10 Cool CSS Image Effects

This Article outlines 10 excellent image effects for your website that can all be easily achieved using just plain old HTML and CSS. The image above shows just 3 of the effects that can be created, others included the Polaroid image effect, creating circular or elliptical images and even stacking multiple image on top of each other. The effects are listed in order of difficulty (in my opinion), so perhaps start with the first one and progress from there.

Image Rotation:

The HTML

<div class="rotate"><img src="images/picture.png" /></div>

The CSS

div.rotate  
{
    -ms-transform: rotate(7deg); /* IE 9 */
    -webkit-transform: rotate(7deg); /* Chrome, Safari, Opera */
    transform: rotate(7deg);
}

Border With Drop Shadow:

The HTML

<div class="shadow"><img src="images/picture.png" /></div>

The CSS

div.shadow 
{
    -moz-box-shadow: 10px 10px 5px #888888;
    -webkit-box-shadow: 10px 10px 5px #888888;
    box-shadow: 10px 10px 5px #888888;
    border:15px solid #ffffcc;
}

Layered / Stacked Images:

The HTML

<div class="box1"><img src="images/picture1.png" /></div><div class="box2"><img src="images/picture2.png" /></div><div class="box2"><img src="images/picture2.png" /></div>

The CSS

div.box1
{
z-index:1;
position:relative;
-webkit-transform: rotate(-3deg);
-ms-transform: rotate(-3deg); 
-o-transform: rotate(-3deg); 
transform: rotate(-3deg);
}

div.box2
{
z-index:2;
position:relative;
left:-150px;
}

div.box3
{
z-index:3;
position:relative;
left:-350px;
-webkit-transform: rotate(3deg);
-ms-transform: rotate(3deg); 
-o-transform: rotate(3deg); 
transform: rotate(3deg);
}

Circular Images Effect:

In the examples above the image is 200px high and wide with a border-radius of 100px. The key to creating circles is for the border radius to be half of the height and width.

CSS

img{border-radius:100px; height:200px; width:200px;}

Elliptical Images Effect:

In the examples above each box is 200px high and 300px wide with a border-radius of 50%. The key to creating ellipses is for the border radius to be 50%.

CSS

img{border-radius:50%; height:200px; width:300px;}

Polaroid Image Effect:

Waterfall Photo

The HTML

<div class="polaroid"><p>Waterfall Photo</p><img src="images/waterfall.png" /></div>

The CSS

.polaroid 
{ 
position: relative; text-align: center; 
} 

.polaroid img 
{ 
border: 10px solid #fff; 
border-bottom: 45px solid #fff; 
-webkit-box-shadow: 0px 0px 10px #777; 
-moz-box-shadow: 0px 0px 10px #777; 
box-shadow: 0px 0px 10px #777;
-webkit-transform: rotate (3deg);
-moz-transform: rotate (3deg);
transform: rotate (3deg);
} 

.polaroid p 
{ 
position: absolute; 
text-align: center; 
width: 100%; 
bottom: 0px; 
font: 400 18px/1 'Kaushan Script', cursive; 
color: #888;
z-index:99; }

Description On Hover:

⇧ Description

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse vel commodo turpis. Cras et congue justo. Nullam rhoncus commodo tellus, eget fringilla lacus pellentesque et.

The HTML

<div class="image"><a href="#"><img src="images/picture.png" /></a><div class="image-desc"><h3>⇧ Description</h3><p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse vel commodo turpis. Cras et congue justo. Nullam rhoncus commodo tellus, eget fringilla lacus pellentesque et.</p></div></div>

The CSS

.image
{
overflow:hidden; 
width:auto;  
height:240px; /*should match your images height*/
}

.image-desc
{ 
text-align:justify;
position:relative; 
top:-40px; /*allows the first part of the description to be visible*/ 
overflow: hidden; 
font-size:14px;
padding:10px; 
height: 200px; 
color: #ffffff; 
background-color: #000066; 
opacity: 0.8;}

.image-desc:hover
{ 
position: relative; 
top:-187px; 
opacity: 0.8;
}

Map Pin Effect:

The HTML

<div class="pin"><img src="images/pin.png"></div><div class="photo"><img border="0" src="images/waterfall.png" /></div>

The CSS

div.rotate  
{
.pin
{
z-index:2; 
position:relative;
top:18px; 
left:0px;
}

.photo
{
z-index:1; 
position:relative;
}

}

Paper Clip Effect:

The HTML

<div class="paper-clip"><img src="images/paper-clip.png"></div><div class="photo"><img border="0" src="images/waterfall.png" /></div>

The CSS

 
{
.paper-clip
{
z-index:2; 
position:relative;
top:18px; 
left:5px;
}

.photo
{
z-index:1; 
position:relative;
}

}

Masking Tape Effect:

The HTML

<div class="tape"><img src="images/masking-tape.png"></div><div class="photo"><img border="0" src="images/waterfall.png" /></div>

The CSS

 
{
.tape
{
z-index:2; 
position:relative;
top:18px; 
left:5px;
}

.photo
{
z-index:1; 
position:relative;
}

}