How to make a funeral or memorial slideshow with photos from family and guests
You have been asked to put the photos together, probably in a few days and while you are grieving too. This guide covers how long it should run, how to gather photos from relatives without chasing them one by one, how to show it, and how to keep the photos afterwards.
Eight steps from first photo to the day itself
Do them in this order. The first two cost nothing and save the most time, because the funeral director's schedule and the photos other people hold are the two things you cannot control.
1
Ask the funeral director how long you have. The service may already be timed. Ask whether the slideshow plays before the service, during it, or at the reception afterwards, and what screen or projector the venue has.
2
Share one link or QR code with family. Send it by text or email, and print the QR code on the order of service or a sign at the entrance. Relatives add photos from their own phones.
3
Ask for older photos too. Prints in a drawer or an album at a relative's house can be photographed or scanned and added. Ask the person who has them, not the whole group.
4
Pick the photos. Choose a mix of eras and people, with the person at the centre. Keep a few that show them laughing or in the middle of something, not only posed ones.
5
Put them in order. Chronological order is the simplest and easy for guests to follow. Some families group by theme instead: family, friends, work, trips.
6
Choose the music. Pick one or two songs that mattered to them. Check the length of each song against your runtime, and ask the venue whether they can play audio from your laptop or phone.
7
Test it on the venue's screen. Run it once on the real equipment if you can, or ask for the screen's connection type (HDMI, USB stick, or a venue computer) and bring a copy in each format.
8
Keep the photos afterwards. Download every photo in full resolution and keep a copy on your own computer. Photos people send you tend to arrive for weeks after the service.
How many photos and how long it will run
Decide the runtime first, then count photos. This is plain arithmetic: the number of photos times the seconds each one stays on screen. Most people settle somewhere around five to six seconds a photo. Slower suits a quiet song and a room that wants time to look. Faster suits a lively celebration of life.
As a rule of thumb, a slideshow of about five to ten minutes is easy to sit through, but the service's own schedule decides. If it will loop on a screen while people arrive or at the reception, length matters much less.
| Time on screen | 50 photos | 100 photos | 200 photos |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 seconds each | 3 min 20 sec | 6 min 40 sec | 13 min 20 sec |
| 6 seconds each | 5 min | 10 min | 20 min |
| 8 seconds each | 6 min 40 sec | 13 min 20 sec | 26 min 40 sec |
Gathering photos from relatives and guests, before and during the service
The slow part is rarely making the slideshow. It is getting the photos out of other people's phones, albums and group chats. Emailing and texting them one at a time means compressed pictures, missing files and a lot of thanking people.
A better way is one private link and QR code. Our Event Album gives you both. Relatives open the link on their phone, choose photos and videos from their camera roll, and upload them to one album. There is no app and no account, so an uncle who is not comfortable with technology can still do it. Guests can also leave a written message with their photos. Videos can be up to 60 seconds each.
Send the link as soon as the date is set, so older photos arrive before you need them. On the day, a printed QR code on the order of service or a sign at the entrance lets people who were not on the first message add what they have. Only people with the link or QR code can open the album, and it is not listed on Google. The full set-up is on the memorial photo sharing page.
Memorial slideshow: a timed piece for the service
A memorial slideshow is usually a set piece, played once at a set point in the service, often to music. For that, you choose and order the photos yourself. Download the full-resolution files from your album, then arrange them in the slideshow or video software you already use. Phone and computer video editors can all do this. Our Event Album does not make a timed video with a music track for you.
Put a title photo first, then keep to one order from start to finish so the story is easy to follow. Leave the last photo on screen for a few seconds before the screen goes dark, so people are not startled.
Celebration of life slideshow: a running screen at the gathering
A celebration of life is often a looser gathering, so a slideshow that runs in the background while people talk can work better than a single timed piece. This is what our live slideshow is for. Open it on a TV or projector and it plays the album's photos on a loop, picking up new ones as people add them from their phones.
In the album settings you can include videos and written well wishes or leave them out, show newest photos first or shuffle, choose between a fade, a cross dissolve and a slide, and set the time per photo from 2 to 30 seconds.
Music, ordering and keeping the photos afterwards
For music, one or two songs that meant something to the person is plenty. Add up the song lengths and work out how many photos fit, using the table above. If the venue plays the slideshow from its own computer, ask what format it needs, and bring the finished file on a USB stick as well as on your phone.
Afterwards, download the whole album in full resolution and keep a copy on your own computer. Hosting on Our Event Album runs for six months from the date of the service, and you can add 12-month hosting at checkout. The files are yours to print for a memory table, put in a book or use in a later tribute.
One payment per event, no subscription.
Funeral and memorial slideshows, answered
How many photos should a funeral slideshow have?
There is no set number. Work backwards from the time you have: at six seconds a photo, 50 photos run five minutes and 100 run ten. The table on this page shows other speeds. Many families keep it short enough to sit through without a break, so ask the funeral director for the time you are allowed.
How long should a memorial slideshow be?
Match it to the slot you have been given and to one or two songs. If the slideshow is on a loop at the reception, length matters less because people watch for a few minutes at a time as they arrive and leave.
What is a celebration of life slideshow?
It is the same thing as a funeral or memorial slideshow, usually for a lighter, more personal gathering. The tone is up to the family: more candid and funny photos, group shots, and often a looping slideshow on a screen at the party rather than a timed piece during a ceremony.
How do we collect photos from relatives who live far away?
Send them a link they can open on their phone. With Our Event Album they choose photos from their camera roll and upload them in the browser, with no app and no account, so it works from any country and on any phone.
Can we add photos after the album is set up?
Yes. Leave the link open before and after the service. Photos from the day and ones people find later go into the same private album.
Can the live slideshow play on a TV or projector at the service?
Yes. Our Event Album has a live slideshow you open on any screen with a browser. It shows the album's photos as they are added. You can choose whether videos and written well wishes are included, shuffle the order or show newest first, pick a transition, and set the time per photo from 2 to 30 seconds. It does not build a timed video with a music track, so for a timed piece with music, download the photos and put them in the video software you prefer.
Who can see the photos?
Only people who have your link or QR code. The album is private and is not listed on Google.
How long are the photos kept online?
Six months from the date of the service. You can add 12-month hosting at checkout, and you can download everything at any time, so keep your own copy.
Related pages
More on collecting and showing photos for a memorial.
