Creating a Shelter Slideshow

Cory Cooper, President of ASPCA Partner TampaPets.org, No More Homeless Pets in Hillsborough County, lent us her wisdom on creating online photo slideshows at little or no cost.

Does the pressure to create a sizzling shelter video feel overwhelming? You're not alone. Why not start smaller? Putting together a slideshow of your photos is a great way to produce an effective video. And the good news is that anyone with a computer and digital camera can do it.

Tips for Choosing a Slideshow Program

Lots of free and almost-free programs are available for creating online slideshows. You can check out a starter list here.

Some are programs you download and install on your computer. With other programs, you access everything on a website and don't need to install any software. The program you choose depends on your computer capabilities, the features you need, and whether you want to pay for those features.

Here are some points to keep in mind:

• Who will be creating the slideshow? Do they generally work with a Windows PC or a Macintosh? Choose a program compatible with their operating system.
• If the computer is older, find out what version the operating system is and how much space is on the computer's hard drive. If the answers limit your options, you might consider using an online program instead of downloading a program.
• When you use a free version of a program, your finished product will often reside on the vendor's host server. For instance, when using a free program like Kizoa, you will upload your photos to its site and create the slideshow there.
• Some sites let you download the slideshow to your own computer (so you can post it directly on your website or send via email). Others only provide a link.
• It's important to think about what you want to do with the slideshow before you build it on a site that won't accommodate your needs. For example, most programs give you the option to post your video to Facebook or YouTube, but double check this before you select.
• If you don't have image editing software that you can use to crop pictures, fix red eye, add text to images, add captions, and so on, look for slideshow programs that have these features.

Getting Organized

A little upfront planning for each slideshow helps you use your time well and gather the images you need to get your message across.

1. Identify your message and your audience: Decide on the message you want viewers of your slideshow to take away with them. And who are those viewers? The public? Your supporters? The local business community? Figure out who you want to reach and what you want to tell them. This makes it easier to capture the right images so that your slideshow achieves your goal.
2. Make a shot list: This is particularly important if someone is taking pictures for you. Think about the story you are going to tell to ensure you get the right pictures. For tips on getting top-notch shelter photos, see Hot Shots: Getting Great Photos of Your Animals.
3. Watch where you're going: As you're taking photos, check the background before you shoot. For example, in the shelter, you'll want to avoid grubby cleaning equipment in the background of that adorable puppy photo-op. At events, make sure you capture the spirit of the event by including details such as decorations, activities, and enthusiastic animal and human participants.
4. Snap and keep: Shoot the photos and upload them to your computer. Make sure you keep an original version of your photos. Slideshow programs optimize your pictures for viewing on the internet, which keeps file size smaller for shorter download times. These small versions are too low-quality for use in print materials.
5. Hunt and gather your images: You will need to place the image files of your logo and the pictures you wish to use in one folder on your computer. Some programs need the pictures uploaded in the order you want for your slideshow. Others allow you to change the order after you upload the images.

Slide Showtime!

Now that you've selected the program you like and the photos you want to use, and figured out who's putting it all together, it's time to create your slideshow.

• Tell a story: Start your slideshow by identifying your agency (and the event, if applicable). Add title bars or a voiceover to your photo display. End the slideshow by asking people to get involved and providing contact information (phone number or web address, for example).
• Add music: Most programs will offer the option of attaching a music file (.mp3) to your slideshow. Using copyrighted music without permission is illegal. If you plan to post on Facebook, YouTube or other social media sites, it's best to use open source music. Our slideshow tools and resources page lists some music websites to check out.
• Keep it short: YouTube or other social networking sites have size and length restrictions. Check the number of megabytes (MB) and the length of time allowed on the site where you'll be posting your slideshow. (YouTube is 100 MB and under 10 minutes. But to keep the attention of your audience, the rule of thumb is 3 minutes, max.)
• Photos first, text next: Avoid adding text to the photos before uploading them. The text will become blurry during the conversion. If you want to add text to your slideshow, be sure to choose a program that allows you to do so either by adding text to the images themselves or by adding captions that will display with the images.
• Feel good vs. fundraising: Consider making your slideshow do double duty. For example, the public version of a slideshow for an adoption event might focus on great shots of pet adoptions. With minor changes you may be able to create another version to showcase your business supporters' involvement in the event.

  You can check out a TampaPets.org slideshow for sponsors for an excellent example of event coverage focused on the sponsor audience.

• Bells and whistles: Be creative. Once you see how easy this is, you'll be thinking of the many extra things you can do. For example:
  • Add live video.
  • Add Smartphone capability.
  • Invite users to access the album on your website and print photos (which enables you to require registration so that you can capture contact information). This helps drive supporters to your website. It also gives you the opportunity to stay in touch with them, announce other events and do appeals.

As technology changes and grows by the minute, there is something new to explore every day. Have fun and go to it.