A picture is worth a thousand words. In fact, a well-arranged and presented collection of photos can say a million words.
Weddings are as emotional an event as they are exciting. From the happiest moments to those minor slip-ups, wedding photos capture everything. A photo slideshow is the best way to bring these memorable moments together.
But do you feel burdened with the pressure of creating a photo slideshow? Good news–you no longer have to be. This article will guide you through quick and hassle-free steps to make a wedding photo slideshow.
Choosing the right editing tool is 90% of the job
Choose the right slideshow maker, and most of your work is done. There are various online and offline options for editors. However, if you have a stable and fast wi-fi connection, you can choose an online slideshow maker. Some advantages to using an online editing tool:
- Not all offline editors are made for both MAC and Windows. So, choosing one can be confusing.
- You don’t need extra hard drive space. Simply save online and share.
- There is a vast catalog of templates to choose from.
- Many online editors are free.
Don’t have a stable internet connection? You can always go for a slideshow maker that can be used offline.
Time to pick the photos
Searching for photos is like looking for a needle in a haystack. You receive pictures from friends, family, and photographers as well as find some in your phone library. Once you have them in one place, create a separate folder on your desktop and divide them into two groups.
One that can be used for the slideshow, and the other can be all the extras. It may seem like a tedious process, but the more organized your photos are, the faster you can create your photo slideshow.
You must also consider the number of photos you want to add. If you’re going to create a ten-minute slideshow, allowing five seconds per photo, you can choose up to 120 individual images.
You can also make a collage, in which case you will need to extend the timeline. Allocating more time to photos that carry more emotional value is also necessary. Overall, think about the length of the slideshow and accordingly choose pictures.
Choose a template and upload your photos
If you’ve picked an online slideshow maker, it’s time to upload all the photos online. Some online editors have a size limit. To avoid this problem, keep each image’s size under 5 MB. Check the format of your pictures as well.
Many times, professional photographers click photos in a raw format. While asking for images from your wedding photographer, ask them to convert them to .img, .jpg, or .jpeg formats.
Next, choose a wedding slideshow theme or template. You can explore free templates on online video editors. You can select a pre-decided template that has the following features:
- A flow of the slideshow means you simply place pictures in the template.
- It has pre-arranged fonts and colours.
- Keep what you like and change what you don’t like. (For example, keep the font type, change the font colour).
You can start with a blank page and create your design using various elements and options in the editor.
Editing and arranging the timeline
From your online inventory, pick and place pictures one after the other. You can also create a collage of photos and put them in one slide.
Decide for how long each image will stay on screen. You can either keep all the pictures for the same amount of time or change the time depending on the number of people in the pictures, the emotional value, etc.
On an online editor, you can edit the images too. Changing contrast or cropping the picture are some basic functions you can use. If required, you can place the text on photos, add a background, add elements, GIFs, and more using an online editor.
What about music?
Music enhances the dramatic value of any image. So, if you like, you can add music or a voice-over to the slideshow. You can also consider muting the audio for pictures where you think the music doesn’t work.
There are websites you can explore to download free music. There are also several websites selling music for such purposes.
Time to review
Once your slideshow is ready, it is time for a review. Watching it from the beginning can help you find critical issues and minute details that you might have missed.
You can then iron out these problems. You can also ask your family or friends to look at the slideshow and take their opinion.
In a nutshell, your online slideshow editing checklist would look like this:
- Editing the photos
- Placing the photos in a template
- Applying smooth transitions
- Correcting spelling errors in the text
- Check if the images are too full of text
- Make sure the music matches the slideshow
- Length of the slideshow
Conclusion
Share the final draft with your family and friends using the share options available on online editors.
If you don’t have space on your computer, you can use the storage service provided by the online slideshow maker. However, make sure you create at least two copies of your slideshow—one online, saved on the cloud, and another offline, saved on the drive.
It’s very easy to create a slideshow in both online and offline modes. What matters most is the tool that you use for this purpose. An efficient editor will allow you to create your wedding slideshow faster and without hassle. In contrast, a slow and old editor might not give the same results.
Remember to keep all the photos in one folder to import them into the software quickly. Finally, spend a couple of minutes getting used to the software.
Understand basics, such as where to find transitions and how to add photos to the timeline. The overall task of creating a slideshow from scratch should not take you more than 45 minutes. Start learning how to create a slideshow today!