How to add captions to a nail tech or nail art video on iPhone

Why caption nail videos

Nail videos, such as a full set from start to finish, a nail art design breakdown, a shape and length consultation or a client reveal, are watched in a feed with the sound off, often by people saving ideas for their next appointment. Captions let viewers read each step, shape and color as you say it, and they help viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing.

This guide is for nail techs and nail artists explaining their work at the table. For cuts and color in the chair, see the hairstylist and barber guide; for chatty routines filmed at home, the GRWM guide. CaptionAddr burns the captions into the picture, so they show wherever you post.

Caption a nail video on iPhone

1. Talk between the loud parts. Keep the iPhone close and explain each step with the drill, fan and dust collector off, or record a voiceover over the set afterward. Captions come from your speech, so words said over a whirring tool may be missed or come out wrong.
2. Choose the video. Tap Select Video in CaptionAddr and pick the clip with Apple’s Photos picker. Vertical, square and landscape videos all work, and the video keeps its shape.
3. Let the captions generate. Captions start as soon as the video opens; keep the app open; the English speech is transcribed on your iPhone, not on a server.
4. Fix nail terms and remove stray words. Shape names, technique names, color and finish names, lengths and salon slang are the words most likely to come out wrong, and anything your client or the room says is captioned too. Correct or delete those words in Edit Captions. You can edit, delete and reorder words, with undo and redo.
5. Keep the nails in view. Choose one of the 20 fonts and a size that reads on a phone, turn on the tinted background over a busy table, and drag the captions where they don’t cover the hand, the brush or the finished design.
6. Export and post. Tap Export Video to save the captioned copy to Photos, then upload it to TikTok, Reels, Shorts or any other app. The watermark is off unless you turn it on.

Tips for nail video captions

• Name the set first. Say the shape, length and design in the first seconds, so the first captioned words tell viewers what they’re about to see.
• Spell out the look in words. Captions only show what you say, so name each color, finish and accent nail out loud instead of only showing it.
• Remove a client’s name. Delete a name from the captions in Edit Captions if you’d rather not show it; the name stays in the audio, so leave it unsaid if it shouldn’t be heard either.
• Delete table chatter. Remove words the app picks up from music, other stations or the front desk in Edit Captions.
• Keep your original. CaptionAddr exports a new copy and leaves the original clip in your library.

Limits

• Every voice is captioned. Your voice and your client’s voice both become captions, with no speaker labels to tell them apart.
• Captions only. The app doesn’t add color swatches, design labels, service menus, booking details or titles, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words.
• English only. CaptionAddr transcribes English speech and doesn’t translate.
• Single-word captions. Words appear one at a time, timed automatically, always in uppercase; there is no full-sentence layout or manual per-word timing.
• No noise removal. The app doesn’t remove drill, fan or salon noise or change the audio; deleting a word removes it from the captions only.
• Length. Free covers videos up to 2 minutes; CaptionAddr Pro covers up to 30 minutes, so trim a long full set into shorter clips first. The App Store shows the current Pro price in your currency.
• Burned-in captions only. There is no SRT, VTT or text export, and the app doesn’t post to social platforms.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• How to add captions to a hairstylist or barber video on iPhone
• How to add captions to a get ready with me (GRWM) video on iPhone
• How to add captions to TikTok videos

All caption guides →