Sliding Panels Slideshow in iPhoto Makes Magic in Seconds

I only recently upgraded to iLife '09 after seeing how inexpensive it is on Amazon (see ad to left). The thing I look forward to the most in all the iLife upgrades are the new themes for the slideshows,  movies, books and calendars. I think one of the things that really separate Mac users from PC users is that Mac users produce these photo and movie records with ease.

Which brings us to my new Favorite Thing: Sliding Panels iPhoto Slideshow. This slideshow template is part of the general iLife '09 trend, which is using motion graphics for more visual interest. And the best part is it takes just a few clicks. See below for an example of this template.



All you have to do to make your own is start with an Album in iPhoto '09 that already has the title you desire. Mine was Napa Valley Trip '09. Next, click the slideshow button at the bottom.



It should just start playing a slideshow. If iPhoto has picked a different template, click the 2 slides icon (Themes), and select the Sliding Panels theme. The only change I made was to the music. I clicked the Music symbol and selected the Endless Summer loop rather than the stock one that comes with this template. There are 6 loops to choose from in the Theme Music section, but you can also bring in any music from your iTunes library.

There is also 5 other slideshow themes and additional settings you can fiddle with, including fit slideshow to music if you choose a song rather than a loop. If you like what you've got set up, just check the use setting as default check box as a way to make all your slideshows a one-click creation.

I confess to one other refinement I made: I grouped the photos in my album in groups of similar subjects so they look good together in the slideshow. But I also found with other subjects just having them sorted by time/date worked well too.

Do you have any favorites in iLife '09? Let us know in the Comments section below!