How to Edit a Picture in Word

To edit a picture in Word, click it to open the Picture Format tab. From there you can crop and resize it, fix brightness and color, remove the background, add borders or effects, and control how text flows around it. These tools are in Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows and Mac. Word for the web has a smaller set, covered at the end.

Word edits the copy of the picture inside your document, not the original file on your computer. Word isn’t a full photo editor, but it handles most everyday fixes.

Open the picture tools

1. If the picture isn’t in your document yet, select Insert > Pictures and choose where to get it, such as This Device.
2. Click the picture once. A border with round handles appears around it.
3. Select the Picture Format tab at the end of the ribbon. It only shows while a picture is selected.

The tab is grouped into Adjust (corrections, color, effects, background), Picture Styles (frames, borders, shadows), Arrange (position, wrapping, rotation), and Size (crop, height, width).

Crop a picture

1. Select the picture and choose Picture Format > Crop. Black crop handles appear on the edges and corners.
2. Drag a side handle to trim that side, or a corner handle to trim two sides at once.
3. Press Esc or click outside the picture to finish.

The arrow under Crop offers Crop to Shape (for a circle or other shape) and Aspect Ratio (for a fixed shape such as a square). Our guide to cropping an image in Word covers these options in more detail.

Resize or rotate it

• Resize: Drag a corner handle to keep the picture’s proportions. For an exact size, type a value in the Height or Width box in the Size group. Word adjusts the other value to match while the aspect ratio stays locked. See how to resize a picture in Word for more ways.
• Rotate or flip: Drag the curved arrow above the picture, or select Rotate in the Arrange group and choose a 90-degree turn or Flip Horizontal.

Avoid dragging a side handle to resize, since that stretches or squashes the image.

If you need an exact size such as a one-inch-square photo, see how to make a 1×1 picture in Word with locked or unlocked proportions.

For exact angles, 90-degree turns, and the Shift-drag trick, see how to rotate an image in Word.

Fix brightness, contrast, and sharpness

1. Select the picture and choose Picture Format > Corrections.
2. Point to a thumbnail under Sharpen/Soften or Brightness/Contrast to preview it on the picture.
3. Click the one you want.
4. For finer control, select Picture Corrections Options and use the sliders in the pane that opens.

Microsoft explains each setting in its guide to changing picture brightness, contrast, or sharpness.

Change the colors or make it see-through

• Color: Select Color in the Adjust group to change Color Saturation, shift the Color Tone warmer or cooler, or Recolor the picture, for example to grayscale.
• Set Transparent Color: Also under Color. Click one solid color in the picture, such as a plain white background, to make it clear.
• Transparency: Select Transparency and pick a preset to fade the whole picture. This works well for a light image behind text.

Apply an artistic effect

Select Artistic Effects and point to each option, such as Pencil Sketch or Blur, to preview it. Click one to apply it. You can only use one artistic effect at a time, and choosing a new one replaces the old one.

Remove the background

1. Select the picture and choose Picture Format > Remove Background. Word shades the parts it plans to remove in magenta.
2. If Word marked part of your subject, select Mark Areas to Keep and draw over that area.
3. If some background is left, select Mark Areas to Remove and draw over it.
4. Select Keep Changes. To start again, select Discard All Changes.

Remove Background is grayed out for vector graphics such as SVG files, and it isn’t available in Word for the web. Our guide to removing a background in Word covers tricky images.

Add a border, frame, or shadow

Point to the thumbnails in the Picture Styles gallery to preview ready-made frames, rounded corners, and shadows. To build your own look, use Picture Border for the outline color, weight, and dashes, and Picture Effects for Shadow, Reflection, Glow, Soft Edges, Bevel, or 3-D Rotation.

Move the picture and wrap text around it

New pictures are placed In Line with Text, so they sit on a line like a large letter and are hard to move. To place a picture freely:

1. Select the picture and choose Picture Format > Wrap Text.
2. Pick Square or Tight to wrap text around it, Top and Bottom to keep text above and below only, or Behind Text or In Front of Text to layer it.
3. Drag the picture to where you want it.

To place words on top of an image, follow our steps to put text on a picture in Word.

Undo your edits

To go back to the original, select Reset Picture in the Adjust group. This removes corrections, color changes, effects, and styles. Use the arrow next to it and choose Reset Picture & Size to restore the original size as well.

Before you shrink your file with Compress Pictures, check the Delete cropped areas of pictures option. When it’s selected, Word permanently throws away the trimmed parts, and you won’t be able to uncrop the picture later.

To save a finished page, chart, or text block as an image file, follow our guide on saving a Word document as a JPEG.

If the picture tools are missing or grayed out

• No Picture Format tab: Make sure you clicked the picture itself. A picture in a header or footer needs you to open the header first by double-clicking in it, and a watermark is edited from Design > Watermark instead.
• Some buttons are gray: If the title bar says Compatibility Mode, the file is in an older format that doesn’t support newer effects. Select File > Info > Convert to update it.
• The picture shows as an empty box: On Windows, go to File > Options > Advanced and clear Show picture placeholders.

Editing pictures in Word for the web

Word for the web has a shorter Picture tab with basics such as picture styles, cropping, size, text wrapping, and alt text. For corrections, color changes, artistic effects, and background removal, open the document in the desktop app by selecting Open in Desktop App, make the changes, and save. The edits stay with the file when you reopen it online.