Place An Image In Multiple Text Layers In Photoshop

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to place an image in text with Photoshop. But rather than just filling a single word or a single line of text, we'll take things further and learn a simple trick that lets you instantly place an image into two or more Type layers at once!

In a previous tutorial, we learned how to create a basic image in text effect, where we placed the image in a single word. To create the effect, all we had to do was make a copy of our image, move it above the Type layer, and then clip the image to the text using a clipping mask. But what if you have multiple words, each on a separate Type layer, that you need to fill with the same image? How do you place an image into two, three or more Type layers at the same time? In this tutorial, we'll look at the problem we run into, and the easy solution!

Here's what the final effect will look like, or at least one variation of it, with three words, each on separate Type layers, filled with the same image. We'll learn how to customize the effect by changing the background color, adding layer effects, and adjusting the transparency of the background, at the end of the tutorial:

Let's get started!

How To Fill Your Text With An Image

I'm using Photoshop CC but any recent version will work. You can get the latest Photoshop version here.

Step 1: Open your image

Open the image you want to place inside your text. I'll use this image (underwater coral reef photo from Adobe Stock):

Step 2: Add your text

Add your text to the document and position it where you need it in front of the image. If we look in the Layers panel, we see that I've already added some text, and each word ("UNDER", "THE" and "SEA") is on a separate Type layer. The image itself is on the Background layer below them. I'll turn the text on by clicking each Type layer's visibility icon:

And here we see all three words in front of the image. You'll want to use black as your type color for now, for reasons we'll see in a moment:

Step 3: Add a Solid Color fill layer above the Background layer

Let's add a background color for the effect. We'll use a Solid Color fill layer. This will make it easy to change the background to any color we like, as we'll see later. Click on the Background layer in the Layers panel to select it:

Then click the New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:

Choose Solid Color from the top of the list:

In the Color Picker, choose white, and then click OK:

Back in the document, our text now sits in front of a white background (which is why we chose black as the type color). We'll learn how to change the background color at the end of the tutorial:

And in the Layers panel, we see the Solid Color fill layer ("Color Fill 1") sitting between the Type layers and the Background layer, which is why the fill layer is currently blocking the image from view:

Step 4: Make a copy of the Background layer

We need to make a copy of the image and move it above the text. Click again on the Background layer to select it:

Make a copy of the Background layer by dragging it down onto the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:

When you release your mouse button, Photoshop makes a copy of the layer, names it "Background copy", and places it directly above the original:

Step 5: Drag the copy above the Type layers

Click on the "Background copy" layer and drag it above the Type layers. A highlight bar will appear above the Type layer at the very top:

Release your mouse button to drop the layer into place:

The problem: Placing one image into three Type layers

So far so good. But now we run into a problem. We have one image that needs to be placed not just in one word, but three, and each word is on a separate Type layer. How do we fill all three words with the image? If we had just a single Type layer, then all we would need to do to place the image inside the text is create a clipping mask. But watch what happens when I create one.

Creating a clipping mask

With the "Background copy" layer selected, I'll click on the menu icon in the upper right of the Layers panel:

Then I'll choose Create Clipping Mask from the menu:

And here we see the problem. Photoshop clips the image to the Type layer directly below it, which does place the image inside the text. But because the image is clipped to only one of the three Type layers, the image appears in only one of the three words, which isn't what we want:

Related: Learn all about clipping masks in Photoshop

Why it didn't work

If we look at the "Background copy" layer in the Layers panel, we see a small arrow beside its preview thumbnail pointing down at the Type layer below it (the layer that holds the word "UNDER"). This is how Photoshop tells us that the "Background copy" layer is clipped to the Type layer. But it's clipped to just that one Type layer, not all three. We need a way to clip the image to all three Type layers at the same time:

Releasing a clipping mask

Since that's not the effect we want, I'll undo the clipping mask by clicking once again on the menu icon in the upper right of the Layers panel and choosing Release Clipping Mask from the menu:

And now we're back to seeing just the image:

Step 6: Place the Type layers in a layer group

The solution is to place all of our Type layers into a layer group. That way, we can clip the image not to a single Type layer but to the entire group at once! Click on the Type layer at the top to select it:

Then, to select the other Type layers as well, press and hold your Shift key and click on the bottom Type layer:

Click the menu icon in the upper right of the Layers panel:

Choose New Group from Layers from the menu:

In the New Group from Layers dialog box, name the group "Text", and then click OK:

Back in the Layers panel, the Type layers now appear inside a layer group named "Text". Click on the arrow to the left of the folder icon to twirl the group open and view the layers inside it:

Step 7: Select the "Background copy" layer

Now that the Type layers are inside a group, we can clip the image to the entire group. Click on the "Background copy" layer to select it:

Step 8: Create a clipping mask

Click the Layers panel menu icon:

And then choose Create Clipping Mask from the list:

This time, Photoshop clips the "Background copy" layer not to a single Type layer but to the layer group itself:

And because we've clipped the image to the group, the image instantly appears inside all three words:

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Customizing the effect: Adding a Drop Shadow

Now that we've created the basic "image in text" effect, let's look at a few ways to customize it. One thing we can do is add a drop shadow to the text. And since we want the drop shadow to affect all of our Type layers at once, we'll apply it to the layer group itself. Click on the layer group to select it:

Then click the Layer Styles icon (the "fx" icon) at the bottom of the Layers panel:

Choose Drop Shadow from the list:

The Drop Shadow settings

This opens the Layer Style dialog box set to the Drop Shadow options. Adjust the Angle, Distance and Size of the shadow to your liking. Angle sets the direction of the light source. Distance controls how far the shadow will extend outward from the letters, and Size will feather the shadow edges. Then adjust the brightness of the shadow using the Opacity slider at the top.

In my case, I'll set the Angle to 75° to match the angle of the light beams in the water. Then I'll set both the Distance and the Size to 30px, and the Opacity to 40%. Click OK when you're done to close the dialog box:

And here's my effect with the drop shadow applied. Notice that because we've applied the drop shadow to the layer group, all of the Type layers inside the group are affected:

Customizing the effect: Changing the background color

Another way we can customize the effect is by changing the background color. Double-click on the color swatch for the Solid Color fill layer:

Then choose a different color in the Color Picker. I'll choose black:

And here's what the effect looks like with a black background:

Choosing a background color from the image

You can also choose a background color directly from the image inside the letters. With the Color Picker still open, move your mouse cursor over the image. Your cursor will change into an eyedropper. Click on a color to sample it and set it as the new background color. I'll choose a dark shade of blue from the diver's mask:

And here's what that color looks like as the new background:

I'll use the color I sampled, but I'll choose a much darker shade of it:

Click OK to close out of the Color Picker, and here's my effect with a dark blue background:

Customizing the effect: Adding transparency to the background

Finally, let's look at one more way to customize the effect, and that's by adding transparency to the background color. This will let some of the original image show through. With the Solid Color fill layer selected, lower the Opacity value in the upper right of the Layers panel. The more you lower it from its default value of 100%, the more you'll see the image through the background color. I'll lower mine to 85%:

This allows just a hint of the image to show through the blue background, creating my final effect:

And there we have it! That's how to place an image in text, and how to fill multiple Type layers with the same image, in Photoshop! Be sure to check out our Photo Effects and Text Effects sections for more tutorials!