You don’t need Photoshop to create eye-catching visuals for your slides – PowerPoint already packs a surprisingly deep set of picture-editing tools. From instant background removal to advanced shape-masking, the following image editing tricks will help you transform ordinary photos into polished, on-brand graphics – right inside the app you use every day.

1. Remove Backgrounds in Seconds

  1. Select the image – Picture Format > Remove Background.
  2. Use “Mark Areas to Keep/Remove” to fine-tune.
  3. Click Keep Changes – PowerPoint auto-creates a transparent PNG on the slide.

Why it rocks: Perfect for cutting products or people out of busy photos without leaving the program.

  • Alt Text: “PowerPoint Remove Background tool highlighting subject”
  • Caption: “One-click background removal inside PowerPoint.”
Remove Background

2. Crop Pictures to Custom Shapes

  • Insert or select an image – Picture Format > Crop > Crop to Shape.
  • Choose circles, arrows, stars-anything in the gallery.
  • Combine with Aspect Ratio for perfectly sized headshots or icons.
Remove Background

3. Merge Shapes for Cut-Out Effects

  1. Place a shape over your image.
  2. Select both objects – Shape Format > Merge Shapes – Intersect (keeps overlap) or Subtract (punches a hole).

Create trendy text-mask posters, custom icons, or logo reveals—no external editor required.

4. Add Artistic & Color Effects

Inside Picture Format > Artistic Effects you’ll find pencil sketches, glow edges, and more. Pair with Color > Eyedropper to match brand palettes and maintain visual consistency.

Artistic Effects - Image Editing Tricks

5. Fine-Tune Exposure Quickly

Open Picture Corrections Options to tweak brightness, contrast, and sharpness. Use the live thumbnail previews to avoid washed-out or muddy photos.

6. Align & Layer Like a Designer

  • Select multiple images – Picture Format > Align for pixel-perfect spacing.
  • Open Home > Arrange > Selection Pane to rename layers and drag elements above/below each other-essential when building complex mock-ups.
Picture Align

7. Create Subtle Motion with Morph

Duplicate a slide, resize or reposition your image, then apply the Morph transition. In Slide Show view PowerPoint animates between the two states, producing a smooth zoom or pan without manual keyframes.

8. Keep File Size Under Control

Click any image – Picture Format > Compress Pictures.

  • Un-check “Apply only to this picture” to batch-compress.
  • Choose 150 ppi for on-screen decks or 220 ppi for print-ready quality.

Smaller decks load faster, email without bouncing, and run smoothly on older laptops.

9. Export Transparent Slide Assets

Need standalone graphics? File > Save As > PNG and tick “Just This One” to export a transparent image of the active slide – great for social posts or handouts.

Need the latest version of PowerPoint? Grab a genuine Office 2021 or Office 2024 license at a discount from CheapKeys and start creating more dynamic presentations today.

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