Adding png objects to jpg background?

Question

Adding png objects to jpg background?

I have obtained a copyright signature to put on the photos that I publish or print. It was sent to me as a .png file with a grey background, which I believe to be transparent. I tried to change the colour of the text but could not in the file that I was sent.

I would like to know how I can add this signature to a jpeg file once I have edited the photo for publication? Should I be able to change the colour of the text at that point so it will suit the colour of the photo?

I am using OSX 10.11.4, so I can no longer use iPhotos and have to work with the Photos app which is very much limited when it comes to using photos as e.mail attachments or putting them onto websites.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

MacBook Air, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on Jun 15, 2016 4:43 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

léonie

Level 10

195,019 points

Jun 15, 2016 7:14 PM in response to Englishteacher

Photos does not support graphics compositing. You cannot combine photos inPhotos. You will need an external editor to add your signature to your JPEG photo. You can do that in Preview for example.

Open the image with your signature, enter ⌘A to select all, enter ⌘C to copy the selection, then open the JPEG and paste the signature into the other photo. Drag it to the position you want. and drag the corners to resize it.

You can call Preview directly from Photos's Editing panel, if you purchase the "External Editors" extension from the AppStore. The current price is 99 cents.

See this link: External Editors in Photos Are Here

and Photo Editing Extensions for Photos for Mac

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Answer 2

Jun 15, 2016 7:18 AM in response to Englishteacher

PS, you can still use iPhoto if you want, as long as you have the latest version. But it is probably best to not look back.

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Answer 3

Jun 17, 2016 12:46 AM in response to Englishteacher

Thank you leonie. I use Pixelmator as my editor and save my files as jpeg. I also have the Preview extension.

Followed your instructions and can get the signature onto the photo in Preview. However, as the background is always different, how do I change the colour? Also, I have been unable to remove the signature from the photo. The colour wasn't right (too close to the background colour) but I could not remove it. Changing the size is a standard move.

And when I put the signature onto a photo through Pixelmator (after editing), I can't move it into position. It seems to be stuck. And again, the colour changing is an issue.

Do you have an answer for those issues too? I went through the whole menu in the top menu bar, but can't find anything that allows me to get these things done.

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Answer 4

léonie

Level 10

195,019 points

Jun 17, 2016 2:26 AM in response to Englishteacher

I'm not really sure about your workflow. if you are saving photos as JPEGS from Pixelmator, the resulting image file will have no layers, all added graphics will be flattened,and you cannot change the color of the text. To be able edit the background and the added graphic layers, you would need an image format that supports layers like PSD or TIFF.

Do the PNG files you are using for your watermark have a transparent background? Then it should not be necessary to change the background color. You can make the background transparent in preview.

Consider to buy a photo editing extension for Photos that will let you add watermarks directly from Photos. Watermarker 2 claims to be able to act as an extension for Photos, but I have not tested it.

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Answer 5

Jun 17, 2016 6:57 PM in response to léonie

Thanks Leonie for your patience.

My photos come off my camera as .jpg, and when I save a photo as .pxm I can't use it anywhere, neither can friends open it. So I make the default to save them as .jpg. I was under the impression that .jpeg is the same as .jpg.

My signature that I want to change the colour of is on a transparent background. However, the lettering is aqua/blue and on one photo it won't show up because the photo is a shade of green. I really need the signature in white. And the same may happen with other colours. It doesn't want to grab the attention, but it should be visible, that's why I want to know how to change the colour.

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