How to get a Photoshopped look by fading in an image

Adobe® Photoshop® can create great effects, but you might not have or know the program. You can get a nice Photoshopped look in PowerPoint by fading in an image on a slide, like this:

While PowerPoint doesn’t have this feature directly, you can add a rectangle with a transparency gradient that gradually reveals more and more of the image. First, I give you the instructions in writing, then I have a video that you can watch of me creating this effect in PowerPoint 2010.

1. Insert the image

Use a solid background for your slide. Then, insert an image that doesn’t take up the entire slide.  Decide which side of the image you want to fade in. In the above slide, I placed the image on the right side of the slide and wanted to fade in the left side.

Move the image to the back of the order because you want it to be behind the text and the transparency gradient. Right-click it and choose Send to Back>Send to Back (or Order>Send to Back)

Complete the rest of the slide if you haven’t already done so.

2. Add a rectangle

Insert a rectangle. It will be on top  of the image, but might also be on top of other text or content on the slide. It needs to be on top of the image, but below other content. If it’s on top of the other content, right-click the rectangle and choose Send to Back>Send Backward (or Order>Send Backward).

Place the rectangle on the side of the image that you want to fade in. For a left fade,  resize it to the same height as the image.  The rectangle’s width should cover about one-half of the image’s width. I’ve selected the rectangle so you can see its boundary. (Yours will probably be a different color, but you’ll change that in the next step.)

3. Add a transparency gradient

To remove the border, right-click the rectangle again and choose Format Shape (Format AutoShape in PowerPoint 2003).

• In PowerPoint 2007 and 2010, click the Line Color category and choose No Line.
• In PowerPoint 2003, On the Colors and Lines tab of the Format AutoShape dialog box, click the Line Color drop-down list and choose No Line.

To create the transparency gradient, you’ll create a gradient fill. Here are the steps for all 3 PowerPoint versions. The instructions assume a fade-in on the left, as shown in the above slide.

PowerPoint 2010 and 2013

1. Click the Fill category and choose Gradient Fill. By default, you’ll have 3 gradient stops (places where the gradient changes).
2. Set the Angle to 0%.
3. I removed a stop.  To remove the middle stop, just drag it off the bar. But 3 stops can give you more flexibility and control.
4. Click the leftmost stop and choose the slide background color from the Color drop-down list. Set the Transparency to 0% (which is probably what it already is). It’s position should be 0% (all the way to the left).
5. Set the 2nd stop to the same color and set the Transparency to 100%. Set the Position to 100% (all the way to the right).

Here you see how the settings look in PowerPoint 2010. Feel free to adjust the placement of the stops to get the result you like.

PowerPoint 2007

1. Click the Fill category and choose Gradient Fill. By default, you’ll have 3 gradient stops (places where the gradient changes).
2. Set the Angle to 0%
3. I deleted the middle stop. Click the Gradient Stops drop-down list, and choose Stop 2. Then click the Remove button.
4. From the drop-down list of stops, choose Stop 1 and choose the slide background color from the Color drop-down list. Set the Transparency to 0% (which is probably what it already is). Its Stop Position should be 0%.
5. Set the 2nd stop to the same color and set the Transparency to 100%. The Stop Position should be 100%.

PowerPoint 2003

1. In the Format AutoShape dialog box’s Colors and Lines tab, click the Fill Color drop-down box and choose Fill Effects.
2. On the Gradient tab, choose One Color.
3. From the Color 1 drop-down list, choose the slide background color.
4. In the Transparency section’s To box, set the transparency to 100%.
5. In the Shading Styles section, choose Vertical
6. Choose the upper-left variant and click OK twice.

Watch a video of me creating this effect!

Have you used this technique? Leave a comment!