Open a photo in Photoshop Elements.
Last updated on
Nov 3, 2025
Add Moving Elements
Bring a touch of movie magic to any photo by selecting an area and adding motion.
You can now move the clouds in your sky, waves of the ocean current or any element of your static photo in just a few steps.
To add Moving Elements to your image, follow these steps:
From the right panel of your screen, choose one of the options to select the area you want to animate:
- Sky
- Background
- Manual
To refine your selection choose one of the following tools:
- Brush Tool - select the tool to manually drag over portions of the image you want to add/subtract. Use the slider beneath the brush tool icon to adjust its size.
- Quick Selection Tool - Drag over the regions you want to select for automatic selection of an object or an area.
- Auto Selection - Drag the cursor to make a rectangular box around the object you want to automatically select.
Note
Brush, Quick and Auto tools are optional if you are using an automatic selection of Sky or Background.
When you're done, click Play to preview the output. Click Export to save your file as an MP4 or GIF to save or share.
To learn more about Export and Share, see Save images in Photoshop Elements.
Note
Only one arrow is enough for a unidirectional motion, you may draw multiple arrows if the trajectory/speed of the motion changes. Once you have previewed the output, you can refine the selection to further improve the result.
Easily edit and share images with Photoshop Elements
Combine photos, swap out colors, and erase anything with AI-powered tools.
