Add Emojis to Photos on Your iPhone–the Easy Way! (2023)

Avoid third-party apps & add emojis to pictures using your iPhone Photos app.

What to Know

  • Use the iPhone Photos app to add emojis to your favorite images.
  • You can easily adjust the emoji size, rotate the emoji, and shift its position on the image. 

If you want to add some fun flair to your photos, adding emojis is a great way to start! As an added benefit, you can also use emojis to hide the face of a friend or child when you want to protect their privacy in photos shared online. In this article, we’ll show you the hidden trick to adding emojis to photos using the iPhone Photos app.

How to Add Emojis to Pictures using the Photos App

Adding emojis to images in the Photos app is easy, and the trick is that you first need to insert a text box. Then, you can add any emoji you like, rotate it, and change the emoji size. For more fun iPhone photography and photo editing tips, sign up for our free Tip of the Day Newsletter. Now, let's cover how to add an emoji to a photo:

  1. Open the Photos app and select the photo you want to add an emoji to.

    Open the Photos app, and select the photo you want to add an emoji to.
  2. Tap Edit in the upper right corner.

    Tap Edit.
  3. Tap the Markup icon.

    Tap the pen icon in the upper right.
  4. Tap the plus icon at the bottom of the screen.

    Tap the plus sign.
  5. Tap Text. This will insert a text box in your photo. 

    Tap Text.
  6. Double-tap the text box to edit the text field. 

    Double tap the text box to edit the text.
  7. When your keyboard appears, select the emoji you want to add, then tap anywhere outside the text box to close the keyboard.

    Select the emoji you want to use, and then tap anywhere outside the text box to close the keyboard.
  8. Tap the emoji on the photo to bring up the text editing menu.

    Tap the text box/emoji again to bring up the text editing menu.
  9. If you want to adjust the size of the emoji, tap the small aA icon in the lower left corner. 

    Tap the aA icon in the lower left.
  10. Drag the slider to increase or decrease the size of the emoji.

    Drag the slider to increase or decrease the size of the emoji to match the size of the subject’s face. 
  11. You can move the emoji by tapping the emoji and dragging it to a new position. To rotate the emoji, tap and hold the blue dots on the sides at the same time.

    Tap and hold both dots on the sides at the same time to rotate the emoji.
  12. Tap Done to close the editing menu once you're finished editing the photo. 

    Tap Done when you are finished.
  13. Tap Done one more time to save your changes.

    Tap Done again to save the photo.

Now you can easily add some fun emoji flair to your images! If you have an overwhelming number of photos on your iPhone, check out these easy ways to transfer photos from your iPhone to your computer

Master your iPhone in one minute a day: Sign up here to get our FREE Tip of the Day delivered right to your inbox.

Topics

Author Details

Rhett Intriago's picture

Author Details

Rhett Intriago

Rhett Intriago is a passionate writer and Apple enthusiast. When he’s not drafting iPhone Life articles, he prefers to spend his free time gaming with friends, watching anime with his wife, or playing with his three cats.