Turn a folder of photos into a slideshow video people watch to the end
To turn photos into a slideshow video, put them on one 9:16 page, give each photo its own start time on a timeline so they appear one after another, and export the page as an MP4. In dump that whole job happens in the browser: the photos stay photos you can move and crop, and the timing is a row of bars you drag.
What decides whether people watch to the end is not the transition, it is the pacing: how long each photo holds, what is on screen in the first frame, and when to stop. This guide covers those decisions, two ways to build the sequence, and when the same photos should stay a carousel instead. Animation and MP4 export are Creator and Studio features; laying out the photos is free.
Animate (element motion): a Creator feature, free to try in the editor. Exports are never watermarked.
Slideshow or carousel: which one should these photos be?
A carousel lets the viewer set the pace; a slideshow sets it for them. Choose the carousel when each photo deserves its own look: a recipe, a before and after, a trip where every place has a caption. Choose the video when the photos are a mood rather than a list, when you want to add music in Instagram's Reels editor, or when you want the post to travel as a Reel. In dump they are different documents: a carousel has no timeline and exports as one still per slide, so a slideshow is built on a single page, usually the Story preset at 1080 by 1920. Nothing stops you making both from the same photos, the carousel for the feed and the video as a Reel.
How long should each photo stay in a slideshow?
For a Reel or a story, 1.5 to 2.5 seconds a photo reads as a rhythm rather than a flicker or a wait. Under a second, the photos become a blur nobody takes in; past three, thumbs start to swipe. Hold the last photo about twice as long, because that is where the video stops and loops, and a final frame that vanishes the instant it lands feels cut off. Six photos at 2 seconds plus a 3 second ending is a 13 second video, a comfortable length for a dump.
- Even timing, every photo 2 seconds, for a calm recap of a month or a trip.
- Accelerating timing, 2.5, 2, 1.5, 1 and then a long hold, for a build-up to one photo that is the payoff.
- On the beat, if you will add music in Instagram: pick the track first and count it. At 120 beats a minute a beat is half a second, so four beats is 2 seconds a photo.
How to build the slideshow on the timeline
Click Animate in the top bar, or the Animate row at the bottom of any element's panel, and the page enters video mode: a timeline dock opens under the canvas with one row per element, each a bar showing when that element is on screen. You do not need a video clip for this; a page of photos is enough. Then pick one of two builds.
The stack: one photo at a time
Every photo covers the whole page, stacked in order with the first at the bottom. Because a photo on top hides everything under it, you only set start times: photo two starts at 2.0 seconds, photo three at 4.0, and so on, each one entering over the last. Give each an entrance: Fade for a soft dissolve, Rise for a slight lift, Slide from the right if it should feel like a swipe. Leave the bottom photo with no entrance, so the video opens on a real picture instead of an empty background.
The assembling dump: photos land and stay
Start from a collage layout or a recap template and let the photos rise into their slots one after another until the full dump is on screen. Magic Animate, the wand in the dock, makes a first version in one tap: photos rise in reading order, text fades in after them, stickers pop last. Its stagger is quick, a fraction of a second apart, which suits an animated post more than a slideshow, so drag each bar further right to space the entrances out. It also leaves a photo that covers the whole page still, reading it as the background, which is why it cannot build the stack for you.
Bars move by dragging and show their time in tenths of a second as you drag. The scene length, the total duration of the video, is the grip at the end of the ruler: drag it, or click the length readout next to the clock and type it. Set it last, once you know where the final photo lands plus its hold.
Why the first frame matters as the cover
The frame at 0.0 seconds is what a video shows before it plays, and it is where Instagram starts when you pick a Reel cover. A slideshow whose photos all enter after zero opens on a blank page. So the first photo should be on screen from the very start, with no entrance, and it should be your strongest one: the photo that would stop someone on a still post. If a title sits over it, keep the title static too; a headline that fades in at 0.3 seconds is missing from the cover.
How to export the slideshow as an MP4
- 1Watch it at speed, twice
Press Space to play. Watch once following the timeline and once looking only at the canvas, as a viewer would.
- 2Open Export
A page with motion on it leaves as video: the video switch at the top of the panel is on by default, and any static pages in the same document export as stills alongside.
- 3Pick MP4 and 1080p
MP4 plays everywhere; WebM is smaller but not every app accepts it. 720p is a lighter file for a quick story, 1080p is the one for a Reel.
- 4Leave Mute audio on
A slideshow of photos has no sound of its own. Add the track in Instagram after uploading.
- 5Upload it yourself
The MP4 renders in your browser, frame by frame, from the same timeline you previewed, with no watermark on any plan. dump does not post for you; the file lands in your downloads, or in the share sheet on a phone.
MP4 export: a Creator feature, free to try in the editor. Exports are never watermarked.
Frequently asked questions
Place the photos on a 1080 by 1920 page, give each one a start time on a timeline so they appear one after another, and export the page as an MP4. In dump this runs in the browser: click Animate to open the timeline, stagger the photos, set the scene length and export at 1080p. Animation and video export need a Creator or Studio plan.
Between 1.5 and 2.5 seconds per photo for Reels and stories, with the final photo held about twice as long so the video does not end abruptly. Six photos at 2 seconds plus a 3 second ending makes a 13 second video.
No. Clicking Animate on a page of photos switches it into video mode and opens the timeline without any clip, and that page then exports as an MP4. Animate is part of the Creator and Studio plans; building the still layout is free.
Not directly in dump: carousels have no timeline and export as one still per slide. Put the same photos on a single page instead, stagger them on the timeline and export that page as an MP4. Many people post both, the carousel in the feed and the video as a Reel.
Part of animated posts and video. Start from the main guide: Animate an Instagram post so one thing moves and nothing looks like a slideshow