Animate a photo — Ken Burns effect

What is the Ken Burns effect?

The Ken Burns effect is the slow zoom and pan applied to still photographs to give them motion — the documentary and news look that keeps a static image alive on screen. Photo Motion brings it to your browser: drop a photo and it becomes a smooth 1920×1080 (or vertical/square) video clip with a controllable zoom or pan. Off-ratio and vertical photos are handled automatically — the sharp image is centered and the rest of the 16:9 frame is filled with a blurred, slightly dimmed enlarged copy of the same photo, the broadcast way to avoid black bars. You can frame the image with a coloured border, round its corners and lift it with a drop shadow. Everything is rendered and recorded on your own device with the browser's canvas and MediaRecorder — your photo is never uploaded.

How to use it

1. Drop or paste a photo, pick an output size (1920×1080, UHD, vertical or square), and choose a motion — zoom, pan or a combo.
2. Set Speed, Duration, easing and intensity; click the preview to set the zoom focus; tune the blurred-fill blur and dim, and optional border, corners and shadow. The live preview loops exactly what will render.
3. If the photo is small, upscale it first (2×/4×). Then Render and download an MP4 (or WebM) ready for your timeline.

Tips & uses

Use a slow zoom-in for interview B-roll and title backgrounds, a gentle pan to reveal a wide landscape, or "Random subtle" when you have many photos to cut quickly. Speed is independent of duration: a fast 5-second move travels much further than a slow one, so set the feel with Speed and the length with Duration. For social cutdowns, render a 1080×1920 vertical with a blurred fill behind a horizontal photo. Output is MP4 where your browser supports it, otherwise WebM — both import into Premiere, Resolve and Avid; if you need MXF or another broadcast codec, transcode the exported file in your NLE. Nothing leaves your device, and it's free.

Frequently asked questions