SlideBlog

Did you know that you can save one or more slides as images in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010. It is actually pretty easy.

You can either save all slides as images at the same time or do one slide at a time. Let us start by looking at how to save all slides at the same time.

1. Open the SlideShow you want to save as images

2. Go to the “File” tab (backstage) and click on “Save As”

3. A Save As dialog box will show up. Browse to the folder where you want the images to be saved. At the bottom click on the drop-down menu “Save As Type:”.

4. Scroll down to the type of image format you would like

• GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
• JPEG (File Interchange Format)
• PNG (Portable Network Graphics Format)
• TIFF (Tag Image File Format)
• BMP (Device Independent Bitmap)
• WMF (Windows MetaFile)
• EMF (Enhanced Windows MetaFile)

5. Choose “File name” and click “Save”

6. A new dialog shows up asking with 3 buttons: “Every Slide”, “Current Slide Only” or “Cancel”. Since we are saving all slides in the SlideShow as images we choose “Every Slide”

7. A confirmation message shows up telling us that all our slides have been saved as a separate image. Click “OK”.

If we go to the folder shown in the confirmation message, the same one we choose in step 3, we will see a new folder with the “File name” we provided in step 5. Inside this folder will be one image file for each slide in our presentation.

If you only wanted to save one of your slides as an image just choose “Current Slide Only” in step 6. You will then have the opportunity to name the file something of your choosing. This as opposed to when saving all slides the names of the files will be “SlideX” where X is the slide number.

This is a really neat feature if you want to post an image of a slide or a whole SlideShow on your blog or online. It can also be used if you make a nice drawing or diagram in PowerPoint that you want to use in a page layout software for a brochure or magazine. There are probably many more times when saving your slides as image files can be useful. How do you use this feature?

The rule of thirds is composing your photos based on a simple grid of thirds. This is a trick used by movie producers, graphic designers and professional photographers. When used with slides it means to dived the slide into thirds both horizontally and vertically as can be seen on the image to the right. The points created at the intersections of the vertical and horizontal lines are actually called power points. The primary element is then positioned on one of these power points.

Using the rule of thirds leads to aesthetically pleasing and professional looking imagery. It helps to create a composition that is balanced, possesses energy , and creates more interest than simply centering the featured element.

When the primary element is so strong as to imbalance the composition, consider centering the element rather than using the rule of thirds, especially when the strength of the primary element is reinforced by the surrounding elements or space. If the surrounding elements of space do not reinforce the primary element, use the rule of thirds and add a secondary element to the opposing intersection of the primary element to bring the composition to balance.

Below is a Before and After showing the difference the rule of thirds can have when used on slides.

Before:

After:

Image Credit: harper07

Sources: Universal Principles of Design, Slideology,

Sometimes when using an image on your slide, the image has a natural “horizon”. By that I mean it has a natural line that divides, separates or guides in the image. The most obvious example is an actual horizon, but it could be anything.

When placing text on top of such an image it can add a nice effect and be more dramatic and powerful to align the text along this “horizon”. It can add a little more excitement to the slide and break away from the traditional and make the slide more interesting. Below is a Before and After showing the difference when applying this technique to a slide.

Before:

After:

Image Credit: ctechs

When illustrating or making a point on a slide about something that is big or tall or wide it can be a really powerful effect to bleed an image or text outside of the slide area to give the impression that there is not enough room to fit. It is just too big to fit.

Below is a Before and After showing an example of this with the word Big and an image of an Elephant. So this slide is trying to make a point about something being really big and you can clearly see how much more powerful and visual the After is for conveying that message.

Before:

After:

Image Credit: GlennPeb

Image Credit: asifthebes

When using images on your slide you can use these images to guide your viewers eyes. If you have an image with a person in it, the direction the person is looking in will guide your viewers eyes. It is important to remember when using images that they do not direct your viewers eyes away from what is important but towards it.

Below is a Before and After showing how your eyes are directed away from the text in the Before example but directed directly towards the text in the After example just by changing slightly the direction the statue is looking in. So make sure the content of your image helps to guide your viewers attention toward what’s important not away.

Before:

After:

Image Source: leilahh

Many people use images in their slide presentations that are smaller than the size of the slide. Typically the images are placed underneath or away from whatever text is on the slide.

To convey your message in a much more powerful way, you can use a full bleed image. “Full bleed” means making the image bleed off the sides of the slide, taking up the whole space of the slide. Then you just put your text, making sure it has enough contrast, on top of the image as can be seen in the before and after below.

Before:

After:

Image Source: stadje

A quick look at how to remove the background from an image in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010. This feature was updated and expanded in the 2010 version of PowerPoint.