How to Add a Photo to an Existing Page in a PDF Using macOS Preview

Source: Dev.to

Overview

Preview on macOS doesn’t provide a visible “Insert Image” button, but you can paste a photo as a movable, resizable object directly onto an existing PDF page using a hidden workflow.

Step‑by‑step guide

1. Open the image

• Double‑click the photo to open it in Preview.

2. Copy the image

• Press ⌘A to select the entire image.
• Press ⌘C to copy it to the clipboard.

3. Paste the image onto itself

• While still in the image window, press ⌘V.
• A duplicate “object” layer appears on top of the original image, marked by a bounding box with blue corner dots.

4. Copy the new object layer

• Click the newly pasted image layer so the blue corner dots are active.
• Press ⌘C to copy this specific object (not the whole document).

5. Open the PDF you want to edit

• Switch to the PDF document (also opened in Preview).

6. Select the target page

• Click in the middle of the actual PDF page where you want the image to appear.
• Do not click the thumbnail in the sidebar, otherwise Preview will create a new page instead of inserting the image.

7. Paste and adjust

• Press ⌘V. The image drops onto the selected PDF page.
• Drag the image to position it and use the blue corner dots to resize it as needed.

8. Save the PDF

• When you’re satisfied with the placement, press ⌘S to save the updated PDF.