Supercharging Phone Skope Images With Text

Phone Skope image supercharged with text.

Taking photos is fun and enjoyable, but you can do so much more with them, which is why our friends at 1st Light Hunting Journal put together this article on supercharging Phone Skope images with text.

I love harvesting whitetail bucks, particularly mature ones. And with mature bucks comes extra challenge and legwork. It’s that very challenge that makes me enjoy the process of piecing information together through scouting and flat-out paying attention. 

To that end, I utilize trail cameras immensely as part of my deer hunting toolkit. More than that, I use the data that comes from their images. This means many hours of eye-straining sessions going through pictures. Don’t get me wrong, I love looking at deer images. However, it can be laborious. 

Just the other evening, I arduously panned through a seemingly endless series of game cam images in search of a buck named Dagger. He rarely appeared in any of the frames but I plodded on. So did a ton of images of wild hogs, birds, and even a small limb intent on triggering the camera. Sure, I had a couple of pictures of Dagger but they told me very little. For example, what direction had he come from?

The only thing that beats a good trail camera image of a buck is seeing them in person – with butt firmly planted in a blind or tree stand. I rarely do so without the aid of my Phone Skope adapter kit. It allows me to capture photos and videos of faraway deer without having to lug expensive camera equipment with me.  

But, with a little logic and creativity, it can do much more.

Like with trail camera photos, Phone Skope images can record data. 

How? By supercharging Phone Skope images with text.

For one, you can add text to images as you take them using the watermarking feature in the Phone Skope app. However, for more flexibility and functionality, you can add to your whitetail scouting game by pairing them with many of the watermarking (text-adding) apps currently on the market. This will allow you to overlay beneficial textual information onto your field photos. Time, location, temperature, moon phase – you name it.  Perhaps the best part is that, after adding your labels, you can easily file the images on your smartphone in a variety of ways, including by property, stand location or hit-list buck. Of course, you can also send them to your desktop where you can include them in the folder structure you choose.

Phone Skope image of a whitetail buck.

Why Add Text to Your Phone Skope-Magnified Images

Documentation and Inventory. Taking inventory of area bucks is one of the best scouting tools around. After all, recording data is far better than relying on memory.  While you don’t necessarily gather a huge volume of information from every sit, when you do, it’s reliable. After all, you are physically there in the moment. As mentioned, data points such as wind direction and stand location are useful information for deer hunters and game managers alike. 

Simplicity. Pairing your phone with your optics via a Phone Skope kit is far easier than operating trail cameras (all of which operate a little differently). You attach your device and optics to it, assume a steady position and you’re in business. Adding textual information is just icing on the cake. 

One-stop shopping. Let’s face it. Your time is valuable. Whether hunting or scouting, you’re likely doing so amid competing priorities. If you’re going to go out, you have an opportunity to learn. Why not document deer patterns and behaviors by adding the information right on top of your images?

Documenting the normally unseen. There are important variables other than actual deer sightings – ones that affect your area deer and hunting prospects. Examples include predators sabotaging the area and even the pesky hunting neighbor creating a ruckus on your fence line. All variables are important. The Phone Skope helps you to capture it. When you do, record it.

How to Pair Your Images with a Text-Adding App

The first step is to choose an app. There are many good watermarking apps in both the iPhone and Android marketplaces. Applications such as Typorama, After Photo, PicLab, and Phonto. Note that there are also apps for adding text to videos (such as Vont). I use Phonto and highly recommend it. It not only allows you to easily overlay text on your digital images, but it also features tools for enhancing the image itself. And like most of them, it’s free. Just go to either the iPhone or Android app store and download the application of your choice. 

Next, from your smartphone, open the app and choose the Phone Skope image from your photo library. For example, in Phonto, you choose the camera icon which takes you directly to your photo folders.

Type in the text you want. The app will likely allow you to choose text font, color, and size. It will also allow you to move it around to the desired area of the photo.

Now, simply save the image to your photo library on your phone.

Tips

First, for memory’s sake, document the information soon after you have captured it. If there is time, add text as you are taking the photo via the Phone Skope app. It doesn’t have to be pretty, just get as much information down as possible. Another option is to use the notes feature on your phone or jot it down on paper. These methods will allow you to overlay the text later via an app. 

Of course, you can create the textual photo during your sit if you have the time. It only takes a few minutes, depending on how creative you want to get.

Create a meaningful folder structure on your phone and/or desktop that works best for you. I like to organize my Phone Skope photos by hunting property. This will allow you to find them faster and analyze the data more efficiently.

Also, it’s a good idea to add your magnified images into logical folders where your trail camera photos already reside. This is a way to make the most of your findings and data points.

Finally, there are many uses for your Phone Skope images supplemented with informational text. Put them to use!  Referring to them during and across seasons can be a huge help in locating deer, specifically shooter bucks. The resulting photos are also valuable when sharing between fellow hunters or for outfitters and guides trying to keep tabs on bucks for their clients. 

Lastly, have fun! Adding descriptors to your Phone Skope images is a productive and actionable task to adds to your arsenal. Watermarking apps usually allow you to also add images such as logos.

Conclusion

Breathe new life into your whitetail intel. Your pursuit of shooter bucks hopefully already involves putting your optics to use (and if you’re smart, a Phone Skope digiscoping kit). By using watermarking-type apps with your photos, you’re leveraging Phone Skope’s unique ability to visually close the distance with whitetails. You will have the data to prove it – and hopefully, a big buck on the ground come fall.

While the Phone Skope digiscoping kit does the heavy lifting, adding descriptive text can be done from the stand or at home – on the very device that helped take the picture. This is an outstanding way to not only capture but document and organize images.  And it’s easy. It’s time to start supercharging Phone Skope images with text when you’re scouting for whitetail in the field. What are you waiting for?

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