How To Use Markup On Iphone

How to markup photos on iPhone or iPad

The excellent Markup ability in iOS allows iPhone and iPad users to write, draw, and markup on any photo or picture stored on their device. This offers a nice way to highlight or emphasize something on an image, and while it can be used for fun it's equally as useful for professional users as well to annotate images.

Markup is a fantastic feature but it's tucked away behind a nondescript button option in the photos editing features of iOS, so many users can overlook the markup ability without ever knowing it exists. If you don't find the ability using the instructions below, you likely need to update iOS to a newer version.

How to Markup Photos in iOS

The Markup ability exists in Photos app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, here's how you can access and use this great feature:

Open the Photos app and choose the picture you want to markup, draw, or write onto
Tap the photo again to reveal the toolbars, and then tap the Edit toolbar button (it looks like three sliders now, it used to say "Edit")

Tap the Edit button to markup a photo

Now tap the "(•••)" button to show additional editing options

Tap the extras button to markup a photo

Choose "Markup" from the additional editing options

Tap the Markup button to markup a photo

Use the markup tools to draw, write, emphasize, and scribble on the photo using the available options:

Drawing (the pen icon) – draw with your finger using any of the colors shown on screen, you can also adjust the thickness of the lines
Emphasize (the magnifying glass over a letter icon) – emphasize or magnify a portion of the picture
Write text (the T text icon) – place text on the picture and type using the regular iOS keyboard
Colors – choose which color to use
Undo (the reverse arrow icon) – undo the prior markup

The Markup photos tool options in iOS

When finished, tap on the "Done" button to finish marking up and drawing on the photo
Tap "Done" again to complete editing the picture and save the changes to the picture

Tap Done to save the markup edits

Once you have marked up a photo you can use your scribble, modifications, drawings, or whatever other masterpiece you have created like any other picture on an iOS device. This means you can send the marked up photo, post it to social media like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, email it to someone, embed in a notes app, or whatever else you want to do with it.

If you don't see the markup ability, be sure you have updated to the latest version of iOS available. The feature was introduced natively into the Photos app in iOS after the 10.0 release and thus will not exist in prior versions. Mac users will find a similar Markup feature in Mail for Mac, and of course can use Preview app to add text or annotations to images.

The Markup and photo editing features on iOS are numerous, the same editing panel section allows you to adjust light and color of photos, rotate, straighten, crop, remove red eye, digitally sign documents in iOS from Mail app, and much more.

Know of any great uses or tricks for the Photos Markup feature in iOS? Let us know in the comments!