Let’s face it, videos are the in thing in 2021. So, why not showcase your photography through video? Get in the game!
One of the most effective ways to promote your work as a photographer in 2021 is through video. Whether it’s YouTube, Reels, or TikTok, your work has a statistically better chance of being seen this way than on someone’s Instagram feed.
So, how exactly do you show your photos? Much like Instagram, there are formatting decisions that you’ll need to make when answering the question: How do you want your audience to view the photos?
Let’s go over some of the most popular ways creators are doing this, as well as dive into how you can do this for your next video.
White Matte Background
This is the presentation/effect I see most often. Basically, your entire screen is a white screen, with your photo placed on top of it. This is a good way to not crop or mess with the aspect ratio of your photo, while making it visually pop and separate itself from the background.
It also reminds me of looking at a photo in a frame or at a museum with a white wall behind it. More than anything, it’s a presentation tool.
It’s also a good way for the viewer’s eyes to have a visual clue to the fact that they’re now looking at a photo that is separate from the footage.
Let’s go over how to create this white matte background in each of the major NLE’s.
Premiere Pro
In Premiere, all you have to do is right-click anywhere in your media browser, hit New Item, then Color Matte and voilà. Before you can add it to your media browser or timeline, Premiere will prompt you to choose the color first.
DaVinci Resolve
Adding a matte is super-simple in Resolve. All you have to do is go to your Toolbox on the left-hand side and hit Generators, then find Solid Color. Resolve automatically sets the color to Black, so you’ll have to change it in the Effects tab once it’s on your timeline.
Final Cut Pro X
In Final Cut Pro, it’s just as simple. Go to Generators, then choose Custom and drag it onto your timeline. From there, you can change the color to whatever matches your aesthetic.
Projector Slide Effect
This method isn’t officially called the “Projector Slide Effect,” I just genuinely don’t know what to call it. But, I see it everywhere, it’s cool, and seems like a projector slide transition? So, we’re going to go with that.
Basically, the effect is an animation that recreates the feeling of looking at a reel from a film or projector that’s casting images onto the screen. So, how do you make this?
There are plenty of resources for you to use here, like pre-built motion graphics that you can drag-and-drop onto your timeline, or manually creating the effect yourself. Let’s look at how you can approach this with each popular editing program.
As seen in this video by our own Lewis McGregor at 1:24, it’s his go-to effect of choice.
I have it on good authority that he follows this exact tutorial for After Effects over on PremiumBeat.
Premiere
This technique is simple. You simply take two photos, place them next to each other on the timeline, and add a Cross Dissolve transition to them. Now, add an adjustment layer over the second half of the first clip, then the first half of the second clip. Next add the Offset effect to that adjustment layer.
Once you’ve done this, set a keyframe for the first frame of the adjustment layer, then go to the last frame and raise the Y-value accordingly. To add more of a film effect, you can blur the shot appropriately using the blur effect with keyframes added, increasing the intensity as needed.
In a similar fashion, you could also have your stills roll next to each other, as presented in the following tutorial.
DaVinci Resolve
With Resolve, the good news is there’s an actual transition effects built right into the program. All you have to do is drag-and-drop it onto your two photos, and the effect will be applied. It gives you room to tweak and fine-tune a bit, changing the color, blur, speed, etc.
Final Cut Pro X
Just like Resolve, pulling off this effect is super-simple in Final Cut. First, place your two photos next two each other on your timeline, then use the Blade tool to cut the last five frames on your first clip. This tiny clip is what we’ll be applying the effects to.
Go to Transitions, then Movements, then choose the Slide transition. Trim the size of the effect down to its smallest, and place it at the start of the small clip you’ve separated from the first photo. Then, do this again, dragging another Slide transition to the end of the small clip.
Now, you can highlight both transitions, then change the Type to Slide Push, and change the direction to Up.
Voilà!
Check out the full tutorial.
Camera Shutter Sound Effect
One more way to kind of seamlessly transition the viewer’s experience from moving footage to showing a still is to include a camera shutter sound effect. You know, like the click or slap of a shutter to indicate a single frame has been captured.
I use this all the time with my own videos and even change the sound of the shutter (depending on what camera I’m using) to act as another way of conveying what you’re doing in a nonverbal way.
Here’s an example (I’ve included a timestamp):
So, where do you get the sound effect? I tend to find any kind of shutter I might need on a service called “freesound.”
Full Screen
My first thought when seeing a photograph take up the entire screen amidst a video is that there’s usually some type of camera movement—whether it’s a zoom, pan, or tilt—that will be added. I feel like this is due to our exposure to any Ken Burns documentary from the past four decades.
That slow push-in, to take the place of camera movement, guiding the viewer’s eyes to the subject. This effect is such a staple to documentaries and videos that Final Cut even has a “Ken Burns Effect” that you can apply to a photo that will automatically generate a slow zoom-in.
If you’re using Premiere or Resolve, you’ll need to set a few keyframes, then change the zoom accordingly.
- Resolve: How to Zoom in DaVinci Resolve – Resolve 16 Basics Tutorial
- Premiere Pro: How to ZOOM IN AND OUT in Adobe Premiere Pro CC Tutorial
3D Parallax Effect
This effect brings your subject and pulls it apart from the background. It’d be like cutting out the subject in an actual photo, then setting it on top of the photo underneath it, then pulling it closer to you as you look from above.
Hopefully that made sense. This is another popular effect documentaries use to break up the monotony of showing photos over and over again. As you see in the tutorial, you can also add overlays to the image, adding depth and more movement to the shot. It basically looks like a video clip by the end of it all.
A few more filmmaking jewels just for you:
- 7 Filmmaking Podcasts That Are Worth Your Time
- How Kubrick Used Mostly Natural Light on Full Metal Jacket
- Datamoshing 101: How to Make Your Footage Look Trippy
- 14 Effects Tutorials Inspired by Marvel’s Loki, WandaVision, and More
- 5 Inexpensive Filmmaking Accessories You Need to Own
Cover image via RB_Media.
