How to Make a Video With Pictures in 5 Simple Steps
Online slideshows are easy to make, but not easy to make perfect. Professionals with years of experience in making a video with pictures understand that a good slideshow is a balancing act between an engaging message and captivating visuals. With just the right amount of text, animation, and music, combined with your images, you can create an expert-level slideshow for fun, celebrations, and business.
Our Top Tips on How to Make a Video with Pictures
1. Location, location, location
Before starting to work on your slideshow, think about where you will be presenting it—or where it will be shared. If it will be shown online to friends who can pause it, read it carefully, and who don’t care about minor mistakes, then you can take more liberties with the following guidelines. But if you need to know how to make a video with pictures that will be shown live to clients, your class, or some other finicky audience, then you must ensure that everything makes sense and runs smoothly, far in advance. If presenting live/automatically, or for professional reasons, never hesitate to show your slideshow to your most honest friends ahead of time. You can use their feedback to make sure your slideshow is absolutely perfect before the big event.
2. Keep it brief
Less is more when it comes to making a video with pictures. A good rule of thumb is a time range of three to five minutes. If presenting your slideshow in person, you may hold your audience’s attention for a bit longer, but online viewers are likely to click off after a few minutes.
Another tip to try is limiting each slide to one powerful photo. Remember, people will be listening to your narration, reading bullet points, and processing the slideshow’s images. Limiting your photos in this way will let them focus. It will also force you to show your best stuff and give a higher-quality show.
If using a slideshow for business purposes, you can always provide more information in a separate document that you can send along with your slideshow. This will both eliminate needless info from your slideshow and give people something to remember you by once the presentation is over.
3. Story arc
When making a video with pictures, remember that you are telling a story. Make sure your slides are in the appropriate order, and that each slide reveals something new. If creating a slideshow for a major life milestone like a wedding or memorial, you can group the photos either by chronological order or by life events.
Visual transitions are an effective tool to amp up the dramatic effect between slides. Just be sure that you don’t go too wild with the animated transitions so that they don’t distract the audience from what’s important.
4. Look, feel, and sound
Customization is key to creating a video with pictures that will stand out and be remembered. Many online slideshow maker platforms, such as Smilebox, allow you to choose a professionally-designed template and modify it to suit your taste. First, think about your font: from conservative to unique, try out different fonts until you find one that matches the mood you’re trying to convey.
You can’t really master how to make a video with pictures unless you carefully consider your music. Choose a tune or two that matches the mood and content of your slideshow. A good place to find the proper song is often right there in your software, which should have audio options. Otherwise try royalty-free music, which is available in many varieties through a Google search.
If you have a logo, you can apply its colors to the slide templates to brand yourself. Or go a step further and put a small version of your logo in the corners of your slides.
5. Final review
Now it’s time to go through your slideshow with a fine-tooth comb and check that your text and photos are all in the right place, the music is turned on, etc. Make sure to run your slideshow just as you would during the actual presentation to check that the speed is on-point and all the features work. This is also a good time to practice your narration timing, if relevant. Finally, if you have access to the venue of your slideshow, you can do a dress rehearsal, which might reveal issues with sound volume, poor connections, a broken projector, missing extension cords, etc. You’ll be so glad you did! And even if you’re only posting your slideshow online or sharing it via email, it’s always a good idea to watch it through from beginning to end at least once to make sure it’s perfect.
Smilebox Practically Teaches You How to Make a Video with Pictures
Figuring out how to make a video with pictures is much easier when you’ve got the right program to guide you. Whether you need a slideshow for a wedding, memorial, work event, or any other occasion, be sure to check out the online slideshow maker from Smilebox. Our user-friendly platform is designed to allow anyone to create a stunning slideshow—no design skills needed.
It’s actually so easy that you might find yourself making slideshows for all sorts of things. Why send someone just an eCard when you can give them memorable slideshows for birthdays, holidays, and every other occasion?
To make your own professional-looking video with pictures, visit Smilebox today.
