Deena Boese, contributing writer

Hey CKers! Deena Boese here with a quick and easy digital scrapbooking tip that both classic and digital scrapbookers can use: how to create watermark text on your photos.

Today we’re talking about two of my favorite things: photos and text! In my mind, they are the heart of scrapbooking, so we’re going to discuss how to combine them to create cool watermark effects for your layouts. Check out the photo on this layout by Elizabeth Grey.

6.8.11 by Elizabeth Gray for Stampin’ Up!, as seen in Better Digital Photos & Scrapbooking, a special issue from Creating Keepsakes magazine p. 115. Digital Supplies: Paper and brushes: Stampin’ Up!; Font: Modern No. 20.

I love the subtle watermark effect of the date on that great photo! Don’t you? Photo white space is the perfect place to add dates, titles, and even text to further your story. Here’s how.

How to Add a Watermark Title to a Photo

Step 1: Open photo in Photoshop Elements

Open photo in Photoshop Elements by selecting File > Open. Locate your desired photo and click Open.

Step 2: Enter text

Use the Horizontal Type Tool to enter your title or text. If your photo has a dark background, change the text color to white. Here I simply rotated my text layers to fit the white space of my photo.

Step 3: Reduce opacity of text

With the text layer highlighted in the Layers Panel, click on the drop down arrow next to the Opacity option and drag the slider bar to the left until you achieve the look you want.

Step 4: Adjust the blending mode

To further blend your watermark text into your background, try adjusting the blending mode as well. Here is an example of a reduced opacity text at 16%.

And here is an example of the same reduced opacity text with the overlay blending mode applied.

If you compare the two photos, you’ll see that the dark beams of the bridge are much more visible in the second photo.

How to Adjust the Blending Mode

With the text layer highlighted in the Layers Panel, click on the Blending Mode drop down arrow and select Overlay.

This technique also works using a dark text color on a light photo background. When blending dark text into a background, use the Multiply mode (instead of the Overlay mode) to burn your text into your image. Notice how the text appears to be behind the trees instead of resting on top of the photo.

It’s a super simple technique that produces some super cool effects!

I hope you have fun experimenting with different ways to include reduced opacity text on your photos and layouts. Be sure to post your creations in the Club CK Idea Galleries (here’s how) so we can all be inspired by your text-infused photos!

—Deena Boese, CK contributing writer