PCPhoto

Trade Tricks: Life With A Digital Projector

Show off your photos with a three-LCD projector

By Rob Sheppard

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This is real world for me. If you get close to the screen, you can tell that the resolution of the projector might not quite match a true slide projector, but on the other hand, the images have such excellent color and image brilliance when viewed from normal distances that most people prefer it to a traditional slide projector. The images look great, my audiences are satisfied, and I can do effective slideshows. That’s the bottom line for me.

Did I like this projector? Absolutely. It made slideshows fun and they looked outstanding. One consistent problem with digital projectors is that they’re rarely optimized for photography. The Epson PowerLite 737c, however, did an excellent job of interpreting the images going from my laptop to the screen. Plus, it does a terrific job with projecting video from any video source (from cable to a DVD player). My son loved the unit for sports events, and the whole family enjoyed it for our at-home movie nights.

Contact: Epson, (800) GO-EPSON, www.epson.com.

Keeping Viewers Awake

Would you rather make great slideshows than those that induce sleep? Here are some tips to follow.

• Edit. Your audience doesn’t want to see every photo you took on your trip! Remove bad shots, all duplicates and close duplicates, then edit down to the important and most attractive images.

• Arrange. Look for ways to arrange your photos that are audience-attractive. Search for themes and stories that come from combinations of photos.

• Add music. Music always adds a professional touch. Be careful about using copyrighted music. Try something like Smart Sound’s software for creating music that doesn’t have that issue (www.smartsound.com).

• Narrate carefully. Whether doing narration live or as an audio track for your slideshow, plan what you’re going to say.

• Choose transitions thoughtfully. If you use too many of these seductive transitions or use them too often, your show will look like a late-night car dealer ad. A good, all-purpose transition is to use a dissolve between photos.