Promoting Your Business with Website Slideshows
Slideshows are a dynamic, creative way to showcase your designs on your website. They allow you to demonstrate your skills so potential clients can see your work … and see that you are “tech-savvy.”
But reality is, you don't have to be tech-savvy to put together a good slideshow for your website. All you need is the right software and about 30 minutes.
The easiest way to do it is by using Adobe Photoshop Elements (approximately $90) or Adobe Photoshop (approximately $600). These applications make it possible for you to add transitions – with narration and/or music – between the slides. However, remember that music can be annoying to visitors to your site. So use it sparingly (or not at all).
How to Do It
Begin by making a new folder and naming it something like “Portfolio Slideshow” (so you can find it easily). Then open your designs from your layout program with Photoshop or Elements and save as JPG files. Save all of your new images into the folder you created.
The slideshow will be created in ascending order, according to filename. To ensure your pictures are shown in the order you want, add numbers to the beginning of their names. (1-Filename.jpg, 2-Other Filename.jpg, 3-Different Filename.jpg.) In this way, they'll show in the correct order and you'll still be able to keep their original names.
A brief warning: Most visitors will not hang around to see all 124 of your favorite slides. So keep your slideshow short.
Neither Photoshop nor Photoshop Elements will open InDesign files. So if your designs are in InDesign format, export them in InDesign as JPG files and name them as described above.
You're now ready to create your slideshow:
Launch Adobe Photoshop or Photoshop Elements.
From the File menu, select Automation Tools, then PDF Slideshow.
A PDF Slideshow window opens. Click on the Browse button to select the images you want in the slideshow.
Find the folder containing your images (“Portfolio Slideshow”).
Select the images you would like to include in your slideshow. (Hold down the SHIFT key and click to select multiple images.)
Click the Open button. (The image files will have been added to the Source files list.)
Click on the Choose button under Output File. Name your output file something you will recognize later and click on the Save button.
Under Slideshow Options, make sure to click the checkmark next to Advance Every 'X' Seconds.
- Fast = 2 to 3 seconds
- Average = 4 to 5 seconds
- Slow = 6 or more seconds
Don't go higher than 8 seconds.
Under Slideshow Options, check or uncheck Loop after last page. Looping repeats the slideshow from the beginning.
Under Slideshow Options, from the Transition drop-down list, select a transition. You may need to create several versions with different transitions and speeds to see which one is appropriate for your slideshow. The most unobtrusive transition is Replace.
Click on the OK button. Wait for a few seconds while your slideshow is generated.
A small window will open. Click on the OK button there.
Congratulations! Your slideshow is ready in PDF format. To view it, open it in Acrobat or Acrobat Reader. Now you're ready to load your slideshow onto your website and dazzle your prospects with your talent and ingenuity.
The Adobe website has free articles about generating slideshows with Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Click the link here to view one of the many helpful tutorials Adobe offers: http://www.adobe.com/tips/phsel3slideshow/
If you do not own a version of Adobe Photoshop Elements or Photoshop, you can still create great looking slideshows at little or no cost. Here are some sites that offer free and shareware downloads for Windows.
- http://picasa.google.com/ (Windows 2000/XP)
- http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Search/slide_show.html (Windows XP/2003/NT/2000/ME/98)
- http://www.freshdevices.com/picture_slideshow_software.html (Windows XP/2000/ME/98/95/NT4)
If you're using a Mac and don't have either of the Adobe applications, you can use GraphicConverter ($30). This outstanding shareware program has many of the features of the Adobe applications. Instead of saving your slideshow as a PDF, it saves it as a “.mov” file. GraphicConverter will also do transitions and allows you to specify timing.
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