You’ve likely seen some scrapbook layouts that include a title or other element that involved text filled with a photo or other graphic. It can be a very striking addition to a layout. And needless to say, very eye-catching.

Today I wanted to show you how easy it is to use this technique.

Note: Please keep in mind that I use Photoshop Elements (PSE) 2022. All of the steps I discuss believe were done using PSE. If you don’t use PSE, I suspect you should be able to do most of what I describe in whatever graphics editing package you do use. If you use an older version of PSE you may or may not find that all of the options I discuss are available to you.

Using Photos On Text

Filling text with images is a great way to add a unique design to your page title. There is actually a “Guided” edit called “Photo Text” in PSE that will do a lot of the work for you. I’m not exactly certain in which version this option became available.

You should be able to find it in Guided (vs Expert) mode, under Fun Edits. If you don’t have access to it…not to worry. I’m going to show you how easy it is to do this without that guided option.

Truth be told…I find it easier to do this without using the guided mode. I feel like I have more control doing it on my own. But the guided option can get you started…you can finish tweaking it in expert mode if you aren’t 100% satisfied with the initial results.

DIY Photo Text

Take a look at the image below. This is a layout I made that uses this technique and I wanted to share it with you. I loved how I was able to work the lighthouse into the word so perfectly.

To achieve this look, I started by creating the text. I used a very bold font (Cinzel Decorative Black). Knowing which photo I wanted to use, I made sure the word pretty well spanned the entire width of the page.

Next, I pulled the lighthouse photo in and layered it above my text. Then I simply clipped the photo to the text. I want to specifically note here that I did NOT have to simplify (rasterize) my text before clipping the photo to it. This is great since it still allows me the option to edit the text if I choose to do so later.

Once I had the photo aligned and sized to my liking, I then duplicated the photo and moved that new copy below my text.

That second lighthouse photo was blended into the background using the template’s mask but I also used a Gaussian Blur filter with a radius set to 30.4 pixels so the “word art” would stand out better. There’s also an upward bevel (Lighting Angle=120 degrees & Size=21 pixels) & a Drop Shadow (Size= 29, Distance= 13 & Opacity=76) on the word to make it pop off the page a bit more.

Note: For the above layout I used a template and some lace from “Seashell Memories” by Heartstrings Scrap Art. All other paper/elements are from “Seafoam” by ET Designs. For more details about this layout, you can find it in my 2023 Personal Gallery.

I bet you think that all sounds too easy. It really is that easy unless you’re trying to highlight a certain portion of the photo such as that lighthouse. It can require finding just the right font to showcase the portion of the photo you want to highlight.

But guess what…you’d have to do that before you even tried the guided mode option anyway.

Let’s look at a few other options just for some additional inspiration…

“Cut Out” Text

I’m going to use this lovely photo of a spring forest. With this open in PSE, I’ll first create the text I want to “cut out” of the photo. I just create a text box right over top of the photo. This time I’m using the font Acumin Pro Condensed Black. It doesn’t really matter what color you use for your font, mine just happens to be an odd shade of green.

Before doing anything else, I’m going to duplicate the forest photo twice. I’ll hide the original photo layer. This is just a precaution in case I mess something up along the way.

I move copy 2 above the text but also hide it for the time being.

Next, with copy 1 of the photo selected (the one directly below the text) I use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to draw a selection box around the bottom part of the photo that I want to keep. I just need to be certain that the top of that box is even with the bottom of my text.

It might be hard to see the marching ants in the above image but they’re there. I then invert my selection and press the Delete key. And this is the result…

Now I unhide the top photo and clip it to the text. Here is the result…

To finish it off a bit I add an upward bevel (5 pixels) to the font layer with a lighting angle that matches that within the photo (45 degrees). And here’s the finished image…

Don’t think you always have to have your letters perfectly aligned. Try mixing it up a bit and have your letters in a wonky, haphazard orientation.

If you do decide to tilt your text letters at different angles, you will need to place each letter on its own layer. Once you’re happy with the alignment you will need to simplify & merge the letters into a single layer before clipping the photo to the word. That way you don’t have to make duplicate copies of the photo for each individual letter. This takes a little bit more work but in the end it’s so worth the effort…

Now I have just one more example for today…

Using Alphas vs. Text

You don’t have to limit this technique to text. You can do the same thing with an alphabet set you may have.

I’m going to use this amazing fall foliage photo that I found on Pixabay:

And I have a nice “chunky alpha” from “Sweet & Spooky” by Studio Flergs:

I’ll be using the “candy corn” version. I just pull the letters I need into PSE, layer them over the photo, re-size & position them accordingly:

Once I am 100% certain I have the word lined up exactly how I want it, I then merge the alpha layers together creating a single for the word. By doing this I won’t have to make duplicate copies of the photo for each individual layer.

Next, I place the photo above the “word” layer and clip it to the word. If I need to, I can still move the photo around to get just the right look. But in this case, I was pretty happy with the placement:

To finish it off I add an upward bevel (5 pixels) to the font layer with a lighting angle that matches that within the photo (120 degrees) and a drop shadow (Size=15, Distance=8 & Opacity=87). And here’s the finished image…

If you haven’t already played around with Photo Text…I hope this post will inspire you to do so.

Some Extra Tips For Creating Photo Text

The single biggest tip I have is to find a nice bold font that will allow your photo to shine! This can be tricky if you’re trying to highlight a portion of the photo like the surfer in the image above. Search for “chunky fonts” on the internet. This should get you more than just a few options that will work for your photo. The image above was created using the Materhorn font

The guided mode option in PSE will do a lot of work for you but I almost always ended up re-doing some of what it does for me. Again, it’s a great way to get started. Especially if you’re new to the technique.

If tilting your text letters (or using alphas), you should make a copy of your letters before simplifying/merging them into a single layer. Once they’re simplified/merged…there’s no way to edit the letters.

When using an alpha or text, don’t be afraid to try clipping different photos to each letter. That always makes for a fun piece of word art!

As usual, if you have any questions or need a bit of help, please don’t hesitate to “Message Me” for some assistance.

Thanks for reading this week’s Tuesday Tip. If you want to stay informed about next week’s post, just click “Follow Me” to get an update. I hope you have a wonderful week!