How To Make a Great Video With Pictures in 5 Steps

Video content creation typically involves filming footage from an iPhone or DSLR. But you can also take a different approach by creating professional-looking videos with photographs, turning images into dynamic visuals that tell a story and highlight your brand.

Learn how to make a video with pictures using this easy-to-follow guide. 

Create Videos With Pictures: 5 Steps

Turning photos into videos is an excellent way to create material as a content creator or social media influencer. If you're wondering how to make a video with pictures and music on your iPhone, Android, or with a camera, follow these five basic steps.

1. Set a Goal for the Video

What you want to achieve with your video affects your chosen photos, how you structure the narrative, and whether the video is short or long-form. Here are a few examples of how different objectives might influence your project: 

• Informative — Say you're a real estate agent showcasing a newly listed property. Your goal could be creating an informative virtual tour for potential buyers. In this case, you'd select high-quality images of the home's interior and exterior, and each photo could have text overlays providing details like room dimensions and specs. 
• Entertaining — Maybe you're a travel blogger creating a fun recap video of your recent trip to Costa Rica. You could include dynamic photos of stunning landscapes, interactions with locals, and experiences like horseback riding on the beach to capture the thrill and beauty. ‍
• Inspirational — If you're creating a video for a forest conservation non-profit, for instance, you could inspire viewers by including before and after photos of conservation efforts and a powerful voiceover detailing the work this required.

2. Take Photos 

The photos you choose are the foundation of your project. Whether you're using your smartphone or a camera, take all the pictures with the same device — this improves video quality by creating cohesion. Of the photos you take, select the most high-quality images that tell your story in a vivid and compelling way.

3. Edit Your Photos

Use your smartphone or a photo editor like Canva or Captions to adjust each photo's lighting, color, saturation, and contrast for a unified look and feel. This is crucial for maintaining a professional appearance throughout your video, as a consistent effect helps your project look carefully curated.

4. Select Background Music 

Background music adds depth to your video and enhances the mood you want to convey. Music also prevents your video from appearing just like a slideshow, which can bore viewers and reduce your view count. Choose royalty-free and uncopyrighted tunes.

5. Produce With Your Chosen Software 

Decide what app or software you’ll use to make your video. For instance, Captions offers all the tools you need to edit videos easily, including powerful AI-driven features like trimming, automatic captions, and background noise reduction. 

‍The Best Ways To Make a Video Out of Photos

Here are a few of the easiest ways to turn photos into videos.

Use a Video Editing App Like Captions

‍You can easily create videos with pictures using Captions, a simple but comprehensive video editor. Here's how the Captions app lets you edit videos on your iPhone to include photos using AI:

1. Open the Captions app on your iPhone. 
2. Navigate to the "Projects" section and tap the video project you want to add images to. 
3. Tap "Media." 
4. Hit "Magic edit." 
5. Choose the photos you want to include and tap "Apply." The app will automatically add the images to the video using AI.

To add photos to videos manually using Captions for iOS, follow these steps:

1. Open the Captions app on your iPhone. 
2. Navigate to the "Projects" section and tap on your video project. 
3. Tap "Media."
4. Click the + icon. 
5. Select a picture from your camera roll to add it to the video.

If you're using Captions' movie maker app on desktop, here's how to add photos to videos manually:

1. Open the Captions app on desktop.
2. Navigate to the "Projects" section and open the video project. 
3. Select a segment you'd like to add an image to. Video segments are displayed horizontally near the bottom. 
4. Tap "Add image."
5. Select a picture saved on your computer to upload it to the video.

Use a Free Online Video Tool

A free online video creation tool is an excellent option, as it doesn't require downloading any extra software. The instructions for each resource will vary, but here's a general overview of how to use this type of program:

1. Launch your chosen tool and create a new project by selecting a video format or template.
2. Upload the photos you want to include in the video. 
3. Add the photos to the video template. 

Use the program's features to enhance the video with effects like subtitles, text overlays, background audio.

4 Tips To Create Compelling Photo Videos 

When creating your picture video, apply these best practices to ensure success. 

1. Turn Live Photos Into Videos 

Live photos (an iPhone feature) capture 1.5 seconds of video before and after you take a picture. This effect adds a snippet of movement to what would otherwise be a static image. Using live photos in your videos is a great way to showcase a snapshot of animation. 

To turn a live photo into a video, follow these steps: 

1. Open the camera roll on your iPhone and choose a live photo.
2. Tap the three-dot menu at the top right. 
3. Select “Save as video” from the drop-down menu to convert the live photo into a short video clip, complete with audio. 

2. Craft a Compelling Storyline 

Keep your audience’s attention throughout the video with an exciting narrative. For example, If you're documenting a day in your city, display images in chronological order, starting with your morning coffee and followed by bustling street scenes and a sunset. This gives viewers context for your story, keeping them engaged — and your watch count growing.

3. Add Transitions and Voiceovers 

Instead of simply switching from one photo to the next, use creative video transitions like a "wipe," where one image pushes the next off the screen, or a "crossfade," where images blend into one another. Then, complement these transitions with voiceovers. For example, you could share a brief story about the significance of a particular photo. Another way to mix things up is to include B-roll, extra footage that cuts into and adds variety to the primary video.

4. Pace Your Story

Timing when each photo appears is essential for creating a naturally flowing sequence. If you leave an image on the screen too long, viewers might lose interest. If you show an image too quickly, they might feel lost. 

Also consider your video’s topic and mood when creating your pacing. For example, if you're pacing a high-energy concert recap, display the photos more rapidly to match the video's high tempo. If creating a tutorial for a crafting project, use a more extended video slideshow to ensure viewers can follow the steps. 

Edit Your Videos With Captions

Your video content is only as strong as your editing tools allow. Luckily, Captions' creative suite offers a range of AI-driven tools that help you edit videos 10x faster. 

Use Captions' AI Shorts tool to convert long-form content into shareable short clips. Captions also creates B-roll from your video footage, and you can add voiceovers and clip transitions. Plus, if you post online to YouTube or another social media channel, Captions' Prepare Social Post tool helps you choose relevant metadata. Try Captions today.