Provided are an image processing device, an image processing method and program, and an imaging apparatus capable of assisting in capturing an image in which a character or a character string is laid out at the appropriate position. In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the image processing device includes a layout determination unit that determines a layout of the character or the character string in an image of the target image in accordance with meaning of the character or the character string; an assist information generation unit that generates imaging assist information for assisting in setting composition during imaging performed by the imaging unit; a synthesis unit that synthesizes the imaging assist information with the target image based on the determined layout; and a display control unit that displays the synthesized image on a display unit.