How to Make a Picture the Background in Google Slides

Google Slides helps users make presentations easy, as the user-friendly interface has everything you need for most projects. While words are excellent, pictures can instantly convey entire paragraphs of information within a presentation. Therefore, using photos as the slide backgrounds is a perfect way to get your point across.

For those who aren’t sure how it works, you’re in luck. Discover how to make your favorite images the background in Google Slides. Read on for all the details.

How to Make a Picture the Background in Google Slides on a PC

Many people choose to make a presentation in Google Slides with a computer as their platform of choice. The main reason is the ease of use because the controls are immediately visible near the top of the screen. Students and teachers also tend to work on PCs as they tend to be faster.

With a mouse and keyboard, you can change the background quickly with fewer chances of misclicking.

Here are the steps for making images the background using Google Slides for PC:

1. Open a presentation or create a new one in Google Slides.
   
2. Pick any of the presentation slides.
   
3. Click on “Slide” near the top.
   
4. Select “Change Background.”
   
5. Click on “Choose” to the right of “Image.”
   
6. Pick an image file to insert.
   
7. Choose “Open” to confirm your choice.
   
8. Click on “Done.”
   

Alternatively, you can add the background to every slide in the presentation by selecting “Add To Theme” instead of “Done” in step eight. You can save many minutes of work this way.

However, if you want every slide to have different image backgrounds, you can manually add them to each slide.

How to Make a Picture the Background in Google Slides on an iPad

Another popular choice for students is an iPad. Navigating Google Slides on an iPad is fairly straightforward, whether with a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard set or just the touch screen. Either way will work for our tutorial.

This is how to make pictures a slide background using an iPad:

1. Launch Google Slides on your iPad.
   
2. Open a presentation.
   
3. Double tap the slide you want to change.
   
4. Select “Change Background.”
   
5. Tap “Background image”.
   
6. Tap on the image you like.
   
7. Confirm your choice.
   

As with PCs, all mobile devices, including the iPad, can use the “Apply To Theme” option. The background only has to be chosen once if you prefer. Otherwise, you have to repeat the steps above for individual slides and pick different pictures each time.

How to Make a Picture the Background in Google Slides on an iPhone

iOS and iPadOS are practically the same, so instructions for Google Slides on iPad work on Apple’s line of smartphones. Below are the instructions:

1. Launch Google Slides on your iPhone.
   
2. Choose a presentation on the app and open it.
   
3. Near the bottom, tap and hold the slide you want to change.
   
4. Pick “More” at the top-right corner of the screen.
   
5. Select “Change Background” from the options.
   
6. Choose the image you want to be the background.
   
7. Confirm your choice.
   

Using your iPhone works very well in a pinch, but it’s also a great way to manage slides since Google has optimized the app for all devices.

How to Make a Picture the Background in Google Slides on an Android

Here are the instructions for Android devices. Fortunately, they can perform this task efficiently, and the steps are straightforward.

1. Launch Google Slides on your Android device.
   
2. Pick any presentation on the app and open it.
   
3. At the bottom of the screen, choose the slide you want to change.
   
4. Tap the “+” icon at the top of the screen.
   
5. Click on “Image” from the popped-up options.
   
6. Select the image you want to be the background. Make sure to choose a clear image.
   
7. Stretch the image by dragging the blue boxes to the corner of the slide.
   
8. Double-click the image and on the pop-up menu, hit the “kebab” icon.
   
9. Select “Send to back” to send the photo at the back of the text.
   
10. Click the “check” icon at the top-left corner of the screen.
    

Picture Requirements and Suggestions

Please keep in mind that not every picture will work with Google Slides. It has to be in the following formats:

• .gif
  
• .jpg
  
• .png
  

Thus, WEBP files or other alternative formats will not load or insert into your slides as the background. Also, all image files must be less than 50MB.

Try to use an image with a similar aspect ratio to the slides, as it will better fit your slides. For example, vertical photos taken by a phone camera will not work well as a background. However, the horizontal or portrait mode photos tend to be the best fit.

The resolution will also matter when it comes to image choice. If a photo is too blurry or compressed, the presentation will look amateurish or unprofessional. Stick to high-resolution image files that don’t exceed 50MB.

Using images related to your subject matter tends to be more effective when presenting, delivering impact much better than unrelated pictures.

If copyright is a problem, try using royalty-free content or pictures you own to avoid DMCA claims.

Additional FAQs

Can you use a GIF as the background?

Yes, you can use any GIF as long as it’s under 50MB. It should preferably have the same aspect ratio as your presentation slides, as it would not look tidy otherwise.

Is Google Slides useful?

Not only can you start making presentations right on your web browser or mobile device, but multiple people can collaborate on the same file at once. All changes are tracked and saved upon being made, so you can roll back if needed.

Can I use video backgrounds?

No, you can’t use MP4 or other video files. You must use an image file as the background.

Have a Look at This

With the help of Google Slides, making a presentation is now accessible to anyone with a Google account. It doesn’t require any special software or tools, as you have all the essential functions right in the app or webpage. Using images as Google Slides presentation backgrounds is also easy to do.

How do you think Google Slides can improve? Have you used it for a project? Let us know in the comments section below.