Guide
How to add captions to a photo slideshow with a voiceover on iPhone
Updated
To add captions to a photo slideshow with a voiceover on iPhone, first save the slideshow as a video with your narration recorded onto it, then open that video in CaptionAddr, let it transcribe the English speech on the iPhone, fix names and misheard words in Edit Captions, place the captions clear of each photo and export a captioned copy to Photos. Videos up to 2 minutes are free; CaptionAddr Pro covers up to 30 minutes.
Why caption a narrated slideshow
A slideshow of photos with your voice telling the story is an easy way to share a trip, a year in review, a family milestone or a before-and-after project. In social feeds most of these play with the sound off, so without captions the story you recorded never reaches the viewer. Captions also help viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing follow along.
This guide is for slideshows that already have spoken narration. For clips you film on the move, see the travel vlog guide; for recorded toasts and speeches, the wedding toast guide. CaptionAddr burns the captions into the picture, so they show wherever you post.
Caption a photo slideshow on iPhone
- Save the slideshow as a video with your voice. Put the photos in order in your editing app, record your narration over them and save the result to Photos as a video. CaptionAddr opens videos, not photos or albums, and captions come from the English speech in the video.
- Choose the video. Tap Select Video in CaptionAddr and pick the slideshow with Apple’s Photos picker. Vertical, square and landscape videos all work, and the video keeps its shape.
- 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.
- Fix names and words. Names of people, pets and places are easy to mishear. Correct them in Edit Captions, and delete words you don’t want captioned. You can edit, delete and reorder words, with undo and redo.
- Style and place the captions. Choose one of the 20 fonts and a size that reads on a phone, turn on the tinted background so words stay readable over bright and dark photos, and drag the captions into the part of the frame that faces cover least.
- Export and post. Tap Export Video to save the captioned copy to Photos, then upload it to TikTok, Reels, Shorts or any other app, or send it to family. The watermark is off unless you turn it on.
Tips for slideshow captions
- Keep music low or out. Background music under your voice can make words harder to hear; record the narration with the music quiet, or add music only where you aren’t talking.
- Record close to the microphone. A voiceover recorded in a quiet room close to the iPhone captions more reliably than one recorded across a room.
- Match the words to the photos. Talk about each photo while it is on screen, so the captions and the picture tell the same part of the story.
- Leave room for the captions. If you crop photos for a vertical video, leave space above or below the main subject for the caption line.
- Keep your original. CaptionAddr exports a new copy and leaves the original slideshow video in your library.
Limits
- Videos only. CaptionAddr doesn’t build slideshows and doesn’t open still photos or albums; make the slideshow video first.
- Speech only. CaptionAddr captions spoken English. It doesn’t caption music or sound effects, and it doesn’t read text shown in the photos.
- 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 are no speaker labels, full-sentence layouts or manual per-word timing, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words.
- No audio changes. The app doesn’t remove background 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. 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
How do I add captions to a photo slideshow on iPhone?
Save the slideshow as a video with your voiceover recorded onto it, open it in CaptionAddr, generate captions on your iPhone, fix names in Edit Captions, then choose a style and export a captioned copy to Photos.
Can CaptionAddr caption photos directly?
No. CaptionAddr opens videos only and makes captions from speech in the video. Turn the photos into a video with your narration first, then caption that video.
Can I add captions to a slideshow without a voiceover?
No. A slideshow with only music has no speech to transcribe, and you can only fix, delete or reorder the transcribed words. Record yourself telling the story, then caption the video.
Will background music affect the captions?
It can. Loud music under your voice makes words harder to recognize. Keep the music quiet while you talk, and correct any misheard words in Edit Captions.
Will there be a watermark on my video?
No watermark is required. A small CaptionAddr watermark is optional and off unless you turn it on.