Obviously, regardless of the presentation problem needing a solution, PowerPoint is the clear and solitary answer…or so goes the thinking of far too many people. When all that is desired is to show photos in a professional presentation, I have seen way too many people turn to PowerPoint as their solution. In most cases, though, it is far more trouble than it is worth for presenting photos.
Think slide shows, you know, the good old clicks and turns of mounted slides in a projector carousel. The only difference is that now, with computers, loading in the photos to be displayed is far more easy than figuring out which way around they go in a carousel, and you do not have the danger of dumping all the slides out by tilting your computer the wrong way.
The only time a presentation software (like PowerPoint, or OpenOffice Impress) would be helpful for presenting photos is if the photos were only a part of a larger presentation or if text on the photos was desired. Otherwise, if you only want to show your photos, there are many excellent solutions which will save you time and energy.
Actually, I do not know of any operating system (Windows, Mac, or Linux) which does not already have a basic slide show software built in. In Windows, the regular file browser itself will do it for you. Linux too. And Mac…well, I am sure they have some extra flashy, super glossy way to impress you right out of the box.
Then, for much more versatility and photo editing capabilities, I suggest Google’s Picasa. It does 95% or more of the normal editing that people need, all of it one-click easy, and is superbly usable when it comes to making a basic slideshow of your photos. You could even start an account online with
Anyway, the point is this: if you want to show your photos in a professional presentation, do not waste your time making PowerPoint work for you. Instead, use that time to edit and organize with Picasa or some other quick and free solution.
