Circle Picture in PowerPoint

One of the main reasons for even creating a presentation is to create stunning visuals for your audience. That goal is harder to reach when you choose a typical format for presenting your pictures. Why not stand out by creating amazing PowerPoint circle crops?

Now, there’s nothing wrong with using the default look for your images. But if you want to elevate the look of your presentations, learning how to make a picture a circle and other shapes in PowerPoint is essential. It only takes a couple of clicks to enhance any presentation’s aesthetic.

Have you ever wondered how presenters use PowerPoint to crop a picture into a shape? It’s actually quite simple! This tutorial will walk you through the steps to change the shape of a picture in PowerPoint, as well as explore other ways to showcase your images effectively.

Let’s dive into this tutorial so you can learn how to make a circle picture in PowerPoint.

How to Crop a Picture Into a Circle

The steps for this circles and shapes image crop PowerPoint tutorial work with every slideshow, but we’ll be using the minimal Muli template, which is included as part of your subscription to Envato Elements.

If you’re a subscriber, download this template and follow along! It will be a useful timesaver while you learn how to crop a picture into a circle.

Step 1

First, open your slideshow and add an image to your slide. Click the Insert tab from the ribbon, then choose Pictures. This will open a dropdown menu where you can select Picture from File… if you already know the image’s location.

For those following along with Muli, simply select the image placeholder to choose a picture from your computer. We’ll use a hiking image for this PowerPoint circle crop tutorial.

Step 2

Now, select the image you want to crop into a circle. From the ribbon, click Picture Format. You’ll see Crop as one of the options. Instead of clicking the Crop option directly, click the arrow next to it.

From this menu, choose Crop to Shape. The first option under Basic Shapes is an Oval, which we’ll use here.

And just like that, you’ve successfully created a PowerPoint circle crop!

How to Adjust Your PowerPoint Circle Crop

As you can see, learning how to make a circle picture in PowerPoint is quite easy. All it takes is a few clicks. But what if you want to know how to change the shape of a picture in PowerPoint? You’ll be pleased to know that it’s just as simple.

Step 1

Return to the Crop button we used earlier, making sure your image is selected. This time, instead of clicking the arrow next to the button, click Crop.

This action will reveal black crop handles on the edges and corners of your picture. You can drag any of these handles to adjust the circle crop in PowerPoint.

Dragging a handle on a side will only affect that side of the image, while dragging a corner will affect the two adjacent sides simultaneously. Experiment with it to see how much you can stretch the circle crop in PowerPoint.

How to Use Other Image Masking Options in PowerPoint

Now that you know how to crop an image into a circle in PowerPoint, let’s explore some additional options available for image masking.

Crop Images Into Circles and Other Shapes

PowerPoint’s Crop to Shape function offers various shape options. These shapes are categorized into groups, such as Rectangles, Block Arrows, and Stars and Banners. If a PowerPoint circle crop doesn’t fit your presentation topic, consider trying one of the other shapes.

Crop to Fit or Fill Shapes

After cropping your image to a shape, you can make further adjustments. From the Crop dropdown, you’ll find two options at the bottom: Fill and Fit.

• Fill allows your picture to fill the entire shape, cropping part of your image in the process and focusing on a specific area.
• Fit, on the other hand, will make your picture fit within the boundaries of the shape, allowing more of your image to be visible but potentially leaving some empty space inside the shape.

Crop to Aspect Ratio

Another option in the Crop dropdown is Aspect Ratio. This allows you to crop your image into a rectangle instead of a circle, but it’s still worth exploring. You can select the Original aspect ratio or opt for Square, Portrait, or Landscape orientations. Different aspect ratios can give your presentation a unique feel, so try different options to see what suits your needs best.