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Microsoft Photo Story

Converts digital media into engaging slideshows and presentations

5.6

2037 Votes

  • Category Viewers & Catalogues
  • Program license Free
  • Version 3.01
  • Size 5.27 MB
  • Works under: Windows XP
  • Program available in English
  • Program by Microsoft

With Microsoft Photo Story, you can now create beautiful stories and presentations from the photos that you take. This software comes loaded with extra features that you can use for adding effects to your stories.

It lets you select dozens of photos from different folders on your computer and photos that you saved to a USB drive or an external hard drive too. Once you add those images, you can drag and drop the photos in to a small film strip at the bottom of the page to determine the order of those images. The program then lets you decide how to transition between those images. You can also select how long it takes to transition between images.

Microsoft Photo Story also comes loaded with editing tools that you can use with your images. Use the rotate feature to change the rotation of each image, or select the crop tool to remove backgrounds or other features you don't want from those pictures. It also comes with ten different effects for changing the look of your photos, including sepia, water color, black and white, diffuse glow, and charcoal. After finishing your story, you can preview the finished project and add music from files saved on your computer.

While this program is great for creating slideshows and presentations that you share with loved ones, it doesn't let you burn a copy onto a DVD or CD. You'll need to hook your computer up to a monitor to share the story. You can also save the finished story on a USB drive or even share it online. Other programs will let you create similar presentations and burn the finished project on to a disc.

You should also keep in mind that this program limits you to 200 photos. While that's plenty for most people, others may want to create larger slideshows filled with more images. There are also some complaints about the overall quality of those images. Even if your photos have a crisp look on your computer screen, those pictures may look blurry or darker in the story. It also limits you choices in regards to file formats because it can only create WMV files. If you want software that lets you edit photos and create slideshows or presentations, Microsoft Photo Story is a great program that is easy enough for beginners to use.

Pros:

  • Creates slideshows and presentations from digital images
  • Works with images saved on your computer and external devices
  • Lets you add music via clips you previously saved
  • Features ten different special effects
  • Makes stories that will play on most Windows devices

Cons:

  • Only supports and creates WMV files
  • Does not let you burn copies to CDs or DVDs
  • Will only work on computers running a Windows operating system
  • Some images may look blurry or dark in the finished story
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