Create A Simple Photo Montage Slideshow Quickly - Premiere Pro

Introduction

In today's tutorial, we'll guide you through the steps to quickly create a simple photo montage slideshow using Adobe Premiere Pro. Follow these detailed instructions to create your slideshow that effectively showcases your collection of photos.

Step 1: Create a New Sequence

1. Open Premiere Pro: Begin by launching Adobe Premiere Pro.
2. Create a New Sequence: Navigate to File > New > Sequence.
3. Select Sequence Presets: Choose Digital SLR > 1080p > DSLR 1080p 24 frames as your starting point.
4. Adjust Settings: Under the settings tab, confirm your settings. If you're looking to edit and export in 4K, switch the resolution to 3840 by 2160. For this project, we'll stick with 1920 by 1080 HD for a smaller file size.
5. Name Your Sequence and Hit OK: Assign a name to your sequence and click OK.

Step 2: Import Your Photos

1. Open Project Bin: If your project bin isn't visible, access it via Window > Projects.
2. Create a New Bin: In the project bin's blank area, right-click, select New Bin, and rename it Photos. Open the new bin.
3. Import Photos: Go to File > Import, select your photos, highlight them, and hit Import.

Step 3: Organize and Adjust Photo Order

1. Toggle Icon View: Click on the icon view button to have a better view of your photos.
2. Full-Screen Thumbnail View: Hover over your project bin and hit the tilde key (~) to maximize the thumbnail view.
3. Reorder Photos: Use the scrollbar to adjust the size of the thumbnails, click-and-drag to reorder the photos. If you encounter issues, ensure User Order is selected in the sort options.

Step 4: Adjust Photo Duration

1. Select All Photos: Press CMD + A on Mac or CTRL + A on Windows.
2. Change Duration: Right-click and select Speed/ Duration. Set your desired duration for each photo (e.g., 5 seconds).

Step 5: Add Photos to the Timeline

1. Drag Photos to Timeline: Unminimize the view (Press the tilde key) and click-and-drag your photos to the timeline.
2. Scale to Frame Size: Select all photos on the timeline, right-click, and choose Scale to Frame Size.

Step 6: Apply Cross Dissolves

1. Set Default Video Transition Duration: Navigate to Premiere Pro Preferences > Timeline and change the Default Duration for video transitions to 1 second.
2. Set Cross Dissolve as Default Transition: Right-click on Cross Dissolve under Effects > Video Transitions, and select Set Selected as Default Transition.
3. Apply Transition: Press CMD + A (or CTRL + A) to select all clips and go to Sequence > Apply Video Transition or use the shortcut CMD + D (or CTRL + D).

Step 7: Add Ken Burn's Effect

1. Select a Full-Screen Photo: Identify a photo that fits the frame well and has a cross dissolve.
2. Toggle Animation: Adjust the Scale setting for the photo (e.g., start at 120 and end at 125).
3. Copy and Paste Attributes: Right-click the photo, choose Copy, select all clips, then right-click and select Paste Attributes to copy effects across.

Step 8: Nest and Blur Background

1. Nest Bottom Layer: Highlight all photos, right-click, and select Nest.
2. Scale up Nested Sequence: Find the photo with the most black bars, and scale it up in the Effects Controls window.
3. Add Gaussian Blur: Go to Video Effects > Blur and Sharpen, drag Gaussian Blur onto the nested clip, and increase the blurriness while selecting Repeat Edges.

Step 9: Export Your Slideshow

1. Select All Materials: Highlight everything using CMD + A.
2. Set In and Out Points: Hit the Question Mark key (?) for in and out points.
3. Export Media: Go to File > Export > Media. Ensure the format is H.264, adjust the target bitrate based on desired quality, and choose your output name and folder.

If this tutorial helped you create a stunning photo montage slideshow, please give it a thumbs up! For adding background music and looping it, check out my additional video linked here.

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Keyword

• Photo Montage
• Slideshow
• Adobe Premiere Pro
• Sequence
• Import Photos
• Cross Dissolve
• Ken Burns Effect
• Export

FAQ

• What is the most suitable format for exporting my slideshow?
  The recommended format for exporting is H.264 for high compatibility and quality.

• How do I adjust the duration of photos in my slideshow?
  Select all photos, right-click, choose Speed/ Duration, and set your preferred duration for all photos.

• What is the Ken Burns effect?
  The Ken Burns effect refers to a zooming and panning effect on still photos, typically used in documentaries and slideshows to add visual interest.

• Can I check the quality of my exported video?
  Yes, look at the target bitrate setting during the export process; increasing this will enhance video quality but also increase file size.

• How can I add background music to my slideshow?
  You can import audio files into Premiere Pro, place them on the audio timeline, and adjust their length to loop seamlessly with your photos.