iPhoto Tutorial: How to create an action-packed slideshow

When you return from a holiday, you’ll often have hundreds of photos that you’ll want to share with your friends and family when they come over to see you. However, watching someone flick through endless numbers of photos can be incredibly boring, so simply scrolling through your snaps will quickly become dull. Thankfully, there are a few great ways to make your shots more interesting to those who weren’t there with you, and iPhoto’s Slideshow setting lets you customise the way your images will look to keep your viewers entertained through every one of your photos. For the most heart-pounding ride through your trip, you can create an action-packed slideshow using fast-paced music and dynamic transitions to keep your friends and family enthralled. In this tutorial we take you through the process of making an exciting photo slideshow that will allow you to relive your holiday like never before.

Step 1: Get creative

First of all, select the photos you want to use and click on Create in the bottom-right corner of the iPhoto window. Select Slideshow from the list.

Step 2: Entitled

To give your slideshow a title, either type it into the sidebar on the left of the window, or simply double- click the title and type what you want it to say.

Step 3: Thematic

Now you can add a theme. Click Themes in the bottom-right to see a list of the themes available. For our action slideshow Shatter worked best.

Step 4: What’s playing?

Next, click Music in the bottom-right. You’ll have access to all kinds of music, including iTunes and songs built into iPhoto. Pick something fast-paced.

Step 5: It’s a set up!

In the Settings panel you have access to options such as slide length. Check this box and iPhoto will adjust this to match your music track’s length.

Step 6: Super effective!

You can also use this panel to add effects to your slides, such as Antique. We rarely apply these to action slideshows, but they can sometimes work.

Step 7: Aspects

The Settings area also holds the option to adjust the aspect ratio. Depending on how you’ll be showing off your slideshow, you may need to adjust this.

Step 8: Previews

To get a taste of what your finished slideshow will look like, hit Preview. The slideshow will play within the window with all the effects applied.

Step 9: Export

When you’ve finished your slideshow, hit the Export button. You’ll have options for how to export, and when you’re done hit the Export button again.

(Click on the image below to zoom in and view the annotations)