CSS: Image Hover Effects You Can Copy and Paste

In the past, we’ve wrote about some awesome examples of CSS effects that were easy to copy and paste right into your code.

Today, we’re going to follow that up with ten new effects specifically built for use with images. Each example comes with an HTML and CSS snippet.

1. Sneak Peek

Before we begin creating the individual demos, some basic setup is required. Here’s a chunk of CSS that we’ll be using to dictate the basic appearance of all of the examples.

  -webkit-box-sizing: border-box;
     -moz-box-sizing: border-box;
      -ms-box-sizing: border-box;
          box-sizing: border-box;
}
 
body {
  background: #333;
}
 
.pic {
  border: 10px solid #fff; 
  float: left;
  height: 300px;
  width: 300px;
  margin: 20px;
  overflow: hidden;
   
  -webkit-box-shadow: 5px 5px 5px #111;
          box-shadow: 5px 5px 5px #111; 
}

Box-sizing allows you to manipulate the box model, and the pic class gives us a place to toss in some generic styling for each photo.

2. Zoom and Pan

The first group of effects involves utilizing some tricks with hidden overflow. By clipping the image to the bounds of a div, we can pull off some pretty cool hovers.

To begin, we’ll make it so that when the user hovers over the image, the photo enlarges while still staying within its bounds, resulting in a zooming in effect. Here’s the HTML.

HTML

<div class="grow pic">
  <img src="http://yoururl.com/assets/img" alt="portrait">
</div>

Now let’s see the CSS.

/*GROW*/
.grow img {
  height: 300px;
  width: 300px;
 
  -webkit-transition: all 1s ease;
     -moz-transition: all 1s ease;
       -o-transition: all 1s ease;
      -ms-transition: all 1s ease;
          transition: all 1s ease;
}
 
.grow img:hover {
  width: 400px;
  height: 400px;
}

3. Shrink

We’ve seen how to grow an image on hover, so let’s reverse that effect and zoom the photo out. The method is pretty much exactly the same, only this time you’ll start with the size at 400px and shrink it to 300px on hover.

HTML

<div class="shrink pic">
<img src="http://yoururl.com/assets/img" alt="city">
</div>

CSS

/*SHRINK*/
.shrink img {
  height: 400px;
  width: 400px;
 
  -webkit-transition: all 1s ease;
     -moz-transition: all 1s ease;
       -o-transition: all 1s ease;
      -ms-transition: all 1s ease;
          transition: all 1s ease;
}
 
.shrink img:hover {
  width: 300px;
  height: 300px;
}

4. Side Pan

The next effect keeps the image the same size throughout, but pans it sideways as the user hovers.

CSS

<div class="sidepan pic">
  <img src="http://yoururl.com/assets/img" alt="kick">
</div>

HTML

/*SIDEPAN*/
.sidepan img {
margin-left: 0px;
-webkit-transition: margin 1s ease;
-moz-transition: margin 1s ease;
-o-transition: margin 1s ease;
-ms-transition: margin 1s ease;
transition: margin 1s ease;
}

.sidepan img:hover {
margin-left: -200px;
}

For the pan, we're not changing the image size like we did last time, but instead using margin to pull the image left on hover. If you want it to move right, use a positive value or margin-right.

5. Vertical Pan

We use this effect to convey a sense of motion, but this is also great for communicating height if you want to pan up something like a tall building.

CSS

<div class="vertpan pic">
  <img src="http://yoururl.com/assets/img" alt="climb">
</div>

HTML

/*VERTPAN*/
.vertpan img {
  margin-top: 0px;
  -webkit-transition: margin 1s ease;
     -moz-transition: margin 1s ease;
       -o-transition: margin 1s ease;
      -ms-transition: margin 1s ease;
          transition: margin 1s ease;
}
 
.vertpan img:hover {
  margin-top: -200px;
}

6. Tilt

This one is super simple, all we're going to do is rotate the image slightly when the user hovers over it. The result is a basic but fun illusion of a crooked hanging picture.

HTML

<div class="tilt pic">
  <img src="http://yoururl.com/assets/img" alt="car">
</div>

CSS

/*TILT*/
.tilt {
  -webkit-transition: all 0.5s ease;
     -moz-transition: all 0.5s ease;
       -o-transition: all 0.5s ease;
      -ms-transition: all 0.5s ease;
          transition: all 0.5s ease;
}
 
.tilt:hover {
  -webkit-transform: rotate(-10deg);
     -moz-transform: rotate(-10deg);
       -o-transform: rotate(-10deg);
      -ms-transform: rotate(-10deg);
          transform: rotate(-10deg);
}

7. Morph

When the user hovers, the image begins to spin. As it spins, it morphs from a square into a circle. The result is super fun to play with.

HTML