October 10, 2006
Memories are Made of These
Using iPhoto to build a memorable slideshow
By Stephen Schleicher

My sister got married a couple of weeks ago, and during the rehearsal dinner the families played a nice slideshow of the soon to be married couple. It was a trip down memory lane filled with pictures of the two when they were younger, dating, engagement, and so on. But then I discovered the entire production was built in PowerPoint.

iPhoto 6, part of the iLife package from Apple, not only allows you to organize and manipulate your digital photo library, but it also allows you to create a dynamic slideshow presentation that will make watching the family vacation (or wedding event) an exciting event. This tutorial will show you how to build the slideshow, add transitions, and even burn the entire project to DVD.

Step 1: Launch iPhoto, and navigate to the folder that contains the images you wish to use. At the bottom of the interface, click on the Create a Slideshow button.

In this new set up, all of your images are placed along the top of the screen in the order they were loaded into iPhoto. This will be numerically or alphabetically depending on how your camera captured the images.

Step 2: Arrange the photos in the order you want them to appear. If you don’t want to use a particular image, simply delete it. It will still be available in your Library, but not the slideshow.

One of the new features in iPhoto 6 is the introduction of the “Ken Burns Effect”. This effect is named after Ken Burns, who is famous for his slow pans, tilts, and zooms into still photographs for his documentaries. There are two ways you can apply the Ken Burns Effect to your slideshow; automatically with iPhoto, or by making the adjustments yourself.

I would suggest you turn off the automatic Ken Burns Effect, and set motion yourself. iPhoto is pretty smart, but it doesn’t know a thing about composition and framing. With automatic turned on, you’ll usually end up with cut off faces, bad framing, and odd timing.

Step 3: Click the Settings button, and in the pop up menu, turn off Automatic Ken Burns Effect. While we are here, we might as well set a few more options for this particular slideshow. Change the Transition to Dissolve (or whatever transition you prefer), turn on Fit Slideshow to Music, and set the Slideshow Format to 4:3 iDVD, TV.

Click OK.

Step 4: To create your own Ken Burns effect, navigate to one of the slides, and turn on the Ken Burns Effect along the bottom menu.

Immediately below that switch is a Start/End flip flop switch. This is where you will set keyframes. A keyframe is a key position in time that tells the computer where the image should be placed or scaled.

Let’s see how a typical move might be set up.

Step 5: Scale the image by dragging the zoom slider left or right. You can reposition the image by clicking and dragging in image view.

Step 6: Now click on the End label to set the ending keyframe. By default the image will snap back to its original size and position, which will probably work for most situations, but if not, scale and reposition to your liking.

TIP: Even a small move will make for a dramatic change in how your slideshow is perceived.

Step 7: You can click on the Preview Button to see how the move you created, as well as the transition to the next slide.

Step 8: Repeat this for the rest of your images in your slideshow. As you build your masterpiece, here are a few of things to keep in mind:

• Not every move has to be the same. Instead of zooming out, try a zoom in, or even a pan.
• Not every slide needs a Ken Burns effect.
• Only use your best images for greatest impact.
• Depending on the resolution of the image, it may degrade the more you zoom in.
• While you can have a different transition for each slide, simple and consistent works best.

Step 9: Time to add music. Click on the Music button and navigate to the folder where the song is located.

There are numerous places to find music for your slideshow including royalty free music libraries, or even a song you create in GarageBand. While you can use a track from your favorite CD, keep in mind you could end up with the RIAA knocking on your door for illegal copyright violation.

Step 10: When you have found your music, select the first image in your slideshow, and click the Play button to view your entire slideshow.

The biggest complaint I have with iPhoto and the Ken Burns effect is the lack of keyframe easing. The best way to think about keyframe easing is driving a car. You don’t go from 0 to 60 instantly, nor do you come to an abrupt stop. It is a gradual transition. The Ken Burns Effect tends to be rather abrupt in its movement, but it does do the job.

When you are satisfied with what you have accomplished, you can share your genius with family and friend by burning the slideshow to DVD.

Step 11: From the top menu, select Share>Send to iDVD.

The slideshow will export, and depending on the number of slides, length of the song, transitions, and movement, it may take a while.

When iDVD opens, your slideshow will be imported automatically, and all you will need to do is select the appropriate theme, change a few titles, and burn to disc.

But what if you want to have multiple slideshows on one DVD?

Simple. Without closing iDVD, switch back to iPhoto, build your next slideshow and share it as well. iDVD will add the new slideshow into the current project. Repeat as necessary for your entire photo album.

Hopefully this quick and simple tutorial demonstrated how to make a dynamic presentation of your photos for everyone to enjoy.

When not working deep in the labs of the DMN Central Division testing the latest and greatest software/hardware products Stephen Schleicher can be found at the local university teaching a few courses on video and web production. He can be reached at schleicher@mindspring.com. You can also visit him on the web at www.stephenschleicher.com. For even more fun listen to Stephen's Podcast The Coolness Roundup!