During your last trip out of town you took a bunch of great photos and now you would like to be able to show them to all your friends by creating a nice presentation on your computer. However, if you are here now and are reading this guide, it seems clear to me that at the moment you do not have very clear ideas on what to do, or rather you do not know which software to use to do it. I am wrong? No, indeed. However, you don't have to worry because once again you can count on my help. In fact, with this tutorial I would like to show you the ones that in my opinion are the best photo slideshow programs currently in circulation.
There are plenty of software of this type, some are free while others are paid, some are only for Windows, others can also be exploited on macOS, on Linux and even directly online, from the web browser window. see for yourself the choice is not lacking at all. How do you say? You are not very familiar with computer science and would like to resort to the use of a simple tool to use? No problem, in the following list of programs you will find suitable resources also (indeed, above all!) For this.
Then? What are you still doing standing there? Start getting comfortable right away, take a few minutes of free time and concentrate on reading this article. I am sure that in the end you will be able to tell yourself more than satisfied as well as very happy to have finally found out which photo slideshow programs to use. Are you ready?
Free photo slideshow programs
Let's start with a nice roundup of programs for making presentations from photos for use on Windows PCs and Macs, many of which are 100% free. I am convinced that you will not struggle to find one suitable for you!
IMGDissolver (Windows, macOS and Linux)
The first among the photo slideshow programs I'm suggesting you to use is IMGDissolver. It is a free and very easy to use multiplatform software (Windows, macOS and Linux) that allows you to create slideshows starting from all the most popular graphic and video file formats.
Among its main functions, there are those to add text, transition effects and special effects to images, edit videos by cutting them and extrapolating frames from them and create customized music columns with MP3 and recordings from the PC microphone. Slideshows generated with this software can be exported in DivX format for PC playback or burned to DVD video.
To connect immediately to the official IMGDissolver website and download the software to your computer click here.
PhotoStage Slideshow Producer (Windows and macOS)
Another good software I want to invite you to contact is PhotoStage Slideshow Producer. It is one of the best and easiest to use tools available on the market. Use your digital photos to create spectacular slideshows that you can save as a video file on your computer or burn to DVD for easy sharing with friends and family.
It supports all major graphic file formats and has an extremely intuitive user interface, through which even newbies can create presentations full of effects, animations and background music. It can be used on both Windows and macOS and is available in two versions: a free one with limited functions and for personal purposes only and a paid one with more features and possibilities for commercial use.
To connect immediately to the official PhotoStage Slideshow Producer website and download (and possibly also purchase) the software on your computer click here.
DVD Slideshow GUI (Windows)
As its name suggests quite clearly, DVD Slideshow GUIis a free application for creating DVD photo slideshows. Thanks to it, you can take dozens of JPG, PNG, BMP and AVI video photos and turn them into presentations that can be played on any living room DVD player.
It supports the inclusion of background music, zoom effects, spectacular transition effects and captions. Very easy to use even for those unfamiliar with the PC. It is for Windows only.
To immediately connect to the official DVD Slideshow GUI website and download the software to your computer click here.
PhotoFilmStrip (Windows)
PhotoFilmStrip is a free program for Windows operating systems that turns out to be very valid for making photo presentations in DVD, VCD, SVCD and even Full-HD format. Among its main functions are the automatic recognition of the position of photos thanks to EXIF data, the addition of transition effects, background music and special effects, such as sepia.
It has very flexible output settings and supports all major graphic file formats. It is compatible with all major versions of Windows and is also available in a portable version that does not need installations to function.
To connect immediately to the official PhotoFilmStrip website and download the software to your computer click here.
Windows Movie Maker (Windows)
Although it is known to most as a video editing and processing program, actually Windows Movie Maker from Microsoft also lets you create spectacular photo slideshows complete with transition effects, background music, and overlay titles.
The program is totally free and is part of the application suite Windows Essentials, which also includes other tools for multimedia and communication, such as Live Writer, Messenger and Mail (you don't necessarily have to install them all).
To connect immediately to the official Movie Maker website and download the software to your computer click or here (English version). If you have any difficulty downloading the program, read my tutorial on how to download Movie Maker.
Bolide Slideshow Creator (Windows)
Bolide Free Slideshow Creator is a free software for making photo slideshows, through which you can easily create photo slideshows complete with transitions and music columns.
It supports all major graphic file formats, audio files and has a user interface that is so simple to use that even a child could use it. The generated slideshows can be saved in AVI, MKV, WMV format and also in the form of Full HD video. It is for Windows only.
To connect immediately to the official website of Bolide Free Slideshow Creator and download the software to your computer, click here.
Photo (macOS)
Do you use a Mac and the photo slideshow programs mentioned above have not been able to attract your attention in a particular way? Then you can resort to using Gallery to create beautiful slideshows with your shots. This is what today represents the default application on macOS for managing photos. The app is free and can only be used on Apple computers.
Photos features a modern and understandable user interface. At the disposal of the users there are various functions that can be used to create beautiful presentations in just a few clicks. For each video with photos that is created, text and background music can be added and a theme can be chosen from those available.
Photos is an application that comes standard on Mac. You can find Photos directly on your computer by going to the folder Applications.
iMovie (macOS)
In an article dedicated to what are the best photo slideshow programs it cannot fail to be mentioned iMovie, at least not as far as the Mac “universe” is concerned. It is without a doubt the most complete solution for creating video montages, with and without images, on macOS.
The application is ideal for creating “home” presentations but also includes advanced functions that allow users a little more experienced to obtain final results of excellent quality. iMovie combines a highly intuitive user interface with a rich set of advanced features and special effects.
iMovie is an application that is provided for free on all newer Macs but is also available as a separate application that can be downloaded and installed for free on older Macs where it is not present. You can find iMovie directly on your computer by going to the folder Applications or you can download it by clicking here.
Online photo slideshow programs
Do you want to avoid downloading and installing new software on your computer but are you still interested in some solution that allows you to create photo slideshows? Then take a look at the online services listed below, which work directly from the browser without requiring additional software.
Sharalike
Sharalike is one of the best online services that allow you to make presentations with photos and music: it is extremely intuitive, it does not require the installation of plugins or software on your computer and it does not have too stringent limits for its use, despite being free.
Its biggest limitation is that it stamps a watermark in the lower left corner of the generated videos and that it does not allow offline videos to be downloaded, but it is a very small price to pay compared to the many features offered by the service. Sharalike, in fact, offers many ready-to-use themes for making videos and allows you to use songs from Spotify as a background for the movies you create.
To connect immediately to the main Sharalike web page and start using the service click here. To learn more about how it works, instead, take a look at my tutorial on how to make a video with photos and music, in which I told you about it in more detail.
Magisto
Another valid service for photo presentations that can be used directly via the Web is Magisto. Basically, it is a free solution but it has some limitations: it allows the use of a maximum number of 10 photos for montages, it does not allow you to create movies longer than 15 minutes and it does not allow you to download videos locally (you have to watch them online). The paid plan that eliminates all these limitations costs $ 4,99 per month.
For the rest, it is extremely simple to use (even for novice users), allows you to obtain very high-level final results and offers various options for sharing your projects.
To connect immediately to Magisto's main web page and start using the service, click here.
Photo slideshow app
Since most of your photos are saved on the smartphone memory, are you wondering if there is any app to perform performance directly from it, without going through the PC? The answer, of course, is yes!
If you want to know more and want to find out how to make photo slideshows with music directly from your mobile phone or tablet, run to read my post dedicated to the best apps for making videos with photos and music on Android and iOS: you will be amazed by the potential of these solutions!
Photo slideshow programs
