Best Adobe CC Tool For Creating Photo Slideshow

[Partnering for Profit]

Hi guys

I want to create a photo slideshow that will become a short explainer video.

I would like to be able to:

1. add words over images and in between images being displayed
2. add music to the video
3. add transition or other effects to the images
4. save as a video
5. upload the video to YouTube and/or Vimeo.

I have Creative Suite so can use any of the programs but not sure which one to use. Is it just one or do I need to use multiple. If so where can I find tutorials for how to do this, I am a newbie for this purpose.

I know there are other tools on the market that can be used to do this but I want to know the best Adobe tool for the task.

Thanks

Michelle

[John T Smith]

Your title says CC which is Creative Cloud and new, but your question says Creative Suite which is CS6 and earlier (ie-OLD)

Which do you have?

[Partnering for Profit]

Didn't realise there was a difference and Creative Cloud is what I am using.

Thanks

Michelle

[macpawel]

The easiest way is using Lightroom

Just import some pictures and go to Slideshow Tab.

Here you can add transitions, music and set many options for your Slideshow.

Of course you can also use:

Animate

Photoshop

Premiere

After Effects

But this is much more difficoult

pawel

[brewster38c]

Why does it say at the top of this page, "This question is Not Answered."  ???

[TomFidd]

Maybe because Lightroom is buggy, so your easily-created slideshow will freeze upon export.

[christofutti]

i have lightroom and there is no slideshow tab

[That Girl There]

I too am interested in this question. For the exports out there who have created slideshows, which tool provides the most flexibility.  I have tried in Lightroom, and though it may be easier it is quite restrictive. I wanted to place text in a certain spot, it limits me to where I can place text, and it is not consistently placed on each slide.

Would Encore, Premiere or After Effects be better tools to do what Michelle requested in her initial post, while providing the greatest flexibility to do different things on each slide, yet not require a Ph.D. to learn to use the tool.

Thanks

[Michael Bullo]

Hi Tanya,

I would recommend After Effects. The learning curve can be a little steep but once you have got your head around the basics you are free to pretty much create whatever you like.

If you need to edit photos you would do this in Photoshop and import the results into After Effects.

Similarly, if you need to create or edit vector based assets such as logos or diagrams you would do this in Illustrator and also import those into After Effects.

Keep in mind that After Effects is generally used to output video such as MP4. If you were wanting HTML based content Animate would be the program of choice.

Premiere Pro is also a fantastic video editing program but cutting together large amounts of video is it's main focus. After Effects can still do excellent video editing but it is better suited than Premiere Pro for creating presentations.

Michael

[That Girl There]

Thanks Michael. I'm looking to create DVD/BluRay discs and YouTube videos, so I'll look into how I can create slideshows in After Effects

[Michael Bullo]

Excellent. Happy to help.

[Derek Cross]

After Effects is a fantastic application, some say it's Photoshop on steroids! But it has a steep learning curve.

Of the non-Adobe products, I would say that Fotomagico is the easiest to learn. For Windows there's also iSkySoft but I haven't tried it: iSkysoft Slideshow Maker: Make amazing photo videos in seconds.

[davescm]

You could make a simple slideshow in the Photoshop Video timeline and with a bit of work add titles and a premade soundtrack. However, it is much more effective to use the right tool for the job so , I would use Premiere Pro for compilation , transitions, music and voice over. I would then use After effects only for any sections where specific effects were needed that were not available in Premiere Pro.

Note : Once you have your completed video, you will need separate software for Blu Ray authoring.

Dave

[Derek Cross]

That's probably the professional way Dave, but it will take a lot of effort to learn both Premiere and After Effects. I'd suggest a simpler solution unless it's mission critical!

[That Girl There]

Thanks Dave. I have Encore CS5. My goal is to make slideshows to showcase my photos and specify the photo's name and gallery and point back to my website. 

I currently have access to Lightroom, After Effects, Premiere (Pro and Elements), Encore, Movavi Video Suite and Photoshop. I like that you have ultimate flexibility in After Effects, but after watching some video courses on Lynda, it seems like a very complicated tool to learn for my purpose. Yet Movavi has the similar constraints as Pr. Elements where it allows pan/zoom but is sometimes limiting. 

Right now, I might just create a simple slideshow in Lightroom and edit/embellish it Movavi and Premiere Pro. I dunno, feeling a bit frustrated as one tool has a steep learning curve and the other is overly simplistic.

[Derek Cross]

The other two applications that are supplied with the Creative Cloud suite that are worth having a look at are:

Adobe Portfolio | Build your own personalized website

https://spark.adobe.com

[Test Screen Name]

Be aware that current versions of Creative Cloud no longer have any DVD authoring. Your old Encore will do nicely, so long as you do not update your systems.

[davescm]

Hi

If your intention is to use Premiere to embelish it, I would just start in Premiere. Set up your required video format then import your images as clips and drop them onto the timeline. You can adjust the lengths and transitions for each clip easily and zoom/ pan around the image to introduce a bit of movement to the video.

Dave

[Trevor.Dennis]

I think I'd be looking at ProShow Gold, although I think that Photodex is no longer trading.  That's a real pity if it is the case, as it did what it did very well.

I've used Premiere Pro to make slide shows, but I wouldn't output to DVD with Encore nowadays.  Smart TVs and all computers will play MP4 files, and I am not sure that Encore CS5 can output 1080P.

[RH6194]

I don't know how good this program is yet, however there is an interesting new software option that just launched in the past week by the name of Photopia. (www.photopia.nl).

It has been well designed by developers who had experience working on Photodex's ProShow applications and appears to be very full-featured, albeit not inexpensive.

For those of us who use Adobe CC products however, the pricing may not be as troubling since we typically want high quality, professional grade tools and are willing to pay a premium - Photopia looks, at least preliminarily, like it may fit that description.

At launch, it is only available for Windows, although their website states they will have a native Mac version "coming soon". It is available in two different packages - Creator and Director. They are using a subscription pricing model, which seems to be the direction the industry is moving in. Subscription costs for Creator are $9.99/mo or $99.95/yr and Director is $24.95/mo or $249.95/yr.

As a former user of ProShow Producer, the high-end version from Photodex. I can say that it appears that the developers of Photopia are taking the design and features of ProShow to the next level. They do include a demo video created using their Director version on their homepage and it is extremely impressive.

One very nice feature in this software is the ability to export to just about any major format you can name...as well as burn directly to DVD or BluRay disc.

We certainly can do most all of this in CC applications, but this appears to be a potentially simpler to use application designed specifically to be a slideshow content creation tool.

I am personally wrestling a bit with the cost of the Director version (that I would want) however I'd love to hear what the rest of you think after checking it out. I am still waiting for the Mac version before I use my free trial, however if you use both Windows and Mac, they say you can use the same account for BOTH versions. Please share your first impressions if you either try it or end up subscribing.

**NOTE** Their website address above IS correct...they are using a new .nl suffix in their domain name. I have not seen an address like this before so I thought it might be helpful to some to reassure that it is correct.

[Derek Cross]

As mentioned by previous members, there are loads of possible solutions including:

InDesign with in5  Ajar Productions: Design Design Software (Makers of in5)

None Adobe products worth considering are:

Fotomagico https://boinx.com/fotomagico/

ScreenFlow Video Editing and Screen Recording Software | ScreenFlow

Camtasia Buy Camtasia | Camtasia | TechSmith

[Ussnorway]

Muse is the best but its end of life now

[DavidGra303]

I was in a rush to put sometihng together a bit more ambitious than a slide show. I chose, yes, Adobe Rush and it is doing the job that I needed. No frills though, but you can mix video and photos, lay music tracks and create reasonable title sequences. Minimum learning time and good training videos. David.

[westdr1dw]

Acrobat Pro is good with multiple tools within.

[Ussnorway]

you need prem-pro = best

Rush = can do basic work