How to Create Digital Photo Albums in PowerPoint

Series of printed photo

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by Wendy Russell
Former Lifewire writer Wendy Russell is an experienced teacher specializing in live communications, graphics design, and PowerPoint software.
Updated June 16, 2019

PowerPoint isn't just for slideshow presentations. When you want to share your photos, use PowerPoint to make digital photo albums. There's no limit to the number of albums or the number of photos in each album. If your photo collection is large, make separate digital photo albums for different sets of pictures.

Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint for Office 365, PowerPoint 2019, PowerPoint 2016, PowerPoint 2013, and PowerPoint 2010.

Create a Digital Photo Album From Files Already on Your Computer

Before you create a photo album, collect the picture files that you want to add to the album. To streamline your workflow, add the photos to a single folder on your computer.

To create a photo album:

  1. Select Insert.

  2. Select the Photo Album down arrow and choose New Photo Album. The Photo Album dialog box opens.

    A screenshot of PowerPoint dialog box to insert picture from file/disk.

  3. Select File/Disk to open the Insert New Pictures dialog box.

  4. Go to the folder that contains the pictures, select the pictures you want to add to the photo album, and select Insert. The selected pictures are added to the Pictures in album list.

    A screenshot showing how to create photo album in PowerPoint.

    If you're choosing several pictures from the same folder, select all the picture files at the same time.

  5. Select Create. PowerPoint creates a new presentation for the digital photo album that contains the selected photos.

Change the Order of the Photos on the PowerPoint Slides

The photos are added to the digital photo album in the alphabetical order of their filenames. If you want to display photos in a different order, rearrange them.

To rearrange photos in a photo album:

  1. Select Insert > Photo Album > Edit Photo Album to open the Edit Photo Album dialog box.

  2. In the Pictures in album list, place a check next to the file name of the photo you want to move.

    A screenshot of the changing the order of the photos in a PowerPoint photo album.

  3. Select either the Up or Down arrow to move the photo to the correct location. Select the arrow more than once if you wish to move the photo more than one place.

Choose a Picture Layout for Your Digital Photo Album

In the Album Layout section at the bottom of the Photo Album and Edit Photo Album dialog boxes, choose a picture layout for the photos on each slide.

Options include:

  • Fit to slide.
  • One picture, two pictures or four pictures per slide.
  • One, two, or four pictures per slide with titles.

A layout preview displays on the right side of the Album Layout section of the dialog box.

A screenshot of choosing a picture layout for your PowerPoint photo album.

You can also choose other options, such as:

  • Add captions below photos.
  • Convert pictures to black and white.
  • Add frames to pictures.

To edit the photo captions on a slide, select the text box containing the caption and edit the text.

Add a Design Theme to Your Digital Photo Album

A design theme adds a nice backdrop to your digital photo album.

  1. Open the Edit Photo Album dialog box.

  2. Select Browse next to Theme in the Album Layout section to open the Choose Theme dialog box.

  3. Select the theme you want to use.

    A screenshot of applying a theme to a PowerPoint photo album.

  4. Select Select to return to the Edit Photo Album dialog box.

  5. Select Update when you're ready to apply the changes to your photo album.

Change the Order of Your Photos in the Digital Photo Album

Rearranging slides in your digital photo album is easy. 

  1. Select View.

  2. Select Slide Sorter.

    A screenshot of the PowerPoint slide sorter view.

  3. Drag any photo to a new location.