Picking the Right Photo For Your PowerPoint Template

Templates are a fantastic way for non-designers to stretch their imagination within the safety bumper of the PowerPoint itself. Limits help us to become more creative, preventing us from endless design options and the indecision that often follows.

That is, of course, until you have to choose the right photograph to insert into a template’s blank space. That is when the sweat pours, the ulcers form, and the confusion begins. If you have room to insert an image within a template, follow these basic rules to give yourself some more of those wonderful, helpful limitations:

Poor quality is out

The dimensions of the space within the template matter, but that only counts for half of this rule. Even if the space is small, a small image may not be appropriate. Consider a team slide, which will include many spaces for each individual’s photo. The smaller in the image is, the less discernible it will be from a distance. Your photos need to be big, bold, and have plenty of pixels packed tightly together in order to be clear from anywhere in the room where it will be seen.

Relevant is in

Picking the Right Photo For Your PowerPoint Template

Even at Ethos3, designers struggle with selecting images that aren’t too literal, overused, or irrelevant. There definitely is a balance between using a handshake image for a “let’s make a deal” slide, and choosing something more subtle, like a meeting around a business conference table.

For the sake of your sanity, choose an image that directly relates to the topic itself. Lifestyle photography of offices, meetings, laptops, and cityscapes can work perfectly with your message, so long as they don’t fall into the “cheesy” category. See our list of blog resources below to help pick the right stock image.

Legal implications

If you pulled it from Google, if you used a screenshot, or if you picked a hilarious gif you saw online…chances are it’s completely illegal to use. You either need to buy the rights to all of the photographs within your template, take the photographs yourself, or have found a resource of copyright-free images that can be used for your PowerPoint. Not sure where to begin? See below for an article that lists the best of these free image sites.

The laws of color

The one thing that really separates template photography from a regular presentation is that you must select with the color scheme in mind. You don’t want anything that ruins the simplicity or the style of the PowerPoint template itself. One way that you can handle this is by using color overlays to help blend with the designated palette. Conveniently, we have a tutorial on how to do just that.

A general rule to keep in mind is that the image should complement the simplicity of the deck, with plenty of open space and clean lines. This way, you won’t detract from the designer’s vision, or say to your audience “I didn’t feel like trying very hard!”

Here are a few more helpful resources about selecting the right photography, and where to find some fantastic (and free!) stock images:

Stock Photography Advice For Presenters And Marketers

Presentation Design 101: Stock Photography

Gorgeous (And Free) Stock Photos For Your Presentations


New Call-to-action

Join our newsletter today!

© 2006-2024 Ethos3 – An Award Winning Presentation Design and Training Company ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Contact Us