Use Keynote to produce a slideshow of your photos.
Keynote isn’t just a tool for presentations, it’s also a great piece of software for creating slideshows from your photos. Of course, iPhoto, OS X screensavers and the Apple TV also create great slideshows from your photos, but Keynote offers you far more flexibility to tailor the show to your liking. For example, when creating an iPhoto slideshow, you only get to set the transition type and the images that are used.
By contrast, in Keynote you can select which images appear, how they appear and when they appear. You also have a wide range of transitions to work with and you’re not limited to using a single transition in your slideshow.
In this tutorial, we’re going to show you how to create a simple slideshow that works in a similar way to the default Apple TV screensaver.
This will use the Move In transition and a selection of Keynote photo slide templates.
By setting the order in which the Keynote builds occur, as well as the direction that the transitions work in, you can quickly put together a really impressive and engaging slideshow. You can then export it as a movie file and send it to friends, upload it to the web or simply show it off on your TV or Mac. We’ll also show you how to include a cover slide for your project, complete with a title to introduce the images before the slideshow begins.
You will need a good selection of images to use with your slideshow. You’ll also need to pick a Keynote template that includes collaged images, for the slideshow to look its best. Beyond that however, you’re free to experiment with different styles and transitions to fine-tune your slideshow. That way you’ll have it looking great in next to no time.
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Launch Keynote and select a template to suit your slideshow. The Leather Book template is a good option for the cover of the slideshow but other templates include better slide styles for images. You can switch slideshow theme once you’ve started your project if you wish.
Fill in the text on your cover and add a new slide. From the Masters menu, select a photo-oriented style as we have here and switch theme if you need to. Click Media and drag the photos you want to use from the Media Browser and into the spaces provided
Select the first photo on your slide or the photo furthest to the left of the slide and click the Inspector button. Now click the Build tab at the top of the Inspector pane. Select Move In from the Effect menu and Left to Right from the Direction menu.
Select the next photo in your slideshow and, in the Inspector’s Build pane, select Move In from the Effect menu and Right to Left from the Direction menu. Now select the next image on your slide, set the Move In effect and select Top to Bottom as the direction.
Your images should be set to move in order from the first image to the last; check by clicking More Options in the Inspector’s Build pane. This shows a list of the current builds and clicking one shows the transition in the preview window. Click and drag to reorder builds.
Select all slide images and click the Build Out tab in the Inspector’s Build pane. Select the Move Out effect from the Effect menu and select Top to Bottom as the direction. This makes your images drop off the screen one by one when all the images have been added.
Click the More Options button in the Inspector’s Build pane again to show the Build Order if it isn’t already shown. Three new builds will have been added for each image as they drop out. Drag the builds to new positions to set the order in which the images drop off the screen.
Continue to add slides and new images in this way until you’ve used all of your photos. You can also experiment by choosing new build effects and templates for each slide to keep things interesting. When you’re done, save it or export it from the Share menu
