Sometimes, you may be in a situation where you have a complex background that includes graphics that cover part of the slide.
Maybe you were given a template by your company. Maybe you used one of PowerPoint’s templates or you bought a template.
The problem is that this type of background can interfere with adding large images that can make your slides more powerful.
In this video, I explain several ways to manage complex backgrounds. After the video, I briefly summarize the techniques.
The video is about 17 minutes long. (Note: This is a video I created quite a while ago, so the PowerPoint interface may be a little different from what you see, but the principles and instructions are still valid.)
Summary
The main points that I wanted to explain were when you have a complex background like this, there are a couple of approaches you can take.
Sometimes you can simply place a picture on top of it when you need the space, and you can use a shadow or reverse images and place them on the edge.
Other times, you may want to remove the background entirely by right-clicking, selecting Format Background, and choosing Hide Background Graphics. Removing the background of images can be really powerful for creating a slide with high contrast, making it more dramatic.
A background shouldn’t interfere with your ability to have large images that go to the edges of the slides, or to create high-contrast, dramatic slides.