Share Your Photos on a Portable Device Using Photo Story 3
|
Straydog, Inc. is a non-profit, no-kill animal shelter located not far from Dallas in Gun Barrel City, Texas. The owner, Bill Arnold, asked me to create a photo story of the dogs that are available for adoption. He wants to show it at local pet stores during the adoption seminars he hosts using either his laptop or Pocket PC. He would also like an edited version that's small enough to e-mail to friends and potential contributors.
Photo Story 3 for Windows, a free download from Microsoft, is a good choice for a project like this. Even if you're a beginner, you can create a professional-looking slide show from your still photos with this program. And you can save your photo story based on how you're going to share it. Your stories can be played back using Windows Media Player on a computer, TV, or Windows Mobile-based device, and you can send them by e-mail without the hassle of large photo files.
In this column, I describe how I used Photo Story 3 for Windows to create just what Bill wanted. I cover how to create a story, edit your photos using the new image-editing tools built into this version of Photo Story, and how to customize your photo story. Also, I explain how to save the story for playback on a Pocket PC and for e-mailing.
Choose the Story You Want to Tell
Bill puts great dog photos on his Web site, so I pulled the ones I needed from there. Straydog always rescues the neediest dogs—those with missing legs or requiring immediate medical care. I selected photos that told that story. In addition to encouraging dog adoptions, I also want to inspire people to donate to Straydog. I'm hoping that a powerful photo story will make both cases. As long as you know how to take photos and work with your camera, you can tell the story you want to tell. The first step in creating a photo story is to add your photos to the film strip in Photo Story 3.
To start a new photo story
1. | Open Photo Story 3, click Begin a new story, click Next, and then click Import Pictures, as shown in the figure below.  Figure 1. Photos imported to the film strip. | ||||
2. | In the File Browser dialog box, do one of the following:
| ||||
3. | To change the order of your photos on the film strip, select one, and then use the arrows on the right side of the film strip to move the photo. | ||||
4. | To fix red eyes in people pictures, click the Correct Red Eye button under the selected photo. | ||||
5. | If your photos have black borders and you want Photo Story to remove them, click Remove Black Borders, and then choose how you want to handle the automatic border cropping. You can click Yes, Yes to all, No, or use the handles around the borders to crop the photos manually. The Remove Black Borders button is only available if Photo Story detects that some photos in your story do not have a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is the relation of the width to the height of the photo. |
Tip: In many cases, you'll want to choose the focal area in your photos. Therefore, for the best results when removing black borders, work through each photo separately rather than letting Photo Story automatically remove the photo borders by choosing Yes to All.
Edit Your Photos
Editing your photos is where Photo Story 3 really shines. There's no reason to perform minor editing tasks in a separate image-editing program before importing photos anymore—Photo Story 3 has built-in editing tools. You can use these tools to automatically adjust brightness and contrast, manually rotate and crop photos, and automatically correct red eye.
To automatically adjust brightness or contrast, use the Auto Fix options. Many of Bill's photos weren't taken by a professional photographer, so I used these options often. You'll want all of your photos to have a similar brightness and contrast, so take extra time to compare each photo to the others in order to make sure there's a flow. Use these tools to their fullest potential. A single click can really clean up poorly lit or under- or over-exposed photos.
To use the built-in photo editing tools
1. | On the Import and arrange your pictures page, select the photo to edit, and then click Correct Color Levels, as shown in Figure 2.  Figure 2. The buttons on the bottom of the photo preview area. |
2. | To rotate a photo left or right, click the Rotate Counterclockwise or Rotate Clockwise buttons. |
3. | To crop a photo, click the Edit button. In the Edit Pictures dialog box, click the Crop check box, and then use the handles that appear around the photo to crop it appropriately. Click Save. |
4. | To automatically correct contrast or red eye, click the Auto Fix tab, and then under Correct Contrast and/or Correct Red Eye, click On. Click Save. |
5. | To edit each of your photos, click the Go to Next Picture button, and then use the Edit Picture options to edit each photo. When you've completed your edits for each photo, click Save. |
6. | When you've completed all your photo edits, click Close. |
In the Straydog project, I cropped several photos to make the most of the space allotted in the window. For example, there's no need to show a leash, the handler's feet, or too much background. Figure 3 and 4 show before and after images of photos I cropped.
Figure 3. Before cropping, the handler's feet distract from Sally's photo.
Figure 4. After cropping, the focus is on Sally.
If you're not satisfied with your photo editing, click Reset in the Edit Pictures dialog box to remove all changes made previously to an photo.
Customize Your Story with Special Effects
Photo Story 3 lets you enhance your photos using special effects. These special effects can be selected from the Effect list on the Add a title to your pictures page, the second page of the Photo Story 3 program.
In my photo story, I use an aerial photo of the entire Straydog compound for the first image. I added the Straydog Web site as a photo title and formatted the URL in bold red so it really stood out. Then I added the Sepia effect.
To add an effect to a photo
1. | Right-click the photo in the filmstrip, point to Edit, and then click Add Effect. | ||||||
2. | Select the effect from the Effect list, and the effect is applied as a preview. | ||||||
3. | Depending on how you want to apply the effect:
|
As shown in Figure 5, the image looks old and kind of war-torn, giving the impression of sadness and need at the shelter.
Figure 5. Straydog photo with the Sepia effect applied.
I added the Chalk and Charcoal effect to a photo of Bones, as shown in Figure 6. This effect makes him look more frail and ready for adoption!
Figure 6. A photo after applying the Chalk and Charcoal effect.
Add Motion and Transitions to Photos
In earlier versions of Photo Story, you can set how long a photo is displayed on the screen and create panning and zooming motions. Photo Story 3 takes these options a step further. You can now create custom motions that pan and zoom on any area of a photo that you choose. I use a custom panning motion when I want a photo to look like it's moving, such as the dogs playing in a park.
Note that when you add a title to a photo, Photo Story does not automatically apply panning and zooming. To add panning and zooming to photos with titles, you must customize the motion for the photo. In Create a Story from a Single Still Photo with Photo Story 3, Microsoft's Vladimir Rovinsky explains how to create customized picture motion.
You can also choose from almost 50 transitions. Transitions define how one photo changes into the next. The transitions make an ordinary photo story into a moving event for the viewer.
To select a transition
1. | On the Narrate your pictures and customize motion page, click the photo for which you want to select a transition, and then click Customize Motion. |
2. | Click the Transition tab. |
3. | Then choose the transition, and select the number of seconds that the transition to display. |
For my story, I chose transitions for every photo. Some faded in and out from black, and some had page curls to enhance the idea it was a photo story. I also used the Star, Outwards transition at the end of the story.
Narrate Your Photo Story
Photo Story 3 lets you make your story more personal by telling it in your own words. You can record up to five minutes of narration for each photo in your video story.
To add narration
1. | On the Narrate your pictures and customize motion page, click the Record Narration button and begin speaking into your microphone. |
2. | To narrate the next photo in the film strip, click the Next Picture button and then begin speaking again. |
I didn't add narration to my story, because I wasn't sure if Bill's audience would be able to hear the narration in a crowded pet store or mall. I added background music instead.
Add Music to Your Story
One of my favorite features in Photo Story 3 is the ability to add music to a photo story. Photo Story includes lots of prerecorded music to choose from in case you don't have any, and it's really easy to add to a story. The prerecorded music is organized by genre, style, band, and mood. I chose the Bittersweet mood, which really fit my story. In addition to selecting the perfect music for the story, I also applied the options available to set its tempo and intensity.
When choosing music for your story, think about what you'd like to convey. If it's a sad story, listen to the Bittersweet, Sad, or Sentimental moods. If you're creating a story about your last camping trip, try the Adventurous or Anxious mood. For fun videos, check out the Upbeat or Noble mood. After you've chosen the perfect song, work with the tempo and intensity for the best effect possible.
To add prerecorded music
1. | On the Add background music page, click the photo where you want the music to start, and then click Create Music. |
2. | In the Create Music dialog box, make your choices for Genre, Style, Bands, Moods, Tempo, and Intensity. Click the Play button to hear your selection. Repeat these steps until you find an appropriate melody. |
3. | When you're satisfied with your music selection, click OK. |
4. | If you want to add different music to other photos in your story, repeat steps 1 through 3. |
5. | When you've completed your music selections, click Next. |
Save Your Story for E-Mail
When you save a story, Photo Story 3 compresses your digital photos into a single small file that automatically preserves their great photo quality. I wanted to save the Straydog story in a format appropriate for e-mail. Before saving the story for e-mailing, first click Save Project. That way, you can go back and edit it easily.
To save a story for e-mailing
1. | On the Save your story page, click Send the story in an e-mail message. |
2. | Click Next, and Photo Story 3 builds your story as a .wmv file. |
3. | On the Completing Photo Story 3 for Windows page, click Continue to E-Mail Your Story. Photo Story opens a new message in your e-mail application and automatically attaches your photo story in the e-mail message. |
4. | In the e-mail message window, type the e-mail addresses for the people you want to send the story to, type a message, and then click Send. |
Photo Story 3 automatically chooses the best configuration for e-mailing and your story is ready to send.
Save Your Story for Playback on a Portable Device
Bill at Straydog wants to take his photo story on trips and show it on his Pocket PC. Note that Pocket PCs must have Windows Media Player 10 Mobile installed to play the video. PCs and laptops need to have Media Player 7 or later installed. To create the final video is a two-step process:
| • | The story must be saved to your computer in the correct format. |
| • | Then the story can be copied from your computer to a Pocket PC or laptop. |
To save your story in the correct format for copying to a Pocket PC
1. | On the Save your story page, click Save your story for playback on a Pocket PC with Windows Media Player 10 Mobile. |
2. | Under File name, click Browse, and in the Save As dialog box, choose a location in which to save the video. The default is My Videos. Type a file name for the video, and click Save. |
3. | Click Next, and Photo Story 3 builds your story as a .wmv file and saves it to the location you specified. |
Photo Story 3 automatically chooses the best configuration for playing on a Pocket PC. Later you can always resave the story and configure manual settings on the Save your story page, if you want to change the quality or size. You can also click Settings on the Save your story page to configure the resolution and quality settings yourself.
Play Back the Photo Story on a Pocket PC
After you've saved your story for a Pocket PC, connect your Pocket PC to your computer and copy the video (a .wmv file) to the portable device, as shown in Figure 7.
Figure 7. Copying a photo story to a Pocket PC.
The Pocket PC needs to have Windows Media Player 10 Mobile installed to play the story. But the Pocket PC doesn't need Photo Story 3 to play the video. Just locate the file on the Pocket PC and tap it. Windows Media Player 10 Mobile opens automatically. Then tap the Play button once to play the file.
If the Pocket PC plays the story, but you only hear the music or narration and do not see the images, or if the story doesn't play at all, the Pocket PC probably has an earlier version of Windows Media Player installed. You'll see the version number when the player opens.
The only way (at the time this article was written) to get Windows Media Player 10 Mobile for your Pocket PC is to purchase a new device with Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition installed. Windows Media Player 10 Mobile is not currently available for download from Microsoft. To see what devices have Windows Media Player 10 Mobile installed or what devices are upgradeable, visit the Windows Media Player 10 Mobile home page. If your device is upgradeable, you'll be directed to the manufacturer's Web site.
There are always stories to tell. You can tell the story of your high school graduation, the birth of a child, a wedding, a party, or create your own a promotional piece for a good cause. Unlike other options for sharing digital photos, you can e-mail these easily. Microsoft offers sample photo stories you can download too. They're worth a look. When you create a story you're really proud of, don't forget to e-mail it to me at Joli_Ballew@hotmail.com. I'll be waiting!
Ask questions or discuss this topic in the Windows XP Digital Photography newsgroup
Most Active Digital Photo Newsgroup Discussions
| 1. |
| 2. |
| 3. |
| 4. |
| 5. |
 | Joli Ballew is a technology trainer and writer in the Dallas area. She holds several certifications including MCSE, A+, and MCDST. Joli has almost 20 books available, including Degunking Windows (Paraglyph Press), Hardcore Windows XP (McGraw-Hill), and Windows XP: Do Amazing Things (Microsoft Press). Joli is also a regular Microsoft Expert Zone columnist. Joli can be contacted at Joli_Ballew@hotmail.com. |