When applying CSS3 inset box-shadow or border-radius directly to the image element, the browser doesn't render the CSS style perfectly. However, if the image is applied as background-image, you can add any style to it and have it rendered properly. Darcy Clarke and I put a quick tutorial together on how to use jQuery to make perfect rounded corner images dynamically. Today I'm going to revisit the topic and show you how much more you can do with the background-image CSS trick. I will show you how to use box-shadow, border-radius and transition to create various image styles.
Problem (see demo)
Take a look at the demo and note that there is border-radius and inset box-shadow applied in the first row of images. Firefox does render border-radius on image element, but doesn't render the inset box-shadow. Chrome or Safari doesn't render the border-radius and inset box-shadow at all.
Workaround
To get the border-radius and inset box-shadow working, the workaround is to apply the actual image as background-image.
Dynamic Way
To make it dynamic, you can use to jQuery to wrap the background image dynamically for every image element. The jQuery code below will wrap all images with a span tag and apply the image source as the background image (jQuery code by Darcy Clarke).
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.5/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
$(document).ready(function(){
$("img").load(function() {
$(this).wrap(function(){
return '<span class="image-wrap ' + $(this).attr('class') + '" style="position:relative; display:inline-block; background:url(' + $(this).attr('src') + ') no-repeat center center; width: ' + $(this).width() + 'px; height: ' + $(this).height() + 'px;" />';
});
$(this).css("opacity","0");
});
});
</script>
Output
The above code will output the following HTML code:
<span class="image-wrap " style="position:relative; display:inline-block; background:url(image.jpg) no-repeat center center; width: 150px; height: 150px;">
<img src="image.jpg" style="opacity: 0;">
</span>
Circle Image (see demo)
Now that the image is applied as a background image, you can pretty much add any style to it. Below is a simple circle image created with border-radius. If you are not familiar with CSS3, read my tutorial on the Basics of CSS3.
CSS
.circle .image-wrap {
-webkit-border-radius: 50em;
-moz-border-radius: 50em;
border-radius: 50em;
}
Card Style (see demo)
Below is a card-like image style created with multiple inset box-shadow values.
CSS
.card .image-wrap {
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px rgba(0,0,0,.8), inset 0 2px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.5), inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.4);
-moz-box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px rgba(0,0,0,.8), inset 0 2px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.5), inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.4);
box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px rgba(0,0,0,.8), inset 0 2px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.5), inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.4);
-webkit-border-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius: 20px;
border-radius: 20px;
}
Embossed Style (see demo)
With some alterations, I can turn the card style into embossed style.
CSS
.embossed .image-wrap {
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 2px rgba(0,0,0,.8), inset 0 2px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.5), inset 0 -7px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.6), inset 0 -9px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.3);
-moz-box-shadow: inset 0 0 2px rgba(0,0,0,.8), inset 0 2px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.5), inset 0 -7px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.6), inset 0 -9px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.3);
box-shadow: inset 0 0 2px rgba(0,0,0,.8), inset 0 2px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.5), inset 0 -7px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.6), inset 0 -9px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.3);
-webkit-border-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius: 20px;
border-radius: 20px;
}
Soft Embossed Style (see demo)
This is pretty much the same as the embossed style, but I just applied 1px blur to it.
CSS
.soft-embossed .image-wrap {
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 4px rgba(0,0,0,1), inset 0 2px 1px rgba(255,255,255,.5), inset 0 -9px 2px rgba(0,0,0,.6), inset 0 -12px 2px rgba(255,255,255,.3);
-moz-box-shadow: inset 0 0 4px rgba(0,0,0,1), inset 0 2px 1px rgba(255,255,255,.5), inset 0 -9px 2px rgba(0,0,0,.6), inset 0 -12px 2px rgba(255,255,255,.3);
box-shadow: inset 0 0 4px rgba(0,0,0,1), inset 0 2px 1px rgba(255,255,255,.5), inset 0 -9px 2px rgba(0,0,0,.6), inset 0 -12px 2px rgba(255,255,255,.3);
-webkit-border-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius: 20px;
border-radius: 20px;
}
Cutout Style (see demo)
Again with just inset box-shadow, I can make it to look like a cutout effect.
CSS
.cut-out .image-wrap {
-webkit-box-shadow: 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.2), inset 0 4px 5px rgba(0,0,0,.6), inset 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.6);
-moz-box-shadow: 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.2), inset 0 4px 5px rgba(0,0,0,.6), inset 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.6);
box-shadow: 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.2), inset 0 4px 5px rgba(0,0,0,.6), inset 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.6);
-webkit-border-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius: 20px;
border-radius: 20px;
}
Morphing & Glowing (see demo)
In this example, I added transition to the image wrap element. On mouse over, it will morph from rounded corners to circle and add a glowing effect. The glowing effect is done with multiple box-shadow values.
CSS
.morphing-glowing .image-wrap {
-webkit-transition: 1s;
-moz-transition: 1s;
transition: 1s;
-webkit-border-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius: 20px;
border-radius: 20px;
}
.morphing-glowing .image-wrap:hover {
-webkit-box-shadow: 0 0 20px rgba(255,255,255,.6), inset 0 0 20px rgba(255,255,255,1);
-moz-box-shadow: 0 0 20px rgba(255,255,255,.6), inset 0 0 20px rgba(255,255,255,1);
box-shadow: 0 0 20px rgba(255,255,255,.6), inset 0 0 20px rgba(255,255,255,1);
-webkit-border-radius: 60em;
-moz-border-radius: 60em;
border-radius: 60em;
}
Glossy Overlay (see demo)
The glossy gradient overlay is added with the :after pseudo element in the example below.
CSS
.glossy .image-wrap {
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.5);
-moz-box-shadow: inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.5);
box-shadow: inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.5);
-webkit-border-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius: 20px;
border-radius: 20px;
}
.glossy .image-wrap:after {
position: absolute;
content: ' ';
width: 100%;
height: 50%;
top: 0;
left: 0;
-webkit-border-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius: 20px;
border-radius: 20px;
background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgba(255,255,255,0.7) 0%, rgba(255,255,255,.1) 100%);
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(255,255,255,0.7)), color-stop(100%,rgba(255,255,255,.1)));
background: linear-gradient(top, rgba(255,255,255,0.7) 0%,rgba(255,255,255,.1) 100%);
}
Reflection (see demo)
In this example, I shifted the overlay gradient to the bottom to create a reflection.
CSS
.reflection .image-wrap:after {
position: absolute;
content: ' ';
width: 100%;
height: 30px;
bottom: -31px;
left: 0;
-webkit-border-top-left-radius: 20px;
-webkit-border-top-right-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius-topleft: 20px;
-moz-border-radius-topright: 20px;
border-top-left-radius: 20px;
border-top-right-radius: 20px;
background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgba(0,0,0,.3) 0%, rgba(255,255,255,0) 100%);
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(0,0,0,.3)), color-stop(100%,rgba(255,255,255,0)));
background: linear-gradient(top, rgba(0,0,0,.3) 0%,rgba(255,255,255,0) 100%);
}
.reflection .image-wrap:hover {
position: relative;
top: -8px;
}
Glossy & Reflection (see demo)
In this example, I combined the :before and :after element to create a glossy image style with reflection.
CSS
.glossy-reflection .image-wrap {
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.5), inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.6);
-moz-box-shadow: inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.5), inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.6);
box-shadow: inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.5), inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.6);
-webkit-transition: 1s;
-moz-transition: 1s;
transition: 1s;
-webkit-border-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius: 20px;
border-radius: 20px;
}
.glossy-reflection .image-wrap:before {
position: absolute;
content: ' ';
width: 100%;
height: 50%;
top: 0;
left: 0;
-webkit-border-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius: 20px;
border-radius: 20px;
background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgba(255,255,255,0.7) 0%, rgba(255,255,255,.1) 100%);
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(255,255,255,0.7)), color-stop(100%,rgba(255,255,255,.1)));
background: linear-gradient(top, rgba(255,255,255,0.7) 0%,rgba(255,255,255,.1) 100%);
}
.glossy-reflection .image-wrap:after {
position: absolute;
content: ' ';
width: 100%;
height: 30px;
bottom: -31px;
left: 0;
-webkit-border-top-left-radius: 20px;
-webkit-border-top-right-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius-topleft: 20px;
-moz-border-radius-topright: 20px;
border-top-left-radius: 20px;
border-top-right-radius: 20px;
background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgba(230,230,230,.3) 0%, rgba(230,230,230,0) 100%);
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(230,230,230,.3)), color-stop(100%,rgba(230,230,230,0)));
background: linear-gradient(top, rgba(230,230,230,.3) 0%,rgba(230,230,230,0) 100%);
}
Tape Style (see demo)
The :after is used here to create a tape like gradient on top of the image.
CSS
.tape .image-wrap {
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 2px rgba(0,0,0,.7), inset 0 2px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.3), inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.5), 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,.4);
-moz-box-shadow: inset 0 0 2px rgba(0,0,0,.7), inset 0 2px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.3), inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.5), 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,.4);
box-shadow: inset 0 0 2px rgba(0,0,0,.7), inset 0 2px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.3), inset 0 -1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.5), 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,.4);
}
.tape .image-wrap:after {
position: absolute;
content: ' ';
width: 60px;
height: 25px;
top: -10px;
left: 50%;
margin-left: -30px;
border: solid 1px rgba(137,130,48,.2);
background: -moz-linear-gradient(top, rgba(254,243,127,.6) 0%, rgba(240,224,54,.6) 100%);
background: -webkit-gradient(linear, left top, left bottom, color-stop(0%,rgba(254,243,127,.6)), color-stop(100%,rgba(240,224,54,.6)));
background: linear-gradient(top, rgba(254,243,127,.6) 0%,rgba(240,224,54,.6) 100%);
-webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 1px 0 rgba(255,255,255,.3), 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.2);
}
Morphing & Tinting (see demo)
In the example below, I use the :after element to add a radial gradient on mouse over.
CSS
.morphing-tinting .image-wrap {
position: relative;
-webkit-transition: 1s;
-moz-transition: 1s;
transition: 1s;
-webkit-border-radius: 20px;
-moz-border-radius: 20px;
border-radius: 20px;
}
.morphing-tinting .image-wrap:hover {
-webkit-border-radius: 30em;
-moz-border-radius: 30em;
border-radius: 30em;
}
.morphing-tinting .image-wrap:after {
position: absolute;
content: ' ';
width: 100%;
height: 100%;
top: 0;
left: 0;
-webkit-transition: 1s;
-moz-transition: 1s;
transition: 1s;
-webkit-border-radius: 30em;
-moz-border-radius: 30em;
border-radius: 30em;
}
.morphing-tinting .image-wrap:hover:after {
background: -webkit-gradient(radial, 50% 50%, 40, 50% 50%, 80, from(rgba(0,0,0,0)), to(rgba(0,0,0,1)));
background: -moz-radial-gradient(50% 50%, circle, rgba(0,0,0,0) 40px, rgba(0,0,0,1) 80px);
}
Feather Edge Circle (see demo)
The radial gradient can also be used as a mask to create a circle feather effect as seen in the example below.
CSS
.feather .image-wrap {
position: relative;
-webkit-border-radius: 30em;
-moz-border-radius: 30em;
border-radius: 30em;
}
.feather .image-wrap:after {
position: absolute;
content: ' ';
width: 100%;
height: 100%;
top: 0;
left: 0;
background: -webkit-gradient(radial, 50% 50%, 50, 50% 50%, 70, from(rgba(255,255,255,0)), to(rgba(255,255,255,1)));
background: -moz-radial-gradient(50% 50%, circle, rgba(255,255,255,0) 50px, rgba(255,255,255,1) 70px);
}
Browser Capability
This trick pretty much work on any browser (eg. Chrome, Firefox and Safari) that supports border-radius, box-shadow, :before and :after. The unsupported browsers will fall back to the image without any styles.
Use Your Creativity
As you can see, you can pretty much create any image style with combination of :before and :after pseudo element. If you come up with more creative image styles, please share it in the comments.
Update: CSS3 Image Styles - Part 2
Also read CSS Image Images - Part 2.
Great Post!
Thanks for sharing this…bookmarked and followed on twitter.
Nice job !
thanks
great job!!! the way you explained is very good. Let me try. thank you
Nick, this is a great tutorial. I thought the effects on ‘Morphing & Glowing’ were really cool. Could definitely use this to make a WP comments section more interesting.
I’ve done a bunch of testing and border-radius on images seems to work rather well currently without any extra finicky work. Or, at least, in my experience if their absolutely positioned it does. I haven’t done an exhaustive study and it was just WebKit (Safari/Chrome) and Firefox on the Mac. However, I would expect to find a similar behavior on Windows.
Likewise, with inset shadow if you position the image relative (or absolute, for that matter) you can use the :before pseudo-selector to create an absolutely positioned box with a width and height of 100% (goes just edge to edge of the IMG) and give that an inset shadow as well as a z-index to lift it above the image. Works the same as border radius.
Currently image elements do not support pseudo-elements, so unfortunately the second suggestion will not work.
wow … great! Thanks for sharing!!
The problem with the border radius and backgrounds can be fixed by using
http://css-tricks.com/7423-transparent-borders-with-background-clip/
nice ones… especially the morphing and tinting demo.
So cool !
Thanks for sharing these tricks !
Thanks. This could be very useful.
Whoa, that’s great! Thanks a lot!
Nice one. Thanks for sharing that!
very great css stuff… thumbs up and thanks for simple desription
Awesome! Thanks a ton for explaining the “make it a background image” fix. Can’t tell you how many hours i had wasted trying to apply some CSS3 directly to the img.
! :D Thank you, I love it! This is just the issue I have been grappling with on my portfolio, I have tested your code and styles out and it looks darn swell. Now I am fast at work writing it in. Thanks again so much!
Very nice examples!
working great.. thanks for sharing
Wow, beautiful post and very useful tips!
I have problems with the jQuery Code.
I’m using Drupal, so i added the code and cleared Drupal cache. On the first time I load the page, die images are wrapped correctly and everything looks nice. When I hit the reload button, the images are not wrapped anymore. It seems, that Safari & Chrome (OSX) caches the images and reloading the page doesn’t trigger the jQuery .load() function. I don’t have a solution yet, but for me it is not working in all situations/browsers. I even had the problem, that jQuery assumes a width & height of 0 for these cached images, so I added if($(this).width != 0){ … } to the code. In iOS Safari and Firefox (OSX) it is working correctly.
http://api.jquery.com/load-event/
It doesn’t work consistently nor reliably cross-browser
It doesn’t fire correctly in WebKit if the image src is set to the same src as before
It doesn’t correctly bubble up the DOM tree
Can cease to fire for images that already live in the browser’s cache
So there are known issues with the img .load() function vs. browser caching. The annoying thing is, that is works on the first page load. When a user reloads the effect is gone – that really destroys User Experience. Maybe someone finds a solution here…
You can use this plugin to trigger your load event consistently across browsers and even when the images are cached. https://github.com/desandro/imagesloaded
Great, that module is working!
Thanks
Great mini-gallery of fun tricks. Thanks for putting it together.