ClickCease How to add a caption to a digital photo. - Blog

We used to write important details on the back of photos.  Now that we have digital photos, how can we do this? 

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We used to write important details on the back of photos.  Now that we have digital photos, how can we do this? 

We all have those old photos sitting in storage, fading and crinkling as the years creep by.  This is why many of us are putting those coveted old memories into our computers.  As you begin batch scanning multiple photos, you probably noticed that many have comments written on the back. Like "The Party... 1966", "Bob aged 7, 1942", or "Brent first birthday cake, 1986."  So, how do we retain this important information on digital photos?

The answer is photo scanning software ScanSpeeder's feature to add a caption.  (Don't have ScanSpeeder? Click here to see how to get it.)  This feature digitally embeds the caption in the photo without altering the actual image of the photo.   The caption is then visible in File Explorer alongside the photo.  

This method also allows you to search in the File Explorer which is very handy when looking for a specific photo amongst your hundreds or thousands you have carefully preserved digitally.  

 

How to Embed a Caption in a Digital Photo

Here is an example where I typed the caption, "Here is a test caption" on my photo that I called FamilyCamping004.  This caption is now saved with my scanned photo.  

digital photo caption

To view the caption on photos, select the photo in File Explorer.

Below is an example of how to do this in Windows 10.  (There is a similar feature in other versions of Windows.)  

1.  Click the “Open Folder” button in ScanSpeeder after you have saved your photos.

2.  Open the tabs menu in File Explorer with the expand button on the upper right.  Click on one of the “icons” view modes (for example, “Extra large icons”) and click on “Details pane”. 

3.  Now whenever you “Open Folder” to view files in this folder, you only need to single click the desired photo to see the caption in the details pane on the right.

embed caption to digital photo

 

Now your photo is preserved in its original unaltered state with the caption embedded in it.   If you would like to add text, borders, or other graphics onto the photo itself for viewing, there are many great photo viewing and photo slide show apps (free ones too) on the market that offer that.  Many of the photo viewing software packages will superimpose professional looking graphics and text onto your photo for fun viewing!

Your photo is now also searchable in File Explorer.  You do this simply by using File Explorer's search box.  In the search box use the syntax: "title:[caption term search for]" and your photo will be found.  I like using the year the photo was taken in almost all my captions because I find when I am seeking a photo, I typically am seeking one from a specific year.  So if I write the caption, "1988 Brent's Birthday Party", I can search on any of these words to find the photo.  

Please Note: If your photo has a border and you would like to batch scan multiple photos including both images and borders, in addition to embedding a caption, please refer to how to batch scan multiple photos with borders.  This gives the added touch of visually showing the context of the photo if it was written in the photo's border; such as hand-writing the date the photo was taken, location of the photo, and the names of those in the photo.  

If you made a mistake, you can see how to correct the caption on your digital photo here.

| Categories: How To, Features | Tags: caption, write details, back of photo, digital photo caption, add photo details, important photo details | View Count: (28894) | Return

Comments

  • Captions: is there a way to edit the caption once I have already saved picture with caption to my computer?
    2/21/2021 7:04:41 AM Reply
    • @barbara: Hello Barbara. We've added an article on how to fix captions that are imprinted on digital photos that should hopefully help you: https://scanspeeder.com/blog/articleid/52/how-to-fix-caption-text-on-digital-photos
      2/23/2021 10:32:46 AM Reply
  • I thought I read that ScanSpeeder captions can show up when photos are displayed in a digital frame. Is that true? Is it something you can briefly explain how it works (like what I'd do to make the caption show up when photos are displayed on digital frame)? Thank you.
    3/24/2020 8:37:40 PM Reply
    • @Marion Harrell: Yes, you are correct, ScanSpeeder can show the captions in a digital photo frame. You can do this by default by checking the "Add Text" button at the top of Step 2 to always do this globally, or you can selectively hover over photos in Step 2 and check the "T" button. This will imprint whatever text you type in the "Add optional text/tag" field into a newly added space at the bottom of the photo. You will see the text appear immediately on the preview photo in Step 2 and also when you display photos in your digital photo frame. As an aside, be sure to save both JPG and TIF formats, as digital photo frames tend to prefer the JPG format over the much larger TIF format. Thanks for your question!
      3/25/2020 11:28:50 AM Reply
  • I am currently evaluating ScanSpeeder and using some of the information on this Blog, I've scanned three photos, cropped them a bit in the scan window, performed the extraction and added captions and saved the photos to file. The captions do indeed appear in the Title metadata field but the thing that bothers me is the caption is also printed on the front of the photo. Using the process you outlined for "Ray" on 08/14/2019 in your Scan Photos DIRECTLY from your Photo Albums blog post I tried to delete the text from the front of the photo expecting the Title metadata field would still contain the caption. It didn't work that way. The information in the Title field is also gone. What am I missing? Having the caption in the metadata but NOT on the front of the photo is important to me and a possible showstopper for me passing on purchasing ScanSpeeder. Regards, Dennis Dwyer
    8/31/2019 6:04:10 PM Reply
    • @Dennis Dwyer: You're very welcome and thank you for your nice words about ScanSpeeder!
      9/3/2019 9:52:37 AM Reply
    • @SuperUser Account: Thanks for the reply. As I was rooting around and tinkering with scanning I also came across the "Add Text" button which allows for adding the caption information to the front of the photo in addition to the metadata. Now my question has been answered completely. That clinches it. I'm going to purchase ScanSpeeder Pro and start my massive scanner project. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say ScanSpeeder is the best thing since sliced bread, fire and the wheel!
      9/2/2019 6:54:01 PM Reply
    • @Dennis Dwyer: Hello Dennis. When you are scanning your photos with ScanSpeeder, you can deselect the "Add Text" button at the top of the Step 2 section so that the tags entered under the photos shown in Step 2 are only embedded as searchable meta data and not shown on the photo itself. If you later need to change the (invisible) tag metadata on a photo, you can do this by right clicking on the image file in Windows File Explorer > Properties > Details tab, then change the Subject and Title properties as needed. If you have photos that already have the text visibly added to them and you just want to remove the text but not alter the invisible meta data, use a photo editor that preserves the meta data after cropping off the visible text.
      8/31/2019 9:54:40 PM Reply
  • How many characters are available when you embed a caption? I have an Epson FastFoto ff-640, is the ScanSpeeder program compatible? I also have an HP office jet 5740 and HP Photosmart Plus. Thanks
    10/20/2018 3:58:35 PM Reply
    • @Kathy S Miller: Hello Kathy. ScanSpeeder will allow you to enter up to 500 characters in the tag. It will work with your flatbed scanners as long as you have the TWAIN or WIA scanner drivers installed. ScanSpeeder doesn't currently support photo feeders.
      10/22/2018 6:55:04 PM Reply

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