Choose your wording
Choose the wording that fits your plans, replace any placeholders, and share it with your guests.
Message to family and friends
We are putting together a slideshow for [Name]'s service on [date]. If you have photos of [Name], especially from years we might not have, please add them here by [deadline]: [LINK]. Original photo files are best, and old prints photographed in daylight are welcome. Thank you.
Send as soon as the date is set; replace the brackets.
Reminder before the deadline
A gentle reminder: we are collecting photos of [Name] for the slideshow until [deadline]. You can add them here: [LINK]. If you have prints you cannot photograph, let us know and we will collect them.
Send two or three days before the deadline.
Card at the service
Share a photo or a memory of [Name]. Scan the QR code to add it to the family's private collection. No app needed.
Print beside the QR code at the guest book or memory table.
The essentials
A memorial slideshow is a set of photos, usually with music, that plays at a funeral, memorial service, or celebration of life. Gather photos from family and friends through one shared link with a deadline, choose the best from each chapter of the person's life, put them in order, and fit them to the music: at about six seconds a photo, ten minutes holds around 100. Test it on the venue's screen and bring an offline copy.
At a glance
- Suggested length
- 5 to 10 minutes during a service
- Time per photo
- About 5 to 7 seconds
- Photos for 10 minutes
- About 100 at 6 seconds each
- Photos per 3-minute song
- About 30
- Start collecting
- As soon as the date is set
- On the day
- Test the screen; bring an offline copy
Collect photos from family and friends
Send one message to the people most likely to have photos: siblings, children, old friends, and colleagues from different parts of the person's life. Give them a single place to add pictures, ask for the original photo files rather than screenshots or pictures forwarded through a group chat, and set a deadline a few days before the service so there is time to sort.
A shared album or a private gallery with a link and QR code keeps everything in one place and shows who sent what. In Capture, relatives open the link in their phone's browser, add photos without creating an account, and the host can approve each upload before others see it.
For old prints, ask whoever has them to photograph or scan them flat, in daylight, without glare. Google's PhotoScan app and the document scanner in the iPhone Notes app both straighten and crop a print; a flatbed scanner gives the best result for small originals.
Choose and order the photos
Pick by chapter rather than by sharpness alone: childhood, school years, early adulthood, family, work, friendships, interests and travel, and the last years. A slightly blurry photo that captures the person exactly is worth more than a sharp one that says nothing.
Chronological order is the easiest for a room to follow. Grouping by theme works when dates are uncertain or a life had distinct parts. Either way, start and end with a portrait the immediate family chooses.
Remove near-duplicates, check names and dates with someone who knows, and leave out anything the immediate family would not want shown to a full room.
How long should a memorial slideshow be?
Five to ten minutes suits a slideshow watched during the service: long enough to tell a story, short enough for a seated room. If it loops during a visitation or reception, length matters less and you can include more photos.
Work out the number of photos from the length. At five to seven seconds a photo, a minute holds eight to twelve photos, so ten minutes at six seconds each is about 100 photos and a three-minute song carries about 30.
Give group photos and pictures with writing a little longer on screen, and keep transitions simple. A plain fade or a slow pan is easier to watch than spinning effects.
Choose the music
Two or three songs are enough for ten minutes. Start with music the person loved, then music that fits the mood; an instrumental under the opening photos gives the room time to settle.
These are songs families often choose for a memorial slideshow, in no particular order:
- “Amazing Grace”, traditional hymn
- “How Great Thou Art”, hymn
- “Ave Maria” by Franz Schubert
- “Danny Boy”, traditional Irish song
- “Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What a Wonderful World” by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole
- “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole
- “My Way” by Frank Sinatra
- “Bridge over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel
- “In My Life” by The Beatles
- “Tears in Heaven” by Eric Clapton
- “Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler
- “Time to Say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman
- “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, or Jeff Buckley’s version
- “I Will Remember You” by Sarah McLachlan
- “Go Rest High on That Mountain” by Vince Gill
- “The Dance” by Garth Brooks
- “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth
- “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran
- “Supermarket Flowers” by Ed Sheeran
- “Dancing in the Sky” by Dani and Lizzy
Make it with a tool you already have
In PowerPoint or Keynote, put one photo on each slide, set the slides to advance automatically, add the music as a soundtrack that plays across the slides, and export the result as a video file.
Online editors such as Canva have memorial slideshow templates with music, and on a phone, Apple Photos and Google Photos can turn a selected album into a short movie with a soundtrack.
Capture's own slideshow plays the collected photos on a screen at a pace you set, with captions and a slow pan, but it has no soundtrack. For a slideshow with music, export the original files from Capture and build it in one of the tools above.
Play it at the service
Ask the venue which screen and connection they have, test the finished file on that screen before the day, and check the sound level from the back of the room.
Bring the slideshow as a video file on a USB stick as well as online, so a weak connection cannot stop it, and name one person to start and stop it.
If the service is streamed or the slideshow is posted online, platforms may mute or block commercial recordings. Ask the funeral home about recorded music in the room, and keep a version with music you are allowed to share for posting.
Questions & answers
How many pictures should be in a funeral slideshow?
Divide the running time by five to seven seconds a photo. A ten-minute slideshow holds about 100 photos at six seconds each, and a three-minute song carries about 30.
How long should a memorial slideshow be?
Five to ten minutes for a slideshow watched during the service. If it loops during a visitation or reception, it can run longer.
What is the easiest way to make a memorial slideshow?
Start from a template in a slideshow or video editor, add the photos in order, set them to advance automatically, and add one or two songs. Export a video file so it plays the same on any screen.
How do I get photos from family for a funeral slideshow?
Send one link with a deadline, ask for original files rather than screenshots, and offer to collect prints from anyone who cannot photograph or scan them.
Can we use copyrighted songs in a memorial slideshow?
Check with the funeral home or venue about playing recorded music in the room. If you stream or post the slideshow, platforms may mute or block commercial recordings, so keep a version with music you are allowed to share.
Keep the moments close
Every guest’s perspective.
One shared collection.
Create a private gallery, share a QR code, and bring your event’s photos together.
Start 7-day free trial Explore plans