How to Recolor a Picture in PowerPoint

3 Ways to Recolor a Picture in PowerPoint

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated February 22, 2025

Applies to: Microsoft^® PowerPoint^® 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)

You can recolor a picture in PowerPoint in several ways. The recolor options in the Ribbon and in the Format Picture task pane allow you to recolor a picture but, depending on your version of PowerPoint, the colors available may only work with the current color theme and may also blend colors from the original picture which is problematic. An alternative is to create a shape, fill it with a color, change its transparency and overlay the shape on top of the picture. You would typically make the image grayscale first if you use this strategy.

Use the Ribbon to recolor a picture
Use the the Format Picture task pane to recolor a picture
Recolor a picture using an overlay

We'll assume in this article that you are working in Normal View. However, you can use these strategies in Slide Master View as well.

Note: Buttons and Ribbon tabs may display in a different way (with or without text) depending on your version of PowerPoint, the size of your screen and your Control Panel settings. For newer versions of PowerPoint, Ribbon tabs may appear with different names. For example, the Picture Format tab appears as Picture Tools Format. Screenshots in this article are from 365 but are similar in previous versions of PowerPoint.

Recommended article: How to Change Slide Size or Dimensions in PowerPoint

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Use the Ribbon to recolor a picture

To recolor a picture in PowerPoint using the Ribbon:

Select the picture on the slide that you want to recolor.
Click the Picture Format or Picture Tools Format tab in the Ribbon.
In the Adjust group, click Color. A drop-down menu appears.
Click the color you want. The initial set of colors that are displayed are from the current color theme in the presentation. Alternatively, click More Variations and select a color. In this area, you may also choose More Colors and select a color. The colors in More Variations and More Colors may not work in some versions of PowerPoint.

The Color drop-down menu appears as follows:

Note: If you insert an icon using Icons on the Insert tab in the Ribbon, you will not be able to recolor the icon using Picture Format or Picture Tools Format. A Graphics Format tab will appear in the Ribbon instead when you select the icon. The options to change the fill and line color of the icon are different than those discussed in this article.

Use the Format Picture task pane to recolor a picture

To recolor a picture in PowerPoint using the Format Picture task pane:

Select the picture on the slide that you want to recolor.
Click the Picture Format or Picture Tools Format tab in the Ribbon.
In the Adjust group, click Color. A drop-down menu appears.
Click Picture Color Options. The Format Picture task pane appears. At the top of the task pane, the Picture icon should be selected. Alternatively, you can right-click the picture and choose Format Picture from the drop-down menu. You would then need to click the Picture icon at the top of the task pane.
Click the arrow beside Picture Color to expand the area (if necessary).
Beside Recolor, select a Color. The colors here are limited to the colors in the current color theme.
In this area in the task pane, you can also drag the Saturation and Temperature sliders. You can also click Reset to reset the picture.

The Format Picture task pane with Picture Color options as well as Recolor appears as follows:

You have fewer options to recolor the picture in the task pane as the colors that appear are color theme colors only.

Use an overlay to recolor a picture

To recolor a picture using an overlay, you will need to insert a picture, make it grayscale, create a rectangle on top of the picture, recolor the rectangle and change its transparency.

To recolor a picture in PowerPoint using an overlay:

Select the picture on the slide that you want to recolor.
Click the Picture Format or Picture Tools Format tab in the Ribbon.
In the Adjust group, click Color. A drop-down menu appears.
Click Grayscale under Recolor.
Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon and select Shapes in the Illustrations group. A drop-down menu appears.
Select a rectangle and then drag the cursor over the picture to draw a rectangle on top of the picture.
Drag the handles of the rectangle to resize it so it is the same size as the image.
Right-click the rectangle and select Format Shape. A task pane appears.
Click the Fill & Line icon at the top of the task pane.
Click the arrow beside Fill to expand it.
Beside Color, choose a color.
Drag the transparency slider to change the transparency of the rectangle.
Click the arrow beside Line to expand it.
Click No line.

The Format Shape task pane appears as follows:

The following is an example of a picture with a color overlay:

You can drag around the rectangle and the image and group them if you want (press Ctrl + G). At this point, you could right-click the grouped object, select Save As Picture and save the object as a new picture that can be inserted into other slides or other presentations.

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How to Recolor a Picture in PowerPoint

3 Ways to Recolor a Picture in PowerPoint