PowerPoint Picture Style Presets: Reference Catalog

You want to apply a quick, consistent visual effect to an image in your slide without manually adjusting borders, shadows, and reflections. PowerPoint provides a set of built-in Picture Style presets that combine these effects into one-click options. This article catalogs every preset group available in the Picture Styles gallery, explains what each preset does, and shows you how to apply them. You will also learn the limitations of presets and when to create a custom style instead.

What Are Picture Style Presets in PowerPoint

Picture Style presets are pre-configured combinations of border, shadow, reflection, glow, soft edges, bevel, and 3-D rotation effects. They are stored in the Picture Styles group on the Format tab when an image is selected. Each preset applies a specific set of effect properties, such as a thin border with a drop shadow or a large reflection with a beveled frame.

The presets are designed for speed. Instead of opening the Format Shape pane and adjusting five or six effect sliders individually, you click one thumbnail. The effect properties are locked, meaning you cannot edit the individual components of a preset without first applying it and then manually overriding each effect category.

PowerPoint does not allow you to create and save your own presets to the gallery. You can only use the 28 built-in presets or build a custom style by combining effects manually and saving the image as a template placeholder on a slide master.

How to Access the Presets

Select any picture on a slide. The Picture Format tab appears on the ribbon. Click the Picture Format tab. The Picture Styles group contains a gallery of thumbnails. Click the More arrow in the bottom-right corner of the gallery to expand all 28 presets. The gallery is divided into seven visual categories separated by thin lines.

Complete Catalog of Picture Style Presets

The 28 presets are organized into seven groups. Each group name is not displayed in the ribbon but is visually separated in the gallery. The following list describes each group and its effect on a selected image.

Simple Presets

These presets apply only a border. No shadow, reflection, or 3-D effect is added.

1. Simple Frame, White
   Adds a thin white solid line border around the image.
2. Simple Frame, Black
   Adds a thin black solid line border.
3. Center Shadow Rectangle
   Adds a thin gray border and a subtle drop shadow centered behind the image.
4. Perspective Shadow, Left
   Adds a thin gray border and a perspective shadow that extends to the left.
5. Perspective Shadow, Right
   Same as left perspective but the shadow extends to the right.

Shadow Presets

These presets emphasize a drop shadow with no border or with a very light border.

1. Drop Shadow Rectangle
   Adds a soft drop shadow below and to the right of the image. No border.
2. Perspective Shadow, Upper Left
   Creates a shadow that appears to come from a light source at the upper left.
3. Perspective Shadow, Upper Right
   Shadow originates from the upper right.
4. Outer Shadow Rectangle
   Shadow extends outward from all edges evenly.
5. Inner Shadow Rectangle
   Shadow appears inside the image edges, creating an inset look.

Reflection Presets

These presets add a reflection below the image. The reflection opacity and size vary.

1. Tight Reflection, Touching
   Reflection is short and touches the bottom edge of the image.
2. Tight Reflection, Offset
   Reflection is short with a small gap between the image and the reflection.
3. Moderate Reflection, Touching
   Reflection is about half the height of the image and touches the bottom edge.
4. Moderate Reflection, Offset
   Half-height reflection with a gap.
5. Full Reflection, Touching
   Reflection is the same height as the image and touches the bottom edge.
6. Full Reflection, Offset
   Full-height reflection with a gap.

Glow Presets

These presets apply a soft colored glow around the image edges. The glow color is based on the theme accent color.

1. Glow Rectangle, Accent 1
   Thin glow around all edges using the Accent 1 theme color.
2. Glow Rectangle, Accent 2
   Thin glow using Accent 2.
3. Glow Rectangle, Accent 3
   Thin glow using Accent 3.
4. Glow Rectangle, Accent 4
   Thin glow using Accent 4.
5. Glow Rectangle, Accent 5
   Thin glow using Accent 5.
6. Glow Rectangle, Accent 6
   Thin glow using Accent 6.

Soft Edges Presets

These presets fade the image edges into the slide background.

1. Soft Edge Rectangle
   Applies a 5-point soft edge to all sides.
2. Soft Edge Oval
   Applies a 10-point soft edge and crops the image into an oval shape.

Bevel Presets

These presets add a 3-D bevel effect to the image frame.

1. Bevel Perspective
   Adds a raised bevel around the image with a perspective shadow.
2. Bevel Relaxed
   Adds a softer, wider bevel with a lighter shadow.
3. Bevel Convex
   Creates a convex rounded bevel that makes the image appear embossed.

3-D Rotation Presets

These presets rotate the image in 3-D space.

1. Parallel
   Rotates the image slightly to the right in a parallel projection.
2. Perspective
   Rotates the image with a perspective distortion, making it appear tilted away from the viewer.
3. Perspective Relaxed
   Similar to Perspective but with a less extreme angle.

Limitations of Presets and Things to Avoid

Presets Cannot Be Customized or Saved

You cannot edit a preset and save it back to the gallery. If you need a specific combination of effects, apply the closest preset and then manually adjust individual effect properties in the Format Shape pane. Right-click the image and select Format Picture to open the pane. Expand the Effects tab to modify shadow, reflection, glow, soft edges, bevel, and 3-D rotation independently.

Presets Override Existing Effects

Applying a new preset removes all previous picture effects. If you added a custom shadow and then click a reflection preset, the shadow is deleted. Apply presets only at the beginning of your styling workflow. After that, use the Format Shape pane to layer additional effects.

Presets Do Not Scale With Image Size

Shadow distance, reflection height, and bevel depth are absolute values in points. A preset that looks balanced on a 4-inch image may appear too heavy on a 1-inch thumbnail or too light on a full-slide image. After applying a preset, check the visual weight and adjust effect size values in the Format Shape pane if needed.

Preset Galleries Are Theme-Dependent

The glow presets use the current theme accent colors. If you switch the document theme, the glow colors update automatically. This can cause unexpected color shifts in presentations shared across teams using different themes. To lock a glow color, apply the preset, then manually set the glow color in the Format Shape pane to a fixed RGB value.

Feature	Built-in Presets	Custom Effects via Format Shape
Number of options	28 predefined combinations	Unlimited combinations
Save and reuse	Not possible	Copy image or use Slide Master placeholder
Individual effect control	None	Full control over each effect category
Theme color dependence	Glow presets use theme accents	Can set fixed RGB colors
Speed of application	One click	Multiple pane adjustments

You now have a complete reference for all 28 Picture Style presets in PowerPoint. Use the Simple and Shadow groups for clean corporate slides. Use Reflection and Glow groups for marketing or creative decks. When a preset is close but not exact, open the Format Shape pane and fine-tune the shadow distance, reflection size, or bevel depth. For a fully unique look, skip presets entirely and build your effect stack from scratch using the Format Shape pane.