Add text to your photos with PicLab, which not only offers a quality selection of fonts (no super-cheesy typefaces here), plus the ability to add multiple text boxes, in different fonts and colors.
Bonus: You can turn your text box any which way you want on the image, drag it anywhere on the screen, and resize it — all in a snap. Click “more” to learn more about it.
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Pick an Image, Any Image
PicLab’s home screen takes you straight to the camera function, which is great for those who are always snapping photos on the fly. Flash control is in the top left, and the button to reverse the camera is in the top right.
Choose an image from your library or take a photo while you’re in the app.
Tap the bottom right button to take your photo, or tap at the bottom left to choose an image already stored on your iPhone. Then you get to play around with your photo.
Add (Even More) Text
To add your own text, just double-tap the dummy text PicLab has supplied as a placeholder. Type in whatever you want, then select your alignment. Scroll through the color swatches and select the one you want, then click Done.
You can add text to your photo; choose your font and its opacity.
You can drag the bottom right corner of the text box to make the words bigger or smaller, or rotate the text by dragging the bottom left corner.
You can also place the text anywhere you want on the image by dragging the whole text box. As you do this, a grid appears on the image to aid with placement.
If you’d like to experiment with different fonts, tap the font button (Aa) to view your options — there are nearly three dozen free fonts, but you can unlock even more by paying $0.99.
You can add up to four text boxes, each one in a different font and color.
And if that’s not enough text for you, or if you want to include more than one font on your image, select your text box again and look for the numbered circles to appear in the top left corner of your image.
Tapping the plus sign will add a text box and then you can repeat the process of adding text until you’re satisfied. You can add up to four text boxes, each one with its own font and color.
Get Fancy
You can also add a mask (one per image) and use a slider to customize its opacity. Ten masks are free, but there are many, many more available to those who unlock all the features.
PicLab allows you to choose from a number of masks and photo filters.
And of course, what photo editing app would be complete without filters? That’s right — not a single one. So it’s a good thing PicLab comes through for us here. Tap the magic wand to access the photo filters — there are currently nine, and they represent a range of tints.
Last, but not least important, are the basic editing options. Tap the sliders to access controls for manipulating brightness, contrast, blur, exposure and saturation.
Don’t Forget to Share
All set and ready to show your creation to the world? Tap the check mark and save it or share it via Instagram (or another photo-sharing app on your iPhone), Facebook, Twitter or email.
Save your work to your image library or share it via email or your favorite social network.
Under Settings you’ll find your options for removing the PicLab watermark from your images, unlocking all masks, unlocking all fonts and changing the app’s theme (currently you can choose between a light and dark interface).
Last Word
Some users have complained about the inability to take photos in landscape mode (when you turn your iPhone sideways, the camera view doesn’t turn with it). However, the images the phone captures with the in-app camera are square anyway, so trying to capture a landscape portrait isn’t going to do a person any good.
Really, I think PicLab provides users with a good number of free options, and still more quality masks and fonts if a user will turn over the $0.99. My favorite feature is the ability to add more than one text box, with the variety in fonts, colors and placements. And in my opinion, the selection of available fonts is particularly good.