Microsoft PowerPoint includes several tools that allow you to customize the look of images in your presentations. One useful skill is fitting or cropping an image so that it perfectly fills a shape you have inserted on a slide. With a few simple steps, you can insert an image into a shape and then use PowerPoint’s crop tool to achieve a tailored look.

Insert a Shape

Open the PowerPoint presentation you want to add an image-filled shape to. Navigate to the slide where you want the shape to appear.
Select the Insert tab on the ribbon.

Click the Shapes button in the Illustrations group. A dropdown menu will appear.
Select the shape you want to insert from the menu. For this example, we will use a simple rectangle shape.
Click and drag your mouse on the slide to draw the shape to the desired size. Release the mouse when finished.

You now have an empty shape inserted onto your slide. Next, we’ll add the image.

Insert an Image

With the shape selected, go to the Insert tab again.
In the Images group, click the Pictures button.

Navigate your files and select the image you want to insert. Double click the image file to add it.

Your selected image will now be placed into the shape. However, it likely does not properly fill the shape yet.

Crop the Image

With the image-filled shape still selected, go to the Format tab on the ribbon.

In the Size group, click the Crop button. Cropping handles will appear around the image.
Click and drag the crop handles to frame the part of the image you want to feature inside the shape.
Once satisfied with the cropping, click the slide area outside the shape to set the crop.

The image will now perfectly fill the shape, cropped to the area you selected. You can fine-tune or undo the crop if needed.

Additional Tips

Hold the Shift key while cropping to maintain the original aspect ratio of the image. This prevents unwanted distortion.
Use PowerPoint’s image filters under the Adjust group on the Picture Format tab to artistically alter the image appearance.