How to Create Transparent Image Effect in MS PowerPoint

Photo editing software will allow you to play with multiple photo effects on your PC. But not everyone needs complicated photo editing software. For something as simple as creating a transparent image effect, you can even use MS PowerPoint. Yes! We’ll show you how to make your presentations interesting.

We will show you how to use PowerPoint to edit photos and add transparency effect without leaving it. The transparent image effect allows you to merge two images. In this, the foreground will always be visible, crisp and sharp, including a background image.

Using this effect, you can add trees to the image of a field or use your imagination to create these transparent effect film posters. The possibilities are endless. In this guide, we are going to show you how to create a transparent image effect using PowerPoint. If this has intrigued you, let us check out the guide itself.

Create a transparent effect in PowerPoint

To get started, you should have downloaded two different images to your PC. Notably, one would be the background image and the other would be the foreground image. This is the first plane on which we will apply the transparency effect using MS PowerPoint.

Step 1: Open MS PowerPoint and use a blank template to start the procedure.

2nd step: In the top menu bar, click on the Insert tab and select the Image option to add an image to the template.

Step 3: Once the image is added, you need to remove the background elements. This is done only to keep the main figure of the image visible and remove the unwanted part of the image.

Again, on the top menu bar click on the Format tab and choose the Remove Background option.

Step 4: After clicking on Remove Background option, you will see that the added image will turn pink. Now MS PowerPoint will automatically remove the unwanted part of the image. However, to be precise, you can use the Mark areas to keep and Mark areas to delete options on the BACKGROUND REMOVAL tab.

Step 5: Once you are happy with the result, click the Keep Changes button under the Background Removal tab.

Step 6: Now it’s time to add the second image. But there is a trick. In order to change the transparency of the second image, you must first add a shape.

To do this, in the top menu bar, select Insert, then Shapes.

Step 7: You can add any shape you want. For our case, we will use the rectangle. Once the shape is selected, draw it on the model. It would look like the image below.

Step 8: Right-click on the added shape and select the Format Shape option from the list of options that appear.

Step 9: You will see a new Format Shape side menu appear on the right side. You need to select the image or texture fill option located inside Fill under Shape Options.

Step 10: You need to adjust the transparency of the image to your preference. You can also adjust the size of the foreground or background image to make it look nice.

Step 11: Finally, click on the Apply to All button at the bottom.

That’s it! You have just created a transparent image effect using MS PowerPoint. You can also modify the image by duplicating it and using different effects on it. To create a sharper transparent effect, you can bring the background image to the foreground. For a sharper background image, you can select the option to bring the image back.

You can do this by clicking the Forward or Rewind option in the Format option.

You can also add different artistic effects to your image by clicking on the Artistic Effects option located in the Format option. It will show a bunch of effects. You can click on it to try and check the real-time preview of the effects.

Transparency in presentations

With the steps mentioned above, you can easily create transparent image effect using PowerPoint. While ideally PowerPoint is not photo editing software, it is really cool to know that you can create artistic effects using the tool. There are plenty of photo effects to try out and make sure your presentations look cool and engaging.