Music can add atmosphere and interest to anything – even still photos! If you want to make a video for your new song, a simple advertisement, or send a voice recording with a digital postcard, you might want to add music to a still photo.

In this article, I'm going to show you how to accompany your photos with music using a free online tool called Kapwing. I recommend using Kapwing as it supports all multimedia types: audio files, videos, pictures, overlays, stickers, and more. It's perfect for mixing files like photos and music together into one. Kapwing's Studio is also free and works on all devices.

To add music to your photos, follow these 4 steps:

1. Find your photo(s) & music
2. Upload your photo(s) to the Kapwing Studio
3. Add your music
4. Export & download

Step 1: Find Your Photo(s) & Music

Before you get started, you'll need to know where to find your materials. If you want to use a photo that's stored somewhere online like Facebook, Instagram, or Google Drive, just copy the link to the the photo (if it's in Google Drive, make sure the link is shareable). For your music, you can copy the link to any song from SoundCloud, YouTube, or Google Drive, as well!

And if you're using photos or music that you have saved to your device, just make sure you know where they're located in your file browser. It can be a good idea to make a separate folder for the files you want to use, especially if you're planning to use several photos or music tracks.

Step 2: Upload Your Photo(s) to the Kapwing Studio

Once you have your links and files ready, head over to Kapwing.com and click "Get Started." Or, if you're already signed in, click "New Project," then "Start with Studio." This will take you to the Kapwing Studio, where you can use all of Kapwing's video and photo-editing tools in one place.

To upload a picture from your computer, phone, or tablet, you can select the button that says “Click to upload” and find the file you want to edit in your file browser. You can also find the picture in your file browser or Photos app and simply drag & drop it into the Studio window.

In my example, I used the Images search tool to find a stock photo of the Northern Lights to combine with my Soundcloud song.

And if you want to use a picture you found online, click on the field that says “Paste an image or video URL.” Now, right click (or just tap one more time if you're editing on your phone or tablet) on the field and select “Paste.” Kapwing will work its magic and upload your photo to the Studio.

If you have multiple images that you want to add photos on, I recommend using the "Scenes" tool at the bottom of the toolbar. From scenes, click the purple "Edit Scenes" button.

Kapwing's scenes editor allows you to bulk upload all of your photos at once. After uploading the images, click the "Add Audio" track to upload music.

Step 3: Add Your Music

Once you've uploaded your photo to the Studio, you're ready to add your music. Kapwing's Studio supports a single audio track or multiple audio tracks.

Select "Audio" from the side toolbar. Now, you have many options to import a song on your video. Click "Upload" to select a file that you've saved on your device or paste a link from YouTube, SoundCloud, or another place online. If you upload a video, Kapwing will automatically extract the audio track from the audio to use as an overlay for the photo.

You can also browse Kapwing's library of stock audio tracks and use the filters to narrow to a specific song mood or tone, making it easier to select background music for your video. Creators can also choose to record a track as a voiceover or cover on their photo.

Once you've added audio on your photo, use the timeline to make edits to the sound track. Change the start and end time of the audio if you want to clip to a specific part of the song, like the chorus, or shorten it for a social media platofrm (TikTok, Instagram Reels, etc). Use the audio waveforms as a guide to know where to clip the sound track.

Kapwing's sound editor supports as many audio layers as you want to add. Add sound effects, combine clips, and collage together sounds for an origianl sound track. There are also options to change the speed of the audio or adjust the volume to make your music softer.

While you're in the Studio, creators can use Kapwing's tools to change the visual layout of the video. For example, you could add and edit text, upload pictures and overlays, insert elements, and resize the output MP4.

In my example, I added white text with a subtle drop shadow and an animated effect to the beginning part of the video. This label serves as attribution to the musician that created the audio.

Step 4: Export & Download

Once you've edited your photos and music to perfection, click "Export" in the top right corner of the Studio window. Kapwing will process your video as an MP4 file that you can save and share.

Once your video has finished processing, click "Download" to save it to your device. If you haven't done so already, use a Google or Facebook account to log in to remove the Kapwing watermark for free and save your project to the cloud. And if you want to send your video to friends, family, or followers, click "Copy Link" to get a short and shareable link to your content.

Remember to tag us @KapwingApp whenever you share your content on social media– we love to see what our creators are passionate about! And be sure to subscribe to the Kapwing Resources page – we’re constantly writing new tutorial and features to help you make the most out of Kapwing.

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