Photoshop Elements 13: The Missing Manual

Chapter 18. Creating Slideshows

Elements makes it easy to create slick slideshows—even those with music and transitions between the images—that you can play on your computer or send to friends. Slideshows got a complete makeover in Elements 13. The good news is that now, for the first time, you can create slideshows on a Mac. You can also create HD videos and even send your slideshows straight to your Facebook page.

However, making slideshows is now much more automated than it was in earlier versions of Elements. That automation makes the process much easier, but if you’re looking for the kind of control and customization options that were in the Windows Slide Show Maker in earlier versions of Elements (like the ability to design your own pans and zooms), it’s not available anymore.

Note

If you find that the Elements’ slideshow options don’t meet your needs, here are a few alternatives: ProShow Gold from Photodex (www.photodex.com) is probably the most popular slideshow program for Windows. On a Mac, if iMovie, iPhoto, and iDVD don’t work for you, FotoMagico (www.boinx.com) is the next step up. Also, many people create online slideshows using the photo-sharing services mentioned on A Few More Ways to Share.

If you prefer the simple life, you can still quickly create a plain-vanilla PDF slideshow in about as much time as it takes to email a photo. PDF slideshows are really straightforward to create, but you can’t add audio to them or control how the photos transition. On the plus side, ...