Picture Editing in PowerPoint

Everything with Pictures in PowerPoint – Part 2

Picture Edits

Two fundamental techniques of image processing that you can utilize in PowerPoint are cropping images to create free-standing clipart and combining photos with standard shapes.

Creating Cropped Photo Clipart

Before diving into the cropping process, it’s essential to understand two key points about your photos:

• Quality Matters: Images with better contrast, sharpness, and vividness will yield better results.
• Challenges with Similar Colors: If your image has similar colors or is blurry, you may face difficulties producing a satisfactory free-standing image. Small or indistinct objects set against busy backgrounds can complicate this process further.

The automatic “Remove Background” feature works best with images that have clear surface areas and distinct background colors. To create a free-standing object effect, follow these steps:

1. Insert your picture.
2. Navigate to Format/Picture Tools and click on Remove Background on the left side of your screen.

For instance, the motorcyclist image has a neutral background with strong contrast, making it easy to separate the object. Once you click on Remove Background, a frame will appear, marking the elements to be deleted in violet.

You can preview how the object will look by checking the slide overview on the left.

In contrast, the system struggles with unclear picture elements. For example, the China Town image requires significant manual adjustment to click on various background parts. It’s crucial to work in small steps—while the desired result is achievable, it may require additional time and effort.

Using the street lamp example, subtle adjustments to the frame’s position can enhance the outcome. The first automatic removal is shown on the left, while adjusting the background frame leads to further improvements on the right.

The tools available at the top left corner include Mark Areas to Keep, Mark Areas to Remove, Delete Mark, Discard Changes, and Keep Changes. These options allow for detailed editing of your image. Enlarging the image while fine-tuning can be beneficial, but be cautious—making adjustments in one area may inadvertently affect others. Often, it’s better to leave out minor details that don’t significantly impact the overall image.

Creating a free-standing image is excellent for product information, advertising, or showcasing individual parts of an application. Enjoy crafting your own business clipart and harnessing this feature.

Form Combination Tools

Since PowerPoint 2010, new tools have emerged that enable you to combine shapes into various styles, enhancing the professional look of your presentations.

Setting Up Combination Tools

To begin, you need to add these tools to your PowerPoint:

1. Go to File, then Options, and select Quick Access Toolbar.
2. Choose commands from All Commands and find Shape Subtract, Shape Combine, Shape Union, and Shape Intersect.
3. Click on these items and add them to the right side of the box; then click OK.

These commands will now appear on the top left side of your screen, ready for use.

Using the Tools

First, insert a shape (like a rectangle) and an image. Then insert another shape (such as a circle) and overlay it on your image.

Shape Subtract

To subtract the smaller shape from the larger, hold the Shift key while selecting the shapes in this order: first the Rectangle, then the Circle, and finally click on the Shape Subtract command. The result will look something like this:

Shape Combine

Follow the same selection process to combine shapes: select the Rectangle, then the Circle, and click on the Shape Combine command. The image should appear without a frame.

If you wish to remove borders, select the image, go to Format/Picture Tools, then Picture Border, and choose No Outline.

Shape Union

To create a union of shapes, repeat the selection process: hold Shift, select the Rectangle, then the Circle, and click on the Shape Union command.

Shape Intersect

This option is particularly useful for creating professional bullet points. Select the shapes in the same way and utilize the Shape Intersect command. If the image doesn’t fit into the resulting shape, click on the image, then go to Crop and Fill.

Now you’re equipped to create custom clipart and combine images into various shapes, giving your PowerPoint presentations a polished and professional touch.