Slide Shows in Lightroom CC

Goldf inch

Blue Jay

I am finishing up my winter Lightroom CC class.  It has been a great group who have shown their commitment to learning by the fact that they keep coming back.  Their dedication is especially remarkable given that it has snowed on every evening of the class.  We have covered image organization in the Library and Maps modules and spent two classes exploring the remarkable editing capabilities in the Development Module.  In me last class, I will run through the remaining tools which focus on sharing images with the outside world.  These modules include Book, Slideshows, Web and Printing, and of these, it is the Slideshow module that I use most often.  

Nuthatch

In the Slideshow Module, you can control the arrangement of images, layouts, backgrounds and titles. You can set the pace of the show, control transitions and time musical accompaniment. Finally slide shows can be exported to a PDF file or to a video file in a format consistent with the desired target audience.  As in most of Lightroom, the number of choices may initially seem daunting, but the control panel is arranged to create a logical, step by step workflow.  It all starts with selecting the images for your show.  Go to the end of the article to preview the Winter birds slide show.

Selecting Images

Images into a Collection

To simplify organization, it is best to start by placing your slide show images into a Collection. My “Feeder Birds” collection can contain images from different directories and the pictures can be moved about within the collection by simply clicking and dragging. 

A slide show can be created from files in a folder but, if the folder has sub-folders, the images can’t be rearranged. 

Saved Slide Show

Also, a slide show created from a collection can be saved to that collection and then returned to for further editing whenever desired.

Starting with a Template

Preset Templates

 The Template drop-down window on the left of the Slide show module includes choices of various templates.  Mouseing over each choice reveals a preview in the navigator window.  These are good starting points, and the templates can be edited as desired with adjustments in the Options, Layout, Overlays, Backdrop, and Titles panels on the right side.

Options

I picked a simple template to start, but for illustration I added various refinements. My first step after selecting my images for the slide show is to save the show to the collection.  The save button ls located above and to the right of the main window.   From this point, all my changes will be saved to the show.

Zoom to Fill

His option shows a part of portrait oriented images to fill the image space.  I work hard on my compositions and although you can adjust the crop, I generally prefer to preserve my complete image.

Options

Stroke Border

You can control the width and color of a border around your images.  I tend to avoid distractions that might interfere with the pictures and so, I generally pick a smaller border with a subtle color.

Red bellied Woodpecker

Cast Shadow

A drop shadow can add a sense of dimension to your images, but again a subtle effect is often best.

Show Guides

It helps to elect to make the guides visible. Un-linked,  the individual guides can independently adjust each side of the image.  This can be done by either moving the sliders or, more simply, by grabbing and moving the guides themselves.

         The Aspect Preview shows how the slides will fit on various devices, including a computer, a wide screen TV (16:9) or a standard TV (4:3).

OVERLAYS

The Identity Plate is similar to a title but can include either text or a graphic.

Identity Plate Title

You can also insert a preset watermark or star ratings.  Again, I generally like to keep things simple with as little as possible.  I usually don’t include watermarks or ratings. 

Custom Text

 Additional custom text can be added to the slides with the “ABC” button on the tool bar.  The style of each piece of custom text is controlled by Text Overlays tool box.

BACKDROP

Color Wash

The Backdrop Panel controls the background of the slides,  For my birds slide show, I selected a simple gray background and added a “wash” effect which displayed the background color in a gradient across the slide.  You can also use a graphic for the background, but care should be taken to avoid distraction by fading the background  image.

Graphic Background

TITLES

The titles panels allows the placement of an introductory screen with the title of the slide show and an ending screen, which for me, usually merely announces “The End”

MUSIC 

Playback Options

Music can greatly enhance the attractiveness of a slide show.  Copyrights can be an issue for the use of music files that are not in the public domain, but for my bird show I used one of my own audio clips of bird sounds.  

PLAYBACK

Controls for the slide show playback include the ability to sync your slides to music or to set your own slide length and cross fade time.   The Pan and Zoom setting displays the images while alternately zooming in and out.  It is fun to play with, but the zooming is totally unrelated to the content and I find it distracting.  

The “Repeat Slide Show” and “Random Order” options seem self-explanatory, but it is worth pointing out that the slide order can be changed by merely clicking and dragging the images within the filmstrip.

Gold Finch and Cardinal

After interrupting a preview or play of the slide show, the stop button (gray square at the far left in the tool bar) must be pressed twice to reset the slide show to the beginning.

EXPORTING

Ready for Export

Your final slide show can be saved either as a PDF document or in a video file with presets for files optimized for iPhones up to 1080p HD Video.  For my on-line slide shows I typically use the 720p setting for which works well for YouTube.  Once uploaded to my Channel on You Tube I can use the embed code to insert the video into my blogs.  Remember to uncheck the box to prevent YouTube from inserting links to other videos after yours is finished.

Export Video for YouTube

The Lightroom Slide Show Module makes attractive presentations and although it does not offer the most sophisticated options, its ease of use and integration with the other Lightroom features, makes it a great choice.

Check out my other blogs covering aspects of digital editing in both Lightroom and Photoshop.

PhotographicEditing (Photoshop & Lightroom)