How to make a video with photos and music

Step by step

1. Pick the shape firstDecide where it will be posted: 9:16 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts, 16:9 for YouTube or a TV, 1:1 or 4:5 for feeds. Set it under Format in the right-hand panel before you add photos.
2. Add photos and a songDrop your photos (JPG, PNG, WebP) and a song (MP3, WAV, M4A) into the Media tab of the editor.
3. Let Auto montage make the first cutClick Auto montage, tick the photos, choose the song, a style (Energetic, Smooth or Cinematic) and a length (15, 30 or 60 seconds, or fit the music), and type a title if you want one.
4. Adjust the order and timingDrag photos on the timeline to reorder them, drag their edges to change how long each stays on screen, and replace any you don’t like.
5. Add motion and transitionsSelect a photo and pick a Motion — zoom in, zoom out or pan — for a Ken Burns effect. Choose a transition, then apply it to every clip on the track with one click.
6. Balance the music and exportFade the song in and out, trim it so it ends with the last photo, then export an MP4.

Plan it like a story

A photo video works best when it has an order: chronological for a trip or an event, before-and-after for a renovation, problem-to-result for a product. Open with your strongest image, since that’s what people see before they decide to keep watching, and end on a photo that feels like a conclusion.

Cut harder than you think. Ten great photos make a better video than forty good ones. Remove near-duplicates and mix wide shots with close-ups so the rhythm doesn’t get flat.

How long should each photo stay on screen?

There’s no single right answer, but these rules of thumb work: about 2–4 seconds per photo for a calm slideshow, around a second or less for an energetic montage, and longer for any photo with text people need to read.

Cutting on the beat makes even a simple slideshow feel edited. At 120 beats per minute there’s a beat every half second, so changing photo every two or four beats feels natural. The montage maker analyses the song and places the cuts on the rhythm for you; without a song, cuts are evenly spaced.

Ken Burns: making photos move

The Ken Burns effect is a slow zoom or pan across a still photo. It gives the eye something to follow and makes a slideshow feel like video. Auto montage alternates zoom-in and zoom-out on photos automatically; you can change any photo’s Motion to zoom in, zoom out, pan left or pan right.

Keep the movement slow and alternate directions so it doesn’t feel repetitive. Pan across wide group photos and zoom in towards a face. For a precise move — say from one person to another — use keyframes to set the start and end position and size.

Choosing and using music

• Use music you have the rights to. Platforms may mute or block videos with copyrighted songs. The stock library has free-to-use music and sound effects (it needs a free account).
• Match the mood and length. A 30-second Reel needs a track that gets to the good part quickly; trim the intro if it doesn’t.
• Fade out, don’t chop. A two- or three-second fade at the end sounds finished; a hard stop sounds like a mistake.
• Narrating too? Turn on Lower under speech for the music clip and it gets quieter whenever you talk. Add music to video covers volume and fades.

Photos in a vertical video

Most photos are landscape or 4:3, so they don’t fill a 9:16 frame. You can crop them to fill the screen (drag each one to choose what stays in frame), fit them on a coloured background, or mix both. Text on photos — a date, a place, a price — goes on top from the Text tab. For ready-made layouts such as a photo dump, browse the templates. Making listing videos? See the real estate video editor.

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