In days gone by, you could preserve memories by developing pictures, mounting them in a photo album and writing captions. More recently, you could make your photo memories more interesting by following the scrapbooking trend and adding colorful embellishments to your photo layouts. However, surpassing all of the older methods, photo slideshow montages have become the perfect way to showcase photos for viewing on a computer or television screen. The montages can be set to music and captions can be added to help capture the mood of the images you want to feature.
Instructions
1. Decide on a theme for your montage since this will direct all of your other choices. Making a montage to celebrate a baby's first year most likely means a different feel than a montage that celebrates the success of a heavy metal band.
2. Find software that will help you make your montage. If you own an Apple computer, iDVD has the capability to create one, and if you own a PC, there are many photo slideshow software titles available. If you don't want to buy a new program, you can search online for a site that allows you to create the show using its software. One True Media is an example; it allows you to purchase a DVD or share a basic montage online for free.
3. Select the photos you want to use in your montage. If the photo files are not on your computer, you will need to upload them from a disk or scan them. Make any photo edits that you desire, including fixing red eyes or cropping pictures to remove superfluous background images. Most slideshow software has such photo editing tools available, or you can use the photo software that came with your digital camera.
4. Add a title slide to your show, as well as transition slides that explain or comment on the subject of your montage. Use simple titles or meaningful quotes to guide viewers through your montage. Transitions, which are special effects in between photos as the montage changes from one photo to the next, should last for two or three seconds and allow enough time for the viewer to see the photo. Some programs also allow you to add captions directly to the photos themselves. Read the instructions for your specific program to learn add such slides.
5. Choose music that reflects the theme of your show. The addition of music makes the montage come alive. Pick songs that tie into the events or represent the people being showcased. You may need to alter the length of the song to make it fit the length of your montage, or you might be able to change the display time of each photo so that the show fits the music. Again, you will need to consult the instructions for the program you are using to learn exactly add music.
