Text Behind Subject Effect
Create the viral text-behind-subject effect free, in your browser.
Drop an image here or click to choose
drop a photo with a clear subject (person, pet, object) — AI runs on your device
The effect is simple to describe and tedious to make by hand: a large word sits in the scene behind the person, and their shoulders, hair or hand overlap the letters, so the text looks like it is physically in the background. Magazine covers have done it for decades, and it now fills YouTube thumbnails, event posters and album art. The traditional method is a careful selection in an editor and three stacked layers. Here it is a single step.
An AI model picks out the subject of your photo, your words are drawn onto the background layer, and the subject is placed back on top. You choose the text, its size and its colour, and download a PNG. The model is downloaded to your browser the first time you use the page, and every photo after that is processed on your device without being uploaded.
The photo matters more than the settings. Use one with a clearly defined subject and some empty background behind the head or shoulders, keep the text to one or two words, and make it big enough that the subject covers part of a letter, because text that does not overlap anything just reads as a caption. Hair blowing in the wind, a busy background or a subject the same colour as the wall can leave a rough edge, as with any automatic cut-out.
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Frequently asked questions
- What photos work best?
- A clear subject against a distinct background — a person, pet or product — gives the cleanest cut and the most convincing 'behind' effect.
- Can I change the font and color?
- Yes — pick the font, size, color and position of the text so it fits your image perfectly.
- Can I make a YouTube thumbnail with this?
- Yes. Start from a landscape photo with the subject on one side, add one or two big words, download the PNG, then resize it to 1280×720, the size YouTube recommends for thumbnails.
- Why does the text look like it is in front, not behind?
- Because nothing overlaps it. The effect only reads as depth when part of the subject covers part of a letter. Make the text larger, or choose a photo where the subject fills more of the frame.
Related tools
🔒 Your files are processed on your device. This tool runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded.