Learning Photoshop or any of the other image editing programs can be a useful skill when building a PowerPoint deck. You can create a simple vignette, as in the slide above, knock out a distracting background or blur or darken sections of a photo that you want to de-emphasize. There are dozens of programs available, some for free, that will do the job without the expense or steep learning curve of the professional programs.
Editing backgrounds allows you to use less than perfect images and gives you greater control over how your slides look and communicate your message.
