This week, we’ll take a look at the Slideshow module. Again, there are tutorials, books, and our workshops for more in-depth instruction, so we’ll continue with this series’ overview coupled with a few hints.

As we suggested last week, open your own copy of Lightroom to see more details. The screen shots below each section of text will show you where to look and indicate what you might expect to find, but your own monitor will show you a larger view.

It is always fun to put together a slide show, whether for a family occasion, a business meeting, or a get-together of friends. But first, you need to gather the images for your show, and this is where Collectionscan come in handy, especially if your images reside in different folders. Head back to your Library mode, and go to the first folder containing images you want.

Collections

This is the easiest way to gather images. Collections do not require a second copy of your images; they simply refer to the location where those images reside. This means, too, that you can gather images from different sources.

When we put together a lecture, we pull in images from all sorts of folders to illustrate different points we are making.  For this illustration, let’s say I want to do a slide show of students’ work.

For this example, I import the appropriate title slides from our BCPA Images folder into Lightroom. I don’t need all the images in that folder imported, since some of them are masters, some logos, some graphics, etc. that I never need to tweak in Lightroom. It is good to remember, as noted in our earlier blog series on digital asset management, that Lightroom is an imaging program, not as robust cataloging program such as others out there. Also, as explained in that same series, we are importing thumbnails and the ability to work with images, not the physical images themselves. Again, refer back to that series for a full explanation.

I select the title slides that applied to the slide show I am going to create.

Then, I click on the plus (+) sign to the right of Collections in the lower part of the left panel. In the dialogue box that comes up, I type in a name for my new collection, check off the box labeled Include selected photos and click on Create.

You will now see in the image below that there is a Collection called Student Slideshow UT08 containing seven images, the number of the title slides selected.

Now, I head to another folder to select some student photographs. Normally, we have the students submit one photograph from each location, but for purposes of this blog, we’ll select four from each student, then click on the photograph section of one, not the gray area around it, and drag the photographs into that same Collections folder. If we want to add some fun shots of students in the field, I repeat the process.

Slideshow Module

Now that I have created a Collection for the slide show, I head over to the Slideshow module. There, in the left panel, are some Lightroom Templates. They tend to bore me, as they are generic, but they can be a really good starting point for creating your own template. With that in mind, I head over to the right panel and tweak the settings to give my slide show the look I want.

Hints

For designing purposes, I uncheck the Slide Duration box in the right panel and select Play that, to my mind, is a much more accurate preview than Preview. In the screen capture below, Slide Duration is still checked. It should be noted here that you can run a slide show in automatic or manual mode.

Checking the box enables the automatic mode, but if you are going to discuss the images presented, you may want to leave the box unchecked and select the next slide by clicking on your keyboard right and left arrows. For automatic mode, I use a 1.5-second fade, as I find that the default of 2.5 seconds takes too long. Of course, this is all a matter of personal aesthetics.

Once I have everything the way I want it, I click on the plus (+) sign by Template Browser in the left panel.

A dialogue box comes up, and I type in my name for the new template, BCPA Slideshow, and press Create.

Ta-daaa! There it is under User Templates.

Hint

If you need to update your template later, first select it, make your changes, then right-click on it and select Update with Current Settings. Easier than the proverbial pie!

Exporting

One should remember that not everyone has Lightroom, so it’s always a good idea to export your show in either as a JPG or PDF show, universally readable forms.

Next Installment

We’ll look at the Print module in our next installment.

Meanwhile, we hope to see many of you at our workshops this year. We already have lots of sign-ups, including a good number of our alumni/ae. There are several discounts available. For more information, go to our Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures website, and if you are considering joining us, do as others have already done … make your room reservations. You can always cancel later if necessary! We have added a Wish List section to our Calendar. Some of our alumni have expressed interested in our putting together workshops both in Spain and at Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks. If we get enough interest, we will.

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