Since many clients do not know where to begin, we thought it would be helpful to share some guidelines, tips, and best practices that we've learned throughout the years when preparing for your photo slideshow!
Getting Started
Start by selecting a total of 100 pictures and/or short video clips to use. This ensures the final production will be the perfect length and with keep your guests engaged. For reference, a typical 100 picture photo montage is approximately seven minutes long and is accompanied by two songs.
We recommend including as many pictures of your family and friends as possible, as everyone loves seeing themselves!
The best pictures are horizontal in orientation, as they fill majority of the screen.
All pictures must be provided to us in a digital, high resolution (200 dpi) .JPEG or .JPG file format. For reference, high quality digital pictures should typically be 1MB or larger in file size. Pictures from an older cell phone or those downloaded from social media sites may be lower quality and may appear pixelated within the montage.
All video clips must be provided to us in a digital, high resolution (1080p) .MP4 file format. Clips should be approximately 10 seconds or less in length. For best results, we typically mute the clip’s audio when appearing within the slideshow (unless otherwise noted). Feature videos or a Cameo work best either at the beginning or end of the slideshow.
If you have any physical pictures, we recommend scanning them at 200 dpi (dots per inch) on a traditional scanner to ensure the best quality. You can also try Evernote Scannable or other high quality scanning apps for your iPhone or iPad. Please also make sure that all pictures are properly cropped so no white border is visible.
Once you have selected all of your pictures, please review them to make sure that no one important is missing.
Slideshow Order
Pictures can be displayed either chronologically (birth to present) or randomly.
NOTE: We strongly suggest organizing your slideshow in a chronological or random sequence rather than by groups or categories. While grouping may seem logical, audience engagement significantly drops when viewers anticipate not seeing themselves. Keeping the order varied ensures consistent interest throughout the montage.
To organize the pictures chronologically, please change the file name of each picture to reflect the corresponding order (i.e. 001.jpg through 100.jpg).
For tips on organizing and renaming your photos, watch this helpful video tutorial:
If you would like us to randomly order the pictures, please just let us know when submitting your files.