1. Select Your Image

Select the image that you want to add the glow effect to. You can add the glow effect to any image, but it definitely helps if the image has clear and distinct borders.

2. Create Transparent Background

Your image should also be on a transparent background. If your image has a solid or colored background, you can convert it to a transparent one by clicking on the image, clicking on the “effects” button, and then selecting the “Background Remover Tool.”

Note: This method only works for Canva Pro users. If you have the free version of Canva, and want to make you image background transparent, you can use RemoveBG as a free alternative.

3. Save Shape as JPEG or PNG

The next step is to save our image as a JPEG or PNG. When you save your image, make sure that you select the “transparent background” box before clicking download.

4. Upload Image to Canva

Next, we need to upload this image to Canva. To do this, just click on the uploads tab in Canva, click upload from device, and select the file you just downloaded.

5. Insert Newly Created Image

You can now delete the original statue of liberty imae (you now have a blank screen). Select the image you just uploaded from your uploads tab:

6. Make a Copy or Duplicate Image

You can now delete the original statue of liberty image (you now have a blank screen). Select the image you just uploaded from your uploads tab, and click on it twice to produce two copies of the transparent image:

7. Edit Your Image Using Duotone Effects

The next step is to edit your image using Duotone Effects, one of the built in effects offered by Canva. To do this, first click on one of your images of the statue of liberty. This will be your image background (the part changing color).  Select the “effects” button from the Canva toolbar. Next, click on the Duotone icon. Under Duotone, click on the option labeled “Pomelo.” This will create a yellow and orange stylized version of the statue of liberty.

8. Increase Image Blur

Click on your orange statue of liberty image (the image on the right, in this tutorial) and select the adjust button. Under the adjustment menu, increase the “blur” effect. You can play around with this setting later to perfect things, but as a rough template, increase the blur to ~17.

9. Adjust Images

Next, we need to adjust our original statue of liberty so that it is slightly smaller than our orange statue of liberty. You also need to make sure that the orange image is behind the normal image. You can do this by sending the orange image to the back or bringing the regular image to the front.

10. Align Images

The final step is to line up the two images. You can do this by dragging the images manually or by using the position tool.

The end result is an image of the statue of liberty that has a subtle yet eye catching glow, outlining the image. Depending on what effect you are trying to achieve, you can go back and edit the orange background layer and adjust the blur setting. If you want to change the color of the glow, select a different effect.

I hope you found this Canva tutorial useful! If you have any more questions or want to learn more about custom Canva design, check out our Canva tutorial page, and be sure to sign up for our newsletter which send out free Canva Templates.

1. Pick Drop Shadow Shape

Canva offers a wide selection of shapes. Select a solid colored shape from the elements section in Canva. In this example, we’ll pick the standard circle option.

2. Edit Shape Color

Next, we will make several edits to the shape. In most cases, you want your drop shadow to be some variation of black or grey. So I select a color that is close to grey:

3. Save Shape as JPEG or PNG

To create a shadow, we now need to adjust the settings of our grey circle. In order to do this we need to save out image as a JPEG or PNG. When you save your image, make sure that you select the “transparent background” box before clicking download.

4. Upload Image to Canva

Next, we need to upload this image to Canva. To do this, just click on the uploads tab in Canva, click upload from device, and select the file you just downloaded.

5. Insert Newly Created Image

You can now delete the original grey circular image (you now have a blank screen). Select the circular image you just uploaded from your uploads tab:

6. Increase Blur and Transparency

Unlike before, when your grey circle was just a shape, it is now an image, which allows you to adjust the settings.

Click on your shape and select the adjust button. Under the adjustment menu, increase the “blur” effect. You can play around with this setting later to perfect things, but as a rough template, increase the blur to ~40.

Next, you want to increase the transparency of your image. Like the step before, you can later go back and adjust this setting to your exact liking, but for the purposes of this example, adjust the transparency to ~25.

7. Add Image Frame

You now have the shadow for your image! Next, you need to add a corresponding image frame (so a circle in this case). Frames can be found under the elements tab:

8. Adjust Image Frame

Next, we need to adjust our image frame so that it is slightly smaller than our shadow. We can also move the frame around the shadow to create shadows oriented in a number of directions. Generally, your shape should be slightly offset from your shadow to create the illusion of light. In the example below, my frame is slightly offset toward the upper-right corner, making it appear that this is the direction that light is coming from:

9. Add Image to Frame

Finally, we need to add our image. Click on photos or uploads, and drag an image over the circular frame. If you double click on the image within the frame, you can adjust the specific positioning of the image.