Creating a Family Photo Book with Audio (not music)

[AlRohrer]

<p>I have: Adobe Photoshop CS6, Elements 11, Premiere Elements 11, Lightroom 5.6, and ProShow Gold, and a Zoom H4N for the audio.<br>

What I want to do: Create a family photo slideshow from old images that have been flatbed scanned from the original prints which were not of great quality. I want it to be a slideshow where I talk about each image and that image stays on the screen until I have finished talking about it, then move on to the next one automatically when I am done talking. <br>

Output: DVD, Web, and possible YouTube. DVD for sure. <br>

I know CS6 very well, but the others not so much. I am just becoming a Lightroom user and haven't really gotten into it yet. I am 68 years young so not looking into anything long term or difficult to learn. Just a simple setup that I can use to create a nice little slideshow for the younger people in our family, especially those that are scattered around the country, who never had a chance to know who they are or where they came from. <br>

I'm leaning towards Lightroom or ProShow Gold but would purchase (reasonably priced) other software if I found one that was designed to do exactly what I want to do and be simple to use. (Simple to use for me, not you:-). I really don't have time to get into two or three different softwares so would like to have some advice from those who <strong>have done </strong>something similar to what I want to do or have experience with it who could point me toward which software would be the simplest to use and maybe some articles, tutorials, etc, to get me started. I will dig deeply into learning whichever software I finally select but need a jump start. <br>

I run a PC and Windows 7. Appreciate any advise you can give.<br>

Thanks,<br>

Al Rohrer</p>

 

[noreen]

<p>I have done something very much like this, but with photographs of birds. I recorded the audio with my iPod Touch, though could also have done so with QuickTime on my computer. I produced the video using iMovie, which was all I had at the time. I strongly suspect that Premiere Elements (which I also have now but have used only for editing existing .mov files) can also do the job.</p>

<p>This, and the links mentioned here, might help you: <a href="https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1184009?start=0&tstart=0">https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1184009?start=0&tstart=0</a></p>

<p>(There are surely online tutorials for this sort of thing as well.)</p>

<p>Good luck with your project, Al! (And I am interested in what others might suggest, since I plan to do such a thing again, myself.)</p>

[AlRohrer]

<p>Thanks Noreen. Checking your link and other tutorials.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Hi Al, Premiere Elements 11 will fill your needs quite nicely if I understood your requirement correctly.<br>

<br>

You can apply the Ken Burns effect (pan/zoom) to the images as opposed to having them as static on-screen stills which can be quite boring. Here's an Adobe tutorial:<br>

<a href="http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-elements/using/pan-zoom-create-video-like.html">http://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-elements/using/pan-zoom-create-video-like.html</a><br>

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Burns_effect">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Burns_effect</a> <br>

<br>

Syncing the audio using your Zoom H4N can be done in a couple of ways:</p>

<ol>

<li>you can record the audio separately as you view the images, import it into the editor, then manipulate each photo as instructed above and match it to the audio timeline; or</li>

<li>you can record directly to the computer using the H4N as a USB mic. </li>

</ol>

<p> <br>

It's also a good idea to resize your photos approximately to the desired maximum video output resolution before importing them into the editor; say 1920x1080, or larger if you intend on zooming. This will reduce the PC's workload. </p>

[AlRohrer]

<p>Thanks, Michael. I'm taking notes. Was wanting to record directly to computer using the H4N while I sit there and view the image I'm talking about. I'm not sure but I believe that I can record using the H4N to the computer and to the H4N at the same time so if one screws up, I still have the other.</p>

 

[Charles_Webster]

<p>You should write a script and think about how long you want each image on the screen. Leaving one image static on the screen too long while you talk about it can become boring very quickly. Family holiday or travel snapshots for example.<br>

Try to make your words fit into reasonable sized chunks so the visuals keep moving along and hold the audience interest.</p>

 

[AlRohrer]

<p>Thanks, Charles.</p>