Graduation Slideshow Ideas for a Celebration You’ll Always Remember!
Graduation is a fleeting milestone that you’ll want to hold onto and relive for years to come. A slideshow is the perfect way to capture that feeling of achievement for both the graduate and their loved ones. From elementary school all the way to graduate school, the journey of every student spans many emotions and experiences. Slideshows can help you capture those special photos, video clips, words and songs that bring back memories of school days.
All you need is good slideshow maker, like Smilebox, a bit of creativity, and these innovative graduation slideshow ideas to create an attractive, meaningful relic of graduation that can be sent to friends and relatives, or shown live at a celebration.
Top Graduation Slideshow Ideas for the Class of 2021
1) Start strong with the right look
When perusing templates for graduation slideshow ideas, you can easily get inundated with choice. There are so many ways to go: formal, simple, funny, nostalgic—each with its own layout, color scheme and style. The best solution to this abundance of options is to think about the graduate’s personality, and your own as well. Which design would the graduate like? And, what would they expect from you? For example, if they are used to you clowning around and teasing them, then choose a template with a fun motif and add your special touch. Whatever slideshow maker you decide to use, make sure it offers plenty of customization and sharing options. Here is one useful place to start your search.
2) Arrange photos to form a narrative
In slideshows, photos are the building blocks of your story. Once you’ve gathered the photos you want to use, look for a theme. One graduation slideshow idea is to show the graduate both at school and having fun, as they alternately progress through their studies and time off.
Because graduation is often the result of years of work, a chronological order is another great way to arrange photos. You can even search beyond just images of the time they spent learning, and go further back to give a deep overview of the graduate’s life to date.
3) Get the music just right
Choosing the music is key to conveying the desired emotion. Want to make your viewers smile? Pick a song like Third Eye Blind’s “Graduate”. Want to bring up feelings of nostalgia? Go for a song like Eve 6’s “Here’s to the Night”. Or you can pump up your audience with a popular choice like Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling”.
If your slideshow is short, keep it to one or two songs. For longer slideshows divided into themes, you can choose tunes that match those motifs.
4) Hold their attention with some witty words
No graduation slideshow is complete without text. If pressed for time, simply add a few titles every couple of slides for the sake of organization. For example, if you put your slideshow in chronological order, note the years and any major highlights as you go along. It’s also a good idea to include a short explanation for photos or videos that might not be recognized by the audience.
If you have the time and space for a bit more text, one great way to up the entertainment factor is with a few fun comments on humorous or memorable moments. You can also include shout-outs to anyone you’d like to thank, or include personalized wishes at the end for the graduate and their peers.
5) Go wild with the personalization
With the right slideshow maker, you can change nearly every element of a graduation slideshow to suit your style. And it doesn’t require special design skills, either. The best slideshow makers only require a few clicks to edit the fonts, colors, and text. Slideshow animation features also add another lively dimension to your slideshow.
Another important element is a preview tool that lets you watch your slideshow as it will appear in its final version, but which still lets you tweak your creation before sharing it. Smilebox offers an online slideshow maker with all of these features and more, for beginners and pros alike.
6) Slideshows are meant for sharing
Once you have proofread your text and made sure that all of your photo arrangements and slide transitions make sense, it’s time to share it! Again, the right slideshow maker will easily let you send your creation to family and friends by picking from a number of sending options, which should include email and social media. If you post it on Facebook, include a status update that touches on the emotional theme of the slideshow, whether that’s humor, nostalgia, celebration, or a mix of everything.
You can also consider making a permanent copy by saving it as an MP4 file on your computer.
Turning Graduation Slideshow Ideas into Personal Works of Art
Graduation slideshows don’t need to be limited to older students or even higher education. You can make a unique graduation slideshow for a child ending their first year in grade school or for someone finishing a summer internship program. Slideshows are a great tool of choice to make any achievement even more special. Once you complete your first graduation slideshow, you’ll see how easy it is to get professional-looking results in just a short time! Smilebox is the perfect place to create a graduation slideshow, so get started now!
