Create a personalised slideshow using Faces

With the festive season just around the corner, now is the time to start thinking about personalised gifts. And what perfect way is there to start your creative juices flowing than by making a slideshow of your recipient’s best pictures in iPhoto? With the addition of the Faces feature in iPhoto ‘09, this is made all the more easier. If, like us, you have thousands of images at your disposal, it can be time- consuming to have to search through every event for the best shots, but using Faces means that you can refine your searches quickly and easily. iPhoto also offers some fun themes for slideshows, which are simple to add and edit but give your projects a slick, professional touch. Once you’re happy with your final product, burn it to a DVD, print some labels, pop it in a case and wrap it up. So there you have it: a great and inexpensive personal gift that everyone will love.

1: Faces first
Once you’ve launched iPhoto, go to the Faces icon on the left-hand side of the interface and click. Select the person that you want to create a slideshow of, head up to ‘File’ and select ‘New Album From Selection’.

2: Choose the project
Select ‘Slideshow’, which is the fourth icon along the top, and enter a name for your project in the field provided. Make sure that the box ‘Use selected items in new slideshow’ is ticked and press Create.

3: Select a theme
Hit the ‘Themes’ icon at the bottom centre of the interface to change the theme of your Slideshow (we like Shatter for its funky transitions). Click Choose, but don’t worry if you don’t like it: just hit ‘Themes’ again.

4: Preview and export
Select the Play button (bottom left) to preview your slideshow full- screen, or Preview to view within the interface. When you’re satisfied, hit the Export button (bottom right). Select the format and press ‘Export’.