Tips and suggestions

Choosing your photos

Although in theory you can use as many photos as you want* for best results you should choose your best photos, both in terms of quality and subject matter. The better the photos the nicer your final presentation will look. People prefer to look at a short, well produced show rather than a lengthy succession of photos of variable quality.

Resolution

Digital photos or scans should be at least 800 pixels wide by 600 pixels tall. Most digital photos taken with a camera (as opposed to a mobile phone) will have the necessary resolution. If you are scanning your own photos, the following resolutions are advisable:

Photographic prints 3.5x5, 4x6 or 5x7 300dpi
Smaller photos under 3.5x5 600dpi
8x10 and larger photos 150dpi
35mm slides and negs 2400dpi

DPI stands for 'dots per inch' and is a common measure of the density of pixels on a given area. Higher values produce better quality but also larger file sizes and take longer to scan.

You should scan photographic prints rather than printouts produced on an inkjet, laser or 4 colour process printer —these printing processes produce a dot pattern that becomes visible when you scan. It is not recommended to use photos taken with mobile phones or still video images as quality is usually inferior even at high megapixel values.

Music

The music will set the tone for your show. You can choose one of your or your loved one's favourite tunes. For wedding and anniversary DVDs you may consider the songs that defined your love story, the melodies you danced to or what you were listening to when you met or when he proposed. Look at our demos to see how the music relates to the animation. Some styles (where indicated) allow for variable speed, this can be used to your advantage if you want to use a slower or faster moving soundtrack.

If you don't have any suitable music we can add a stock or classical soundtrack; please refer to the demos for examples. Most stock tracks are instrumental. Once you have placed your order you will receive membership details to access our Design Centre, where you will find a wide choice of tunes.

Styles

Look through the demos to find your favourite style(s). Depending on your chosen package, you can have up to 5 different photoshows (and 5 different styles) on a DVD. Each demo page shows the customization options available with each style. Some styles have more options than others. Common customization options include:

  • Photo delay or interval: the time a photo displays before the next photo appears
  • Speed: overall 'tempo' of the presentation
  • Choice of backgrounds/environments: you can choose from a number of presets
  • Option to use your own background: you can use any photo you want as backdrop
  • Choice of colour schemes: you can choose from preset colour schemes for this style
  • Choice of frames: where photos appeared framed, you will be able to choose between a number of preset frame styles. With styles that offer frames they are included in your package. It is possible to frame your photos individually for use with other styles as part of our add-on photo services
  • Custom covers: for page flip album styles only, we can use photos and/or styles of your choice for front/back and inside covers
  • Text headline(s): many styles include text headlines you can use to write your name(s), date(s), venue, the occasion and any additional thoughts. This headlines are part of the style itself and in addition to the overall titling including in your package
  • Titling: You will want to include some information about the event or occasion, the people involved, dates, venues, thoughts, etc. All packages include titling in addition to text headlines which are part of specific styles (see above)
  • Photo captioning: available only with certain styles (where indicated), as an add-on. Each photo will have one line of text describing the image.

Design considerations

Most styles are versatile and can be used for a variety of purposes, for example, many 'wedding' styles have a dreamy, romantic feel suitable also for many other occasions such as anniversaries and memorial DVDs. Similarly, you are not limited to using the wedding styles for wedding DVDs, many of the other styles are equally suitable. Flip page albums can be adapted for any purpose. If you need any suggestions or can't find a style that suits your needs please contact us for FREE advice.

Once we receive your order you will get your membership to our Design Centre which offers plenty of ideas. We will also contact you with suggestions tailored to your project and your chosen styles.