Bildbearbeitung in PowerPoint – Wissensstufe 4

Image editing in PowerPoint – Knowledge level 4

|Tom Schweitzer
SmartArt graphics let you quickly create visually appealing designs. Photos can also be used very effectively here. Naturally, the feature for automatically creating a photo album is also included. Many users utilize these automatic features to quickly create visually appealing slides or graphics of all kinds. This article will cover the following topics:
  • Incorporating images into SmartArt graphics
  • The PowerPoint photo album

Photos and SmartArt – Using graphics correctly

Insert photos into suitable SmartArt elements Regardless of which SmartArt graphic you choose, there are already several templates specifically designed for photos or graphics. Simply click the small icon in the center and insert your image from your hard drive. It will then appear immediately in the text menu that opens on the left. However, when working with SmartArt graphics, keep in mind that most settings apply to the entire graphic, and you have limited options for modifying details! You can move the photo placeholders, but you cannot change them in the layer concept, as this does not affect the SmartArt elements. Moving them outside the overall shape is also not possible. You can also insert photos into the placeholder area (blue) for the text, but these will be distorted depending on the format due to their height.
  • Choose neutral or calm backgrounds.
  • Before inserting a photo, crop it so that it fits and is not distorted (see ship). If, as in this case, the size is not 100% correct, the image will of course be enlarged.
  • Below you can see the distorted image on the left in the placeholder – the original photo is to the right.

Insert photos into other SmartArt pieces

You can of course insert photos in most other formats as well. However, depending on the format and template, you must always be aware of potential distortion problems (see the bus and phone booth in the graphic on the right). Other things you should pay attention to:
  • Photos inserted into extreme shapes (left triangle) often leave gaps due to the photo's proportions. If you instead use the "Arrange images side-by-side as a texture" option (checking the box for "Arrange images side-by-side"), the shape is filled, but the original photo is repeated at the triangle's points. Solution: Crop the photo (to fit) or adjust its position within the triangle using the image formatting settings (alignment/scale/offset).
  • In any case, make these adjustments at the desired final size of the SmartArt. If the SmartArt is later scaled down completely, the image crop will change (see top right) because the reference to the original proportions remains.
  • It is important to click on the correct element. Otherwise, the wrong element may be filled with an image (see bottom right: background filled).
  • Remember that you can also enhance the photos in a more conventional way. This includes, for example, transforming them into a three-dimensional design.

Insert multiple photos in one step

After placing several photos on the slide, you might sometimes decide to create a SmartArt graphic from them. This is possible by selecting multiple photos. Then select the desired SmartArt graphic via > Picture Tools Format > Picture Layout . As you hover your mouse over the different options, you'll see that if you pause briefly, the respective result is already displayed. After clicking, the photos are converted into SmartArt. ATTENTION! The order in which you click is important. The first click should be for the leading photo, which will then be set as the first element or treated as the main object. The size and position of the photo on the slide are irrelevant. The numbers correspond to the click order.

Working with the Photo Album Assistant

This feature has become quite popular because it allows you to quickly and automatically create a large number of photos grouped into an album. Use > Insert > Photo Album > Create New Photo Album to select the images in the file directory. Afterwards, you will see all the inserted photos in a list with their filenames, and depending on your selection, they may also be displayed on the right side of the screen.

Adjust settings in the (future) photo album

Here you can make corrections and rotate images, and under > Select window shape you can decide how the photos should be arranged on a slide. You can also define a text box for each image and choose the window shape. The option to select a design (bottom left) is particularly interesting. However, be careful not to choose a very busy design, as this will detract from the photos' impact.

Options after creating the photo album

Once finished, you can still edit the individual photos as usual. If you've forgotten a photo, you can also add it at this point by going to > Insert > Photo Album > Edit Photo Album , and the menu discussed above will reappear.

Create a photo album using a different option.

PowerPoint offers additional templates as standard. You can access these via File > New > Sample Templates . Unfortunately, these slides consist of various placeholders, and the photos are inserted distorted as a result. You will definitely need to make manual adjustments. Final note: To create a truly "beautiful" album, you'll need to do a lot of post-processing and design work on the photos, depending on your personal taste. However, if you already have some experience with PowerPoint, you might consider whether creating the slides in the usual way would be better and ultimately faster. Have fun and good luck trying it out!

An overview of our "Image Editing in PowerPoint" series: