{"id":72744,"date":"2023-10-24T11:08:19","date_gmt":"2023-10-24T00:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/elements.blog-cms.envato.net\/?p=35384"},"modified":"2025-11-11T18:58:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T07:58:07","slug":"how-to-animate-a-photo-in-after-effects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/elements.envato.com\/learn\/how-to-animate-a-photo-in-after-effects","title":{"rendered":"How to Animate a Photo in After Effects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you want to know how to animate a photo in After Effects, we’re here to help you brush up on some basic animation techniques. Perfect for beginners, our guide will teach you how to animate an image step-by-step, and also answer some common After Effects questions along the way. Let\u2019s dive in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How to Animate in After Effects<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After Effects makes animation<\/a> incredibly accessible\u2014even for beginners<\/a>. But first, what exactly is After Effects? After Effects is a motion graphics and compositing application prevalent among content creators for creating videos and visual effects. After Effects is a blend of a video editing app, Photoshop, and a 3D program, combining elements of all three into one application. Adobe is constantly innovating the program with new updates, so After Effects\u2019 capabilities are continually expanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What makes After Effects so significant for animation is the depth you can go into. You can animate nearly every animation property you can think of, comprising everything from scale and rotation to more complex properties like time displacement, 3D cameras, and special effects. This versatility is what makes After Effects so powerful. It allows you to create simple animations quickly and effectively, but if you need pin-point control or want to tweak or perfect an animation After Effects enables you to do that, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In After Effects, keyframes drive animation. These keyframes allow you to set a property value at a specific point on your timeline, to which you can add another keyframe later. This results in After Effects automatically animating the change between the two points. Think of it like animating between Point A and Point B on a map \u2013 effectively the same way keyframes work. Keyframes are the building blocks for all animations. If you want more in-depth knowledge about animating in After Effects, check out our free How to Animate in After Effects Course<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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