A birthday slideshow can be an exciting surprise for anyone. Who wouldn’t like to see pictures of themselves over the years (or decades) as they celebrate turning one year older? With all the preparations that go into throwing a fabulous birthday party, a birthday slideshow may be low on the list of priorities. It shouldn’t be. It’s easier to make one than you might think. Let’s get started!
Gather your Pictures
We’re halfway through decade number three of the digital camera revolution. If you are putting a slideshow video together for one of your kids born since the mid 90s, it’s likely most (or all) of your pictures are already digital, which makes the gathering process easy. If you are doing a slideshow video for an older adult, you may have to visit the scrapbooks and photo albums and fire up your trusty scanner to digitize your pictures. Alternatively, you can get groups of photos scanned and put on a CD or thumbdrive at most drugstores and even large supercenters that have a photo department. Be sure to gather pictures that are in focus, with good lighting, and high quality. Choose pictures that are at least 1920×1080 in resolution otherwise those pictures may look pixelated when you show them.
How Many Pictures Do I Need?
Great question! The answer is highly dependent on your gathering. If you intend to have people watch together as a group, a 4-5 minute video is a good starting point. If it is too long of a birthday video, people will become bored. If it is too short of a video, people will be wondering why there wasn’t more to it. A good rule of thumb is to show each picture for 3 seconds with a 1/2 second transition, so that works out to around 85 pictures for a 5 minute video. If you’d like a slightly longer time on screen for each picture of say, 5 seconds, that would be 55 pictures for a 5 minute video. You can obviously go longer or shorter on this. We have another guide with 5 Steps For Creating a Perfect Slideshow Video that goes into this in a bit more depth.
Choose Your Slideshow Maker and Upload Your Pictures
With so many slideshow makers available, the choice can seem overwhelming. Some require a subscription. Some start out free but require a payment if you want to enable certain features. Take a look at our guide on Choosing a Slideshow Maker for tips on what to look for BEFORE you get started. Once you choose your service, upload your pictures, rotate them, and arrange them in chronological (age) order. That will help your audience better follow the life of the subject. Keep in mind that depending on the video maker you choose, this step could be quick or take some time to accomplish. Some slideshow makers require each photo be placed on a page to create your slideshow, one at a time. Others can take all of your pictures and arrange them automatically, so you can create a beautiful birthday slideshow in just a few minutes. The choice is yours and your time is valuable, so make the best choice for your circumstances.
Presenting The Birthday Slideshow!
Most birthday parties are held in a home with a few dozen guests, so as a general rule, showing your slideshow video on a TV is perfect. The larger the TV the better, but generally a TV 50″ or larger should be suitable. If you have a party larger than that, or intend to have an outdoor birthday party, a projector might be in order. We’ve put together a guide with 5 Tips for Presenting Your Slideshow Video to help you make the best choice on which device to use for your presentation. It also covers how to get your slideshow video to display on it and discusses considerations for music slideshows where speakers may be required.
Recap
As a recap, keep these things in mind as you create your birthday slideshow:
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- Gather your pictures that you have in digital form (or scan them if necessary) and pick the best pictures that are high-res, in focus, and have good lighting.
- Aim for a 5 minute slideshow which means around 85 pictures when shown for 3 seconds with a 1/2 second transition
- Select a slideshow maker that can automatically arrange your images without you having to do so manually if you’re short on time. Upload your pictures and rotate and order them chronologically.
- Decide on the best device to show your video (TV, Projector, phone) based on the size and location of your audience and remember to have good speakers if your slideshow video has music
If you follow these tips, you’ll be well on your way to having a perfect birthday slideshow to make the occasion even more special!