the mask and save this as a standalone PNG file.

Custom Mask

So earlier I said I was going to retain the original text in my PSD file. Sometimes when using a mask with “cut out” text, the text may not show up as well as I’d like depending on the photo I’ve used. In those instances, I can go back to my PSD file with the original text and make any modifications necessary or even change the text completely.

I could also allow the original text to show through underneath the photo in whatever color might work better than the background that shows through. All I have to do in this case is copy the individual layers for the cutout mask and text into my layout. The important thing is to ensure that I place the actual text layer(s) underneath the mask.

Using the example I’ve already created; I could easily go in and change the color of the text to any color I choose so that it shows up differently: Something like this:

Mask With Text Re-colored

I know what you’re thinking…that kind of defeats the purpose of cutting the text out to begin with. It would be easier to just type the text over the photo. On one hand that is true. But if you have the mask with the cut out words and you just need to tweak the color of the words for use with another photo…you can very easily do that.

So, save the PSD file if you like but it certainly isn’t required…totally your call.

I hope you take the time to play with this technique. It is a great way to incorporate a photo caption.

Some Additional Thoughts

Extra Tips

Be careful about the font you use. Script fonts are pretty but can be hard to read if the words are too small.

Masks with cut out text may not always allow the words to show up nicely depending on how much contrast there is between the main background and the photo being clipped to the mask.

Cutting your text (or even shapes) out of your clipping mask can give your mask a totally unique look from anything you can purchase.

Clipping masks with word “cut outs” give you so much flexibility with how your caption is displayed for your photo.

Thanks for reading this week’s Tuesday Tip. Remember, if you have any suggestions or questions please don’t hesitate to “Message Me“. Check back next week with another tip about a chunky title! Click “Follow Me” to stay in touch. I hope you have a wonderful week!

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