How to Add a Dialogue Balloon to a Photograph

Dialogue balloons can be as simple or intricate as you wish.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but if you want it to actually say something to the viewer, you should consider adding speech bubbles to the photo. Speech bubbles are little white bubbles with a point that indicates which person is speaking. Inside the white bubble, you add words to help portray your message. Due to the comic look of the speech bubbles, they are usually only added to humorous photos but you can fit them in almost any image you desire.

Things You'll Need

• Photo
• Printer
• Pen
• Tracing paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Thick paper
• Super glue
• Copier

Instructions

1. Print two copies of the image you will alter. Never alter the original image just in case you don't like your edited copy. One of the copies allows you to map out where you will put your speech bubbles and the other one is the copy where you will attach the speech bubbles.

2. Write your message on the planning photo (the photo where you determine the placement of the speech bubbles) at the approximate location where you would like to stick your speech bubbles.

3. Place a piece of tracing paper over the picture. Draw a circle around the writing on the page to determine approximately how large your speech bubbles must be. Cut out the circle after you finish creating it.

4. Lay the tracing paper circle on a sheet of thicker paper. Use the tracing paper as a stencil and draw a circle onto the thicker paper.

5. Write in the wording of each dialogue bubble with pen. Take your time and make the writing legible. Take this opportunity to alter the size of the dialogue bubbles if you need.

6. Cut out the new circles on the thick paper once the pen ink dries. Coat the back of these new dialogue circles with fast drying super glue. Press these dialogue balloons to the unaltered image at their appropriate locations.

7. Recopy the image with the added dialogue bubbles to get a smooth copy.