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Richard asked: Now I'm in trouble. I went and volunteered to be the photographer for my daughter's swim team. For the final swim team banquet I will need to be putting together a slide show. So I got the Adobe Elements/Premiere package and have been working with it for a couple of weeks now. What I want to ask you is what would be a good way to approach putting together an interesting, well done slide show? I want a show that focuses on the swim team, not the slide show. I'd rather have a well done basic presentation that some fancy-schmanzy over done thing. Any tips would be great appreciated.
Hi Richard, A good question. How many times have you sat in a relative's house, watching slide shows or sorting through prints, and have just been bored out of your skull? My family are prolific photographers, and I have developed an automatic flight response to the sight of photo print envelopes. From this I've learned that a good slide show grabs the viewer's interest, and simplicity rules. There are three key pieces of advice I can give you for creating a compelling slide show: Story, Motion, and Music.
Story
Tell a story with your slides. Just because they're static doesn't mean still images can't be put together to create a scene. Using a sequence of photos that progressively demonstrates an event, even a race, can be just as gripping as if you’d used a video camera.
It helps to think about this when you’re shooting the photos. First, take lots and lots of photos. Take wide shots, close-ups, action shots, anything and everything you can see through the lens. Memory cards are cheap these days, so don’t feel inhibited. If you see something interesting, click the shutter.
Second, get lots of candid shots. Nothing makes a slide show more boring than shot after shot of people grinning at the camera. You should have good opportunities at the swim meets to catch the swimmers waiting for a race, parents cheering them on, and the winners celebrating.
Third, cover different angles. Enlist other parents with cameras if possible. That being said, sometimes telling a scene with several shots from the same position and camera angle can be effective.
Finally, when the meet is over and you have all of the photos on your computer, start sorting through for the best ones, and work on ordering them in a scene. In Photoshop Elements, creating a Collection is a quick way to tag the best shots and order them to tell an effective story.
Motion
Also known as the Ken Burns Effect. Once you have your photos ordered, it’s time to start making them come to life.
Panning across photos and/or zooming in and out helps to focus the viewer's interest or add drama to the image. But use it sparingly. Don't move faster than necessary, and keep the motion simple. You don’t want the motion to distract the viewer from the image and the story.
Transitions also help to blend the images with each other and provide a sense of time to the slide show. Like panning and zooming, keep it simple. Transitions are often abused, used for novelty rather than because they help the story. Simple dissolves are usually the most effective, but let the pace of the story and music determine whether or not you use a transition and how long the transition should last.
Speaking of duration, also keep in mind the duration of each photo. Keeping most photos in a scene the same duration will help provide consistency for the viewer. But depending on the music and/or narration you choose, a faster or slower pace may be needed. Also, if you want to make a point by zooming on a photo, or connect it to a point in the audio, you may want to let the photo run longer.
A side note: Whether you’re panning or zooming or just letting the photo sit still, let the photo fill the screen. During a slide show, black matting on the outside of the images can be distracting. If you can’t avoid having the matte show, use an appropriately colored background with a non-distractive gradient, pattern, or logo. Also, if you’re going to be using a television to show the final slide show, make sure that when you shoot the photos you don’t zoom in too tight on the subject. Leave a little border around the edge, as televisions cut off a margin around the outside of the image.
Music
This may be obvious, but it’s a point worth emphasizing. Your choice of music will have a big impact on how the final slide show comes together. I would recommend against using well known or cliché songs. Pick something that fits the mood of the event, or the personality of the team. I find that a good jazz piece makes it easy to edit to the music. If you choose a faster piece, you can cut to the beats, but be prepared for more work.
You can find links to free audio resources on the Video In a Snap Audio Links page.
You may also want to include narration with your slide show. Prepare what you want to say by writing it down and practicing out loud a couple of times. Do a few takes and play them back to make sure that you’re coming through clean on the microphone, and your tone of voice is steady and appropriate. When mixing narration and music, make sure that you can be heard clearly. It’s better not to use music with lyrics if you’re going to talk through it.
Now that you know what goes into making a compelling slide show, let’s take a quick look at some of the mechanics.
Both Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements are capable of creating a great slide show. They can both pan and zoom the images, add transitions, and allow you to put audio in the background. Which one should you use? They both have strengths and weaknesses.
Photoshop Elements has a dedicated, easy to use slide show creator. It makes it very easy to add motion and music. You can add captions and make quick global changes to all the slides. However, making fine changes to the slide show is near impossible. You can’t edit the slides to the beat of a song, for example. If you record narration, you won’t be able to control how the words match to the image.
Premiere Elements allows you total control over the slide show. You can keyframe pans and zooms in great detail. You can add effects to the clips that change over time. You can easily edit the audio and edit your photos to the audio. But there are a lot more steps involved. If you decide you want to change the duration of several photos, for example, you have to change them all individually. Setting up keyframes involves many more clicks than the same effect in Photoshop Elements.
The final decision about which program is up to you and how comfortable you feel with each program and how much time and effort you want to expend. If you just want to get it done quick, use Photoshop Elements. If you want a lot of control and have time to tweak the photos, use Premiere Elements. You can also combine the programs by doing simple segments in Photoshop Elements and more complex segments in Premiere Elements.
Great slide shows take time to put together, but the end result is always worth it. Keep simplicity in mind, let the images tell the story, and your slide show should be a hit.
Last Updated November 2005
About TikiTim
TikiTim (known to the outside world as Tim Kurkoski) is an Adobe Certified Video Specialist and an Adobe Certified Expert in Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Photoshop. Since 2001 he has been waist-deep in the worlds of digital video and digital imaging, consulting and providing support to schools, photographers, videographers, television stations, pretty much anyone who asks. Really. Go ahead and ask him something. Just don't come crying to me when he won't shut up.
TikiTim is tired. He spends a lot of time driving up and down I-5. Why? He thought it would be a grand idea to take a high-paying job in Seattle but keep his home in Portland. A regular Einstein, this one is. If you see him on the highway, make sure to honk and wake him up.
When he's not driving, sleeping, or working, TikiTim enjoys playing soccer, watching hockey, Alfred Hitchcock films, travelling, cooking, etc. etc. etc. Oh, and spending time with the wife, that should go at the top of the list. TikiKatie provides cuddles, laughs, and occasional web development advice.
