Until recently, pictures in PowerPoint didn’t have a transparency setting for photo/raster images. Transparency could be adjusted on shapes, and for creative presentation designers, a shape fill could be set to be a photo, which would then let the transparency to be adjusted (lots of work, but a hack solution!).

As of late October 2018, image transparency is a real thing in PowerPoint Office 365 version!

When an image is selected, there is a new TRANSPARENCY tool on the ribbon.

  1. Format tab
  2. Transparency in the Adjust section
  3. Preset transparency options, or click “Picture Transparency Options”

On the format pane, the Transparency options allow the amount of transparency to be adjusted. Go to Format Picture > Picture > Picture Transparency.

Here is an image  on a blue background slide. First it is the default opaque (0% transparency) and then  semi-transparent (30% transparency).

Troy @ TLC