Purple photo with a zoom frame and motion path
A pan and zoom in three moves
  1. Start keyframesScale and Position at the first frame
  2. End keyframesChange Scale and Position at the last frame
  3. Ease and reuseSmooth motion, paste to other clips

A Ken Burns effect is two keyframes on a clip's built-in Motion properties; no plugins needed.

Before You Start: Keep the Image Sharp

Zooming enlarges the image, so it needs pixels to spare.

  1. Use images larger than the sequence frame. For 1080p, a photo around 3000 to 4000 pixels wide leaves plenty of room.
  2. Fit the image with Set to Frame Size, not Scale to Frame Size. Scale to Frame Size reduces the image to the sequence size, and zooming into that copy looks soft. See how to fit an image to the frame.

Create the Pan and Zoom

  1. Place the photo on the timeline and select it.
  2. Open Effect Controls (Window > Effect Controls) and expand Motion.
  3. Move the playhead to the first frame of the clip.
  4. Click the stopwatch next to Scale, then next to Position, to set start keyframes.
  5. Move to the last frame of the clip: press the Down Arrow key to jump to the next edit point, then the Left Arrow key to step back one frame onto the clip.
  6. Change Scale, for example from 100 to 115. Premiere adds the keyframe automatically.
  7. Change Position to drift toward the subject.
  8. Play the clip back to check the motion.

To position the image visually, click the word Motion in Effect Controls and drag the image in the Program Monitor.

Choose a Direction

  • Push in (scale up): draws attention to a face, detail, or line of text.
  • Pull out (scale down): reveals context, such as a person in a wide landscape.
  • Pan (position only): follows a line in the image, such as a road or a group of people.

Keep it subtle: 10 to 20 percent of Scale change over five seconds feels deliberate. Make sure the image covers the frame at both keyframes, or empty edges slide into view.

Smooth the Motion with Easing

Keyframes are linear by default, so motion starts and stops abruptly.

  1. In Effect Controls, drag a box around the Scale and Position keyframes to select them.
  2. Right-click a selected keyframe.
  3. Choose Temporal Interpolation > Ease Out for the first keyframes and Ease In for the last. Bezier gives similar results with adjustable handles.

For a steady drift through a slideshow, linear keyframes can look better: motion does not stop at every cut.

Reuse the Motion on Other Photos

  1. Select the finished clip and copy it (Cmd+C on Mac, Ctrl+C on Windows).
  2. Select the other photo clips.
  3. Choose Edit > Paste Attributes.
  4. Check Motion. Leave Scale Attribute Times checked so the keyframes stretch to each clip's length.
  5. Click OK.

Then adjust Position per image, and check any photo with different dimensions.

Optional: Add Motion Blur

Fast pans can stutter. The Transform effect (Effects > Video Effects > Distort > Transform) has its own Scale and Position controls plus a Shutter Angle setting. Uncheck Use Composition's Shutter Angle, raise Shutter Angle, and animate Transform's properties instead of Motion.

Troubleshooting

Problem Likely cause Fix
Image looks soft while zooming Scale to Frame Size was used, or the image is small Use Set to Frame Size and a larger image
Black edges appear Image does not cover the frame at one keyframe Raise Scale at that keyframe
Motion jumps at the start Keyframes were not created on the first frame Drag the first keyframes to the clip start
Pasted motion looks wrong Different image sizes, or Scale Attribute Times was off Paste again with Scale Attribute Times on, then adjust each clip

If you collect photos from a browser as you edit, pasting images straight into a Premiere bin skips the save-rename-import routine for each one.