Photo Story Tutorials
1.Click Start, type Photo Story in the search bar, and then click Photo Story 3 for Windows.
2.On the Welcome page, click Begin a new story, and then click Next.
Importing and arranging your pictures
1.On the Import and arrange your pictures page, click Import Pictures.
2.In the File Browser dialog box, browse to the location of your pictures (jump drive, your student folder, etc.)
3.Add all of the pictures you would like in your photo story. To add more than one picture at a time, press and hold the CTRL key and click on the pictures you want to add, and then click OK. All of your pictures should now be present in the filmstrip.
The filmstrip in Photo Story is a great place to quickly make changes to your pictures and story. For example, you can drag a picture in the filmstrip to change the order of the pictures. You can click a picture in the filmstrip and click Edit to change the appearance of the picture by rotating it, adjusting the color, fixing red eye or adding effects. You can also right-click a picture in the filmstrip to perform these actions. Try adding an effect to one of the pictures to see what they look like.
4.When you are finished making changes to your pictures, click Next to continue.
Adding text to your pictures
1.On the Add a title to your pictures page, click the first picture, and then type your text in
the text box to the right of the picture.
2.Use the tools above the text box to change the font or placement of the text.
3.When you are finished adding text to your pictures, click Next.
Customize motion & transitions
You have the option of customizing the motion of the picture itself, and the transition from one picture to the next.
1. Click the Customize Motion button.
2. Click the box next to Specify start and end position of motion. This enables you to choose the focus point of the picture. Use the corners of the squares on the picture to set the positions.
3. You can change the length of time the picture shows in the Duration section. (Keep in mind that if you narrate your pictures (see next section) you narration will determine how long each picture is displayed.
4. Click the Preview button. Make any changes as necessary.
5. Click Save.
6. Click the Transition tab at the top.
7. Choose any transition for your selected picture.
8. You can change the duration of the transition if you would like.
9. Preview the transition at the top of the screen or click Preview.
10. Click Save and Close.
11. Continue with the rest of the pictures in your Photo Story.
Narrating your pictures
You can easily add narration to your story – just ask at the circulation desk for a headset with a microphone (if one isn’t attached to your computer already).
1.Click a picture in the filmstrip.
2.Add any desired text in the cue card area.
3.Click the Record Narration button to start recording narration. The red dot in the record button will flash indicating recording is taking place. A timer is
provided to help you keep track of your narration length.
4.When you have finished narrating the picture, click the Stop Recording button.
5.Repeat steps 2 thru 4 for each picture for which you want to add narration. TIP: Narration is recorded for each picture – not the length of the photo story. Narration for each picture can not exceed 5 minutes.
6.Once you have added narration, click the first picture in the filmstrip, and then click Preview to see how your story looks and sounds.
7.Close the preview window, and click Next to continue to the next step.
Adding background music
With Photo Story 3 you can add music to your story by using Windows Media Audio (WMA), MP3, or WAV files or by using the Create Music option to create custom music that suites your story and taste.
To create music for your story
1.Click a picture in the film strip, and then click Create Music.
2.In the Create Music dialog box, you’ll see several options. Use the drop-down menus to create music that best fits your photos.
3.Alter the Tempo and Intensity as you would like.
4.Click Play to hear what the music will sound like.
5.When the music has finished playing, click OK to close the Create Music dialog box.
6.Click the first picture in the filmstrip, and click Preview, to see how well your music fits the story. TIP: You may need to adjust the music volume levels to accommodate your narration. To do this, simply click the picture in the filmstrip and then adjust the music volume using the volume slider bar. You may need to adjust the volume and preview your story a few times to get it just right.
7.Click Next, to move on to the final steps. The music you just added is shown as a colored bar above the picture in the filmstrip, asshown in the following screen shot. This helps you determine which pictures will be shown for each piece of music you add. This is particularly helpful when you add more than one song to your story.
To add pre-recorded music to your story
1.On the Add background music page, click the first picture in the filmstrip and then click
Select Music.
2.On the File Open dialog box, click My Documents from the left menu.
3.Browse to My Music\Sample Music, click on one of the files, and then click Open.
To add your own music files to your story
Photo Story will accept .wma, .wav, or mp3 audio files. If music is copy-protected, it will be difficult to add to your photo story. Here are some options:
1. If you have music on a CD, it will come into the computer as a CDA file. This is not compatible with Photo Story, but it can be converted, but you must have the CD. You can convert it yourself using Switch Sound Converter, available for download at http://www.nch.com.au/switch/plus.html, or come to the media center and we’ll help you.
2. Music on your ipod, etc.: You should be able to add .mp3 files from your ipod. If you have difficulty, please come ask us for help.
Saving your story
As you work on your photo story, you can always save by clicking the Save Project button. This saves your photo story as an editable file. Do this at least once, in case you need to make changes to your photo story. However, when you are completely finished with your photo story, you must take one last step!When you save your photo story, all the pictures, narrations, and music are compiled into a video file that you can view in Windows Media Player as a WMV file. Since you will play this photo story on your computer, you can use the default options when saving your photo story.
To save your photo story for playback on your computer
1.On the Save your story page, verify that Save your story for playback on your computer
is selected in the activities list.
2.Click Browse to specify the location of your story. TIP: Save to your student number folder.
3.In the Filename text box, type a title. TIP: Be specific and include your name.
4.Click Save, and then click Next.
Viewing your story
When your story is built and saved, the Completing Photo Story 3 for Windows page will appear. You can view your newly created story or begin a new story from here. To see what you have created, click View your story. Windows Media Player will open and your story will begin to play.
Adapted by Holly Frilot from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/tips/firststory.mspx Fall 2009
Photo Story Instructions (Good for printing. It's a pdf file of the info above with pictures.)
Photo Story: Tips and Troubleshooting
Uploading multiple pictures: You can upload more than one picture at a time into your photo story. Just hold down the CTRL key while clicking all the photos you want to include.
Length of narration: Match each picture to your narration. Keep in mind that your picture will show as long as you are narrating. So, if you speak for two minutes, the picture will show for two minutes. Similarly, the narration must be broken up by picture – it will not run throughout the entire photo story.
Making changes: If you would like to add more pictures, add music, change the narration, etc., be sure that you open the editable photo story file. The extension should be .wp3. You must have saved your photo story at least once before finalizing it. Just open the .wp3 file to make any changes.
Picture Quality: Be sure you are using high quality pictures for your photo story – at least 500 pixels wide. If you are searching for images on the internet, this is the number that comes first.
Motion and Transitions: While it’s fun to play with these tools, use them creatively and appropriately in order to make an impressive photo story. Don’t just start and end the motion anywhere – it will be obvious that you spent little time thinking about it. Instead, focus on the motion to end on someone’s face or some focal point of the picture.
Finalizing: In order for your photo story to play in Windows Media, you must make the last saving step. On the “Adding Background Music” screen, click next, and that will enable you to save your photo story as a .wmv file, which is viewable on any computer that has Windows Media Player (and most do).
Music: There are two easy options – one is to choose one of the sample music clips, and the other is to “create” your music using the options in photo story. If you have music on a CD, it will have to be converted. You can download a converter at http://www.nch.com.au/switch/plus.html. Your file must be a .wma, .wav, or mp3 to work in
Photo Story. Music from your ipod may or may not work depending on the type of file and copyright protection. If you have trouble, come see us in the media center.
Volume Levels: You may need to adjust the music volume levels to accommodate your narration. To do this, simply click the picture in the filmstrip and then adjust the music volume using the volume slider bar. You may need to adjust the volume and preview your story a few times to get it just right.
Photo Story at Home: Windows Photo Story 3 is a free download. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
For more information, try Microsoft’s FAQ page about photostory:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/faq.mspx
Holly Frilot
Fall 2009
Photo Story Tips and Troubleshooting (It's pdf file of the above content. Good for printing.)
2.On the Welcome page, click Begin a new story, and then click Next.
Importing and arranging your pictures
1.On the Import and arrange your pictures page, click Import Pictures.
2.In the File Browser dialog box, browse to the location of your pictures (jump drive, your student folder, etc.)
3.Add all of the pictures you would like in your photo story. To add more than one picture at a time, press and hold the CTRL key and click on the pictures you want to add, and then click OK. All of your pictures should now be present in the filmstrip.
The filmstrip in Photo Story is a great place to quickly make changes to your pictures and story. For example, you can drag a picture in the filmstrip to change the order of the pictures. You can click a picture in the filmstrip and click Edit to change the appearance of the picture by rotating it, adjusting the color, fixing red eye or adding effects. You can also right-click a picture in the filmstrip to perform these actions. Try adding an effect to one of the pictures to see what they look like.
4.When you are finished making changes to your pictures, click Next to continue.
Adding text to your pictures
1.On the Add a title to your pictures page, click the first picture, and then type your text in
the text box to the right of the picture.
2.Use the tools above the text box to change the font or placement of the text.
3.When you are finished adding text to your pictures, click Next.
Customize motion & transitions
You have the option of customizing the motion of the picture itself, and the transition from one picture to the next.
1. Click the Customize Motion button.
2. Click the box next to Specify start and end position of motion. This enables you to choose the focus point of the picture. Use the corners of the squares on the picture to set the positions.
3. You can change the length of time the picture shows in the Duration section. (Keep in mind that if you narrate your pictures (see next section) you narration will determine how long each picture is displayed.
4. Click the Preview button. Make any changes as necessary.
5. Click Save.
6. Click the Transition tab at the top.
7. Choose any transition for your selected picture.
8. You can change the duration of the transition if you would like.
9. Preview the transition at the top of the screen or click Preview.
10. Click Save and Close.
11. Continue with the rest of the pictures in your Photo Story.
Narrating your pictures
You can easily add narration to your story – just ask at the circulation desk for a headset with a microphone (if one isn’t attached to your computer already).
1.Click a picture in the filmstrip.
2.Add any desired text in the cue card area.
3.Click the Record Narration button to start recording narration. The red dot in the record button will flash indicating recording is taking place. A timer is
provided to help you keep track of your narration length.
4.When you have finished narrating the picture, click the Stop Recording button.
5.Repeat steps 2 thru 4 for each picture for which you want to add narration. TIP: Narration is recorded for each picture – not the length of the photo story. Narration for each picture can not exceed 5 minutes.
6.Once you have added narration, click the first picture in the filmstrip, and then click Preview to see how your story looks and sounds.
7.Close the preview window, and click Next to continue to the next step.
Adding background music
With Photo Story 3 you can add music to your story by using Windows Media Audio (WMA), MP3, or WAV files or by using the Create Music option to create custom music that suites your story and taste.
To create music for your story
1.Click a picture in the film strip, and then click Create Music.
2.In the Create Music dialog box, you’ll see several options. Use the drop-down menus to create music that best fits your photos.
3.Alter the Tempo and Intensity as you would like.
4.Click Play to hear what the music will sound like.
5.When the music has finished playing, click OK to close the Create Music dialog box.
6.Click the first picture in the filmstrip, and click Preview, to see how well your music fits the story. TIP: You may need to adjust the music volume levels to accommodate your narration. To do this, simply click the picture in the filmstrip and then adjust the music volume using the volume slider bar. You may need to adjust the volume and preview your story a few times to get it just right.
7.Click Next, to move on to the final steps. The music you just added is shown as a colored bar above the picture in the filmstrip, asshown in the following screen shot. This helps you determine which pictures will be shown for each piece of music you add. This is particularly helpful when you add more than one song to your story.
To add pre-recorded music to your story
1.On the Add background music page, click the first picture in the filmstrip and then click
Select Music.
2.On the File Open dialog box, click My Documents from the left menu.
3.Browse to My Music\Sample Music, click on one of the files, and then click Open.
To add your own music files to your story
Photo Story will accept .wma, .wav, or mp3 audio files. If music is copy-protected, it will be difficult to add to your photo story. Here are some options:
1. If you have music on a CD, it will come into the computer as a CDA file. This is not compatible with Photo Story, but it can be converted, but you must have the CD. You can convert it yourself using Switch Sound Converter, available for download at http://www.nch.com.au/switch/plus.html, or come to the media center and we’ll help you.
2. Music on your ipod, etc.: You should be able to add .mp3 files from your ipod. If you have difficulty, please come ask us for help.
Saving your story
As you work on your photo story, you can always save by clicking the Save Project button. This saves your photo story as an editable file. Do this at least once, in case you need to make changes to your photo story. However, when you are completely finished with your photo story, you must take one last step!When you save your photo story, all the pictures, narrations, and music are compiled into a video file that you can view in Windows Media Player as a WMV file. Since you will play this photo story on your computer, you can use the default options when saving your photo story.
To save your photo story for playback on your computer
1.On the Save your story page, verify that Save your story for playback on your computer
is selected in the activities list.
2.Click Browse to specify the location of your story. TIP: Save to your student number folder.
3.In the Filename text box, type a title. TIP: Be specific and include your name.
4.Click Save, and then click Next.
Viewing your story
When your story is built and saved, the Completing Photo Story 3 for Windows page will appear. You can view your newly created story or begin a new story from here. To see what you have created, click View your story. Windows Media Player will open and your story will begin to play.
Adapted by Holly Frilot from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/tips/firststory.mspx Fall 2009
Photo Story Instructions (Good for printing. It's a pdf file of the info above with pictures.)
Photo Story: Tips and Troubleshooting
Uploading multiple pictures: You can upload more than one picture at a time into your photo story. Just hold down the CTRL key while clicking all the photos you want to include.
Length of narration: Match each picture to your narration. Keep in mind that your picture will show as long as you are narrating. So, if you speak for two minutes, the picture will show for two minutes. Similarly, the narration must be broken up by picture – it will not run throughout the entire photo story.
Making changes: If you would like to add more pictures, add music, change the narration, etc., be sure that you open the editable photo story file. The extension should be .wp3. You must have saved your photo story at least once before finalizing it. Just open the .wp3 file to make any changes.
Picture Quality: Be sure you are using high quality pictures for your photo story – at least 500 pixels wide. If you are searching for images on the internet, this is the number that comes first.
Motion and Transitions: While it’s fun to play with these tools, use them creatively and appropriately in order to make an impressive photo story. Don’t just start and end the motion anywhere – it will be obvious that you spent little time thinking about it. Instead, focus on the motion to end on someone’s face or some focal point of the picture.
Finalizing: In order for your photo story to play in Windows Media, you must make the last saving step. On the “Adding Background Music” screen, click next, and that will enable you to save your photo story as a .wmv file, which is viewable on any computer that has Windows Media Player (and most do).
Music: There are two easy options – one is to choose one of the sample music clips, and the other is to “create” your music using the options in photo story. If you have music on a CD, it will have to be converted. You can download a converter at http://www.nch.com.au/switch/plus.html. Your file must be a .wma, .wav, or mp3 to work in
Photo Story. Music from your ipod may or may not work depending on the type of file and copyright protection. If you have trouble, come see us in the media center.
Volume Levels: You may need to adjust the music volume levels to accommodate your narration. To do this, simply click the picture in the filmstrip and then adjust the music volume using the volume slider bar. You may need to adjust the volume and preview your story a few times to get it just right.
Photo Story at Home: Windows Photo Story 3 is a free download. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
For more information, try Microsoft’s FAQ page about photostory:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/faq.mspx
Holly Frilot
Fall 2009
Photo Story Tips and Troubleshooting (It's pdf file of the above content. Good for printing.)
The video above is a step-by-step tutorial for using Photo Story that lasts about 8 and a half minutes. It also includes information on finding images (and the right image size) on Google Images. Citation information is below:
Livelife1936, author. "Photo Story 3 Tutorial." Youtube.com. Youtube, LLC, 1 Sept. 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.
Livelife1936, author. "Photo Story 3 Tutorial." Youtube.com. Youtube, LLC, 1 Sept. 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2009.
