---
title: "Read text from an image aloud on a Mac with Live Text"
description: "How to get text out of a photo or screenshot on a Mac with Live Text in Photos or Safari, then have it read aloud with Speak selection. Free, built in, no OCR app needed."
url: "https://speechbee.app/guides/read-text-from-image-mac"
---

# Read text from an image on a Mac

A photo of a sign, a screenshot of a page, a picture of a menu: your Mac can pull the text out with Live Text and then read it aloud. Both are built in. Here's how to do it in two steps.

By the SpeechBee team, who make SpeechBee. Checked against Apple's guides on 12 October 2026.

> ### The short version
>
> 1. Open the image in **Photos** or **Safari**, select the text, Control-click and choose **Copy Text** (or **Copy**).
> 2. Paste it anywhere, select it, and press **Option-Esc** with Speak selection turned on.

## Step 1: copy the text with Live Text

**In Photos:** open a photo that shows text, move the pointer over the text, select it, Control-click and choose **Copy Text** (or press Command-C).

**In Safari:** go to an image with text, drag across the text to select it, Control-click and choose **Copy**.

Live Text can also look up, translate, or act on phone numbers, email addresses and links in the image.

## Step 2: have it read aloud

1. Turn on **Speak selection** in **System Settings**, **Accessibility**, **Read & Speak**.
2. Paste the text into Notes or TextEdit, select it, and press **Option-Esc**.

## Scanned documents and printed books

For a multi-page scanned PDF, a reader with OCR is easier: NaturalReader's paid plans and Speechify's Scan & Listen both read scanned pages. See [read a PDF aloud on a Mac](https://speechbee.app/guides/read-pdf-aloud-mac).

## A natural voice for what you copied

SpeechBee, which we make, reads selected text in any Mac app with a natural voice that runs on your Mac. It doesn't read images directly, so copy the text with Live Text first, then select it and press your reading key.

## Questions

### Can a Mac read text from a picture?

Yes. Use Live Text in Photos or Safari to copy the text, then have Speak selection read it with Option-Esc.

### Do I need an OCR app on a Mac?

Not for a photo or screenshot; Live Text is built in. For long scanned documents, a reader with OCR saves time.

## Keep reading

- [How to make your Mac read text aloud](https://speechbee.app/guides/text-to-speech-on-mac)
- [How to read a PDF aloud on a Mac](https://speechbee.app/guides/read-pdf-aloud-mac)
- [How to have text read aloud](https://speechbee.app/guides/read-text-aloud)

## More on reading aloud

- [Every read-aloud guide and comparison](https://speechbee.app/guides/read-text-aloud)
- [Type to speak on Mac](https://speechbee.app/guides/type-to-speak-mac)
- [Best text to speech for Mac](https://speechbee.app/compare/best-text-to-speech-app-mac)
- [Speechify vs SpeechBee](https://speechbee.app/compare/speechify-vs-speechbee)
- [NaturalReader pricing](https://speechbee.app/compare/naturalreader-pricing)
- [Speechify alternatives](https://speechbee.app/compare/speechify-alternatives)
- [Every dictation guide and comparison](https://speechbee.app/guides/voice-typing-mac)

## Sources

All checked on 12 October 2026.

- [Apple: Use Live Text to interact with text in a photo on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/pht6bc6bd5f5/mac)
- [Apple: Interact with text in a picture in Safari on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/ibrw20183ad7/mac)
- [Apple: Have your Mac speak text that's on the screen](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/have-your-mac-speak-text-thats-on-the-screen-mh27448/mac)
- SpeechBee facts from our [homepage](https://speechbee.app/) and [privacy policy](https://speechbee.app/privacy)