Photography Slideshow?? help needed

[Phil.hearing]

I want to show clients a slideshow of their images, preferably to music. I know their are many programs that can do this but I don't just want to use any program! (I'm fussy) I have seen a particular slideshow as I have been following a photographer on the internet (kate melwee) and I was wondering if anyone knows anything about it?

Here is a link to the slideshow...
http://katemcelweeclients.com/clients/slideshow/Emily+EdeWedding/

(sorry if this is a common thread topic, especially if its be answered may times)

[seaside]

Its really difficult to tell which software program she used. Most of the better ones give you the option of creating a show for web use, HD widescreen for tv, blu-ray, etc... Most allow you create very simple slide shows such as this (by the way, depending on the subject it is effective because the less flashy sometimes the better they are).

I use Proshow Producer by Photodex. Most folks would be fine with the less costly Prowshow Gold version however. I need the option of producing lively, flashy shows too. Many have images of kids on vacation and such and the fancy, glitzy shows hold their attention and they love them that way.

You may want to download trial versions of a few programs and see what you like.

[Phil.hearing]

ill try that one out :) thanks

[DONHFOTO]

I second that Chris, I also use Producer after a short stint with Gold....

[seaside]

Just another thought - if you burn your shows to DVD you may want to try either Taiyo Yuden Premium or Verbatim. I'll no longer use anything else. Often times when problems viewing the show occur folks blame the slideshow programs but the issues usually reside in the poor quality media. I figure if I'm going to produce good quality slideshows then I'm using the best DVD media I can find.

[Faolan]

Its really difficult to tell which software program she used.

She used ShowIt, you can tell by the source code. However the 'best' applications for slideshows are pictures to exe and also Proshow Gold/Producer which are far more versatile.

However if you want something that's overkill then you have Sony Vegas, After Effects, Final Cut and so on which integrate both video with stills, some will even offer a psuedo 3D environ for the images.

A similar question was asked here:

POTN thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=671799)

[alan_potter]

I didn't see anything in the cited show that couldn't be done with Microsoft Photo Story. Photo Story has several advantages over some of the more expensive progrems:

* it is free
* it can also generate timed, royalty-free music.
* it generates automatic pans and zooms

Downsides are that it doesn't output to widescreen, and if you want to do a lot of work on it then it can be clumsy to use. But it's got to be worth a try.

Here's a slideshow that I made from it - it's twenty minutes long, so you probably won't want to see it all. But it gives you an idea of what it can do, and what the auto-generated music is like (obviously it's highly compressed for the web):

http://www.stagepics.co.uk/video/sabos2009.wmv

regards,
/alan

[Faolan]

The main problem with that application (and others) Alan is it can't output to DVD or produce a EXE, and when you use these on the web for clients they often want them as a value added extra.

Also the best media output for the web these days is now FLV files as WMV can cause problems on alternative systems. The same applies for Quicktime MOV files, though this is better supported and reliable.

[seaside]

She used ShowIt, you can tell by the source code. However the 'best' applications for slideshows are pictures to exe and also Proshow Gold/Producer which are far more versatile.

However if you want something that's overkill then you have Sony Vegas, After Effects, Final Cut and so on which integrate both video with stills, some will even offer a psuedo 3D environ for the images.

A similar question was asked here:

POTN thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=671799)

ProShow Gold and Producer both integrate video. I don't personally shoot video but often use royalty free video backgrounds for slideshows.

[alan_potter]

Faolan, you might want to have a quick look at http://www.sonic.com/products/Consumer/PhotoStory/ It's a £15 plugin for Photo Story that - it claims - lets you burn directly to DVD from within PhotoStory.

I've never tried it, so cannot comment on it. But I have had positive experiences writing from Photo Story in its highest-resolution output mode (1024 x 768, from memory) and then using a standard DVD-making package to re-encode it to MPG and burn it to DVD.

Never touched FLV though.

regards,
/alan

[Faolan]

I apologise for the bad phrasing about Proshow, I never meant to imply that it couldn't handle video, though it's handling compared to the other applications is under-powered however that's not what it's target market is.

As to the plug in, I stand corrected though personally I would choose an application that can do a lot more. Why double the amount of work if you want to offer these digital lifebooks to clients?

FLV format is found throughout the media sites such as Vimeo and YouTube because of it's high quality compression (On 2 VP6). Plus all you need to play the videos is Flash Player which the majority of people will have installed.

[Phil.hearing]

A similar question was asked here:

POTN thread (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=671799)

thought it might be a common question :P

I already knew about Sony Vegas, After Effects and Final Cut but for simple and quick slideshows I think its a bit of overkill, especially cos these products tend to cost alot!

I've tried a trail version of pro show GOLD, can someone tell me why I would want to get producer?

I am adept at using editing programs, but what I want to do is to make simple slideshows to show off my images (as I believe that these tend to be classier)

I'm genuinely impressed with the amount of options pro show gives you, but I have a mac and pro show isnt made for a mac. I do have access to a PC but all my software is on my mac i.e. photoshop, aperture ect so I would prefer to have the software on my mac (although if it came to it I would use my pc) Show it can be used on my mac.

Show it is also much cheaper than proshow: Show it pro = $199 Pro show producer = $249.95 (i'm not tight but I don't want to needlessly spend money)

any more thoughts or advice? thanks

[strokeofg]

has anyone ever compared these tools to iMovie used in compilation with iDVD?

[grimm5577]

I want to show clients a slideshow of their images, preferably to music. I know their are many programs that can do this but I don't just want to use any program! (I'm fussy) I have seen a particular slideshow as I have been following a photographer on the internet (kate melwee) and I was wondering if anyone knows anything about it?

Here is a link to the slideshow...
http://katemcelweeclients.com/clients/slideshow/Emily+EdeWedding/

(sorry if this is a common thread topic, especially if its be answered may times)

They used the software showit to create that gallery.
http://www.showitfast.com/#/home/

[Phil.hearing]

They used the software showit to create that gallery.
http://www.showitfast.com/#/home/

thanks grimm...but someone has already answered that part of my question...

can any one offer any advice on my second?

[kgauger30]

I received a free 3 month membership to Animoto at a seminar, and I am LOVING it.. Something you should really check out, it is easy and the commercial benefits are well worth it. You can get a full year for $249, 3 months for $99 . I am so excited to use this, it has made making slideshows AWESOME and EASY!! You upload your pics, add text, pick music and they create it for you.. With the commercial account you get free unlimited downloads of dvd quality also..

it is Animoto.com or use this link and you get $5 off!! http://animoto.com/?ref=quvdwjrn (Like what smugmug does, nice referral credit :O))

[kgauger30]

OH, you can also pull in full galleries from smugmug!!