WFMW: Make Photo DVDs at Home - Almost Free

One of the things you may not know about me is that I teach technology workshops for local teachers over the summer. It's part of a workshop series that our office does every summer. In fact, I'm teaching one on blogging next week! One of the workshops I taught this summer was how to use Microsoft's Photo Story 3 software.

Photo Story 3 is a free piece of software (download HERE) that allows you to make the same kind of photo DVDs that you may have made at CVS this week. Here's a quick sample project I made to demonstrate how it works. (The picture quality is a bit questionable, because I published it at a small size/low quality for quick loading. The preview below also did funky things to my title screen! I promise it looks great when it's played back for real.)

Cool, eh? You can add your own photos, your own text, and your own music. You can have it pan across each picture or zoom in on a particular area of a photo. The motion and transitions are all customizable. You can even narrate each picture if you want to! Microsoft was kind enough to include some great directions on their website (HERE). The best part is that there's no waiting in line at the photo kiosk at CVS. You can make these at home while wearing your pajamas!

The finished product is ready for playback on your computer (Windows Media Player). If you want to burn a DVD that can be played back on a TV, you'll need to buy the $19.99 plug-in software that converts the project into a format that can be played on a DVD player. You can get more information on the DVD-making software HERE. Once you buy and download the software, you can burn as many different photo DVDs as you like. It's a one-time purchase.

Making my own photo DVDs works for me!

For more great ideas that work, stop by Works for Me Wednesday sponsored by We Are THAT Family.