How to Create and Share Slideshows in the MacOS Photos App

July 5, 2017

One of our favorite features offered in the Photos app is the ability to create a custom slideshow from the images in your photo library. This can be really handy when putting together a slideshow for a family get-together over the holidays, or even a more formal event like a wedding or reunion. You can add text, choose a theme, add music, and even set how long each slide appears onscreen. Your finished slideshows can then be played on your Mac, iOS device, or Apple TV, but they can also be exported to a video file that can be played on almost any device. In this post, we’ll walk you through the process to create a slideshow and then export it as an MPEG-4 (.m4v) video.

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Create a slideshow

To create a slideshow in Photos, simply select the photos you want to include in the slideshow, click the + icon in the toolbar, and then select Slideshow from the drop-down list.

A dialog box will appear asking you to name your slideshow. Type in the name of your slideshow, and click OK.

Your slideshow will automatically be created from the images that you selected. You can also add images to the slideshow by clicking the + icon in the lower-right.

If you want to customize the look and feel of your slideshow, you can do so by clicking the icons on the right side of the screen. From here, you can change the slideshow theme, the background music, even the duration of each slide. For example, you can change the theme by clicking Theme Picker and selecting the theme you want to use from the list.

Exporting your slideshow

Once you are finished editing your slideshow, you can share it with others by clicking Export in the upper-right or by selecting File → Export → Export Slideshow.

When exporting your slideshow, you can choose the resolution of the movie file (you can choose between 480p, 720p, or 1080p) that will be created. You can also select whether you want to automatically add the created movie file to iTunes by checking the box below the resolution setting. Next, select the destination where you want to save your movie file, enter a file name, and click Save.

While your slideshow is exporting, you’ll see a progress bar appear on the top of the screen. Once it’s finished, you can open the movie file in an application like Quicktime.

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