How to Make an Awesome Photo Slideshow
Slideshows can hardly be called a novelty – they have been around, known under the same name, since early 1900s, and their predecessors go as far back as 1600s. And yet, despite all the incredible technological advances that we’ve made throughout this period of time, slideshows remain, in this or that form, a powerful instrument for those who know how to use it.
Here are a few tips on how to make your slideshow really engaging, interesting and effective.
1. Keep It Short
It doesn’t matter for what occasion you are making your slideshow: birthday, wedding, funeral, anniversary, product marketing event, whatever – as there is one simple rule that should be applied to slideshows in all circumstances. They should be short, ideally about 4-5 minutes and certainly no longer than 10-15 minutes.
Why? The reason is simple – keep it even a little bit longer, and you will have your audience playing with their phones in no time. Do you want that? I thought so.
Of course, it means that you will have to make some pretty tough decisions as to which photos to use and which to omit – if you are the author of these photos, you will want to show them all. However, the fewer they are, the more attention will be paid to each one in particular.
2. Keep It Simple
Beginners often get too fascinated and sidetracked by all the options and possibilities slideshow makers provide: all these effects, transitions and movement, if used in abundance, will confuse and annoy the viewers. The reverse is true as well – why bother with slideshow making software if you simply click through photos one by one anyway? Effects and transitions are the same as spices – both too much and too little are bad for taste.
3. Use Proper Tools
If you are an expert photographer and use slideshows to showcase your work, you probably need professional software to do so; however, the majority of such applications are rife with unnecessary features introduced to justify their high cost. When all is said and done, a slideshow isn’t supposed to be too complex, so you probably don’t need the majority of these additional functions anyway. In 9 cases out of 10 a free slideshow making tool will be more than enough to cover all your bases.
4. Pick the Music Carefully
It won’t do simply taking any song you like and thoughtlessly attaching it to the slideshow. Make sure your music matches the general mood of images. Again, make sure it is simple and unobtrusive, that it won’t distract the viewers’ attention from the photos but on the contrary, make the impression they produce more complete. The rule of thumb is to avoid anything with words in it, a piece of classic instrumental music will do nicely almost anywhere.
5. Remember Your Audience
Who are your audience? What do they like? What are their preferences? What do they expect? Answer these questions before you start compiling your slideshow. When you are done, try to imagine how your potential audience will react to it, try to isolate your own feelings and impressions – after all, you are not doing the slideshow for yourself. It is an important thing to do in all aspects of your work: what music to choose (you should know the preferences of your audience, what will be appropriate and what won’t), which photos to select and which to omit (perhaps some photos will annoy or embarrass somebody from the audience) and so on.
Slideshows may appear simple and unassuming – but now you know that there is more about them than meets the eye. Use these tips and your next effort will certainly become a hit!
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