How many photos for a funeral slideshow?
Short answer
For a slideshow shown during the service, plan on 30–60 photos: at about 5 seconds each that is 3–5 minutes, roughly one or two songs. For a wake or reception loop, 60–150 photos is fine because people drift in and out. Work it out from the time you have: minutes × 60 ÷ 5 = number of photos.
Most families start with far more photos than a service can hold: a shoebox of prints, a few hundred phone pictures, and more arriving from cousins every hour. That is normal. The trick is to decide the length first and let the number of photos follow from it.
This guide gives you the arithmetic, the ranges funeral video makers recommend, and a way to choose which pictures make the cut without agonising over every one.
The formula: start from the time you have
Ask the funeral director or celebrant how long the slideshow can run and where it sits in the service. Then pick how long each photo stays on screen. Specialist funeral videographers usually suggest 4–6 seconds per photo, slightly longer for detailed group photos and slightly shorter for a run of similar pictures.
| Length | Photos | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 3 minutes | about 36 | One song during a church or crematorium service |
| 5 minutes | about 60 | Two short songs; the most common tribute length |
| 7 minutes | about 84 | A longer service, or a celebration of life |
| 10 minutes | about 120 | A memorial gathering or a film to share afterwards |
| Loop at the wake | 60–150+ | Plays on repeat in the background |
These figures match what UK funeral videographer UK Funeral Video Services recommends (around 35–40 photos for a main slideshow, 30–40 if the slot is only 3–5 minutes) and Eulogize's guidance of 40–60 pictures over 3–8 minutes or two songs.
Service slideshow or wake loop?
The same photos can work in two very different settings, so it helps to decide which one you are making — or to make both.
- During the service: everyone watches at once, in silence, and the time is fixed. Keep it short and strong — 30–60 photos, one or two pieces of music, with a clear start and end.
- At the wake or reception: people talk, eat and come back to the screen. A longer loop of 60–150 photos works well, and no one minds if it repeats.
- To share online afterwards: a 5–10 minute film lets relatives who could not travel see the whole life story.
How to choose which photos make the cut
- Sort by life stage, not exact date. Baby, childhood, teens, young adult, wedding or partner, parenthood, work, later years, grandchildren. One funeral planner on Reddit described exactly this: laying prints out on a table by phase, then picking from each pile.
- Aim for a few photos per stage. Five to eight photos per stage gives a 40–60 photo slideshow that covers the whole life without dwelling on one decade.
- Pick faces over places. Choose photos where the person is clearly visible. Keep one or two landscapes or objects (their garden, their car, their workbench) as breathing space.
- Remove near-duplicates. Of five photos from the same birthday, keep the best one.
- Finish with something warm. A recent smiling photo or a family group is a natural last image before the music ends.
If you have more than 200 photos, it is fine to give the leftovers a second home: a longer loop at the wake, or a shared online album.
Let the music set the length
A typical song lasts 3–4 minutes, so one song carries about 40 photos at 5 seconds each. Two contrasting songs — one reflective, one more upbeat — make a 6–8 minute tribute of 70–90 photos. See our funeral song lists for ideas by part of the service and by decade.
If the slideshow will be played at a venue or streamed, check the music rules first: our guide on songs for a funeral slideshow explains what usually applies.
Scanning and photo quality
- Scan prints at 300 dpi or more, or photograph them flat in daylight with your phone, square to the picture.
- Venue screens are usually landscape full HD; Obitus recommends matching 1920×1080 for landscape screens. Portrait photos will show with bars at the sides, which is fine.
- Small, faded or damaged prints can be restored, but restoration and AI animation should be labelled honestly. Ours always are — see how we label AI.
Questions people ask
How many photos do I need for a 5-minute slideshow?
About 60 photos at 5 seconds each. If you want each photo to linger for 6–8 seconds, use 40–50.
How long should each photo be shown?
Around 4–6 seconds. Use up to 8 seconds for group photos people will want to study, and 3–4 seconds for a quick run of similar images.
Is 200 photos too many for a funeral slideshow?
For the service itself, yes: 200 photos would take around 17 minutes at 5 seconds each. Use 30–60 for the service and put the rest in a longer loop for the wake.
Can I include videos as well as photos?
Yes. Short clips of 10–30 seconds work best, often with the original sound turned down under the music. Count each clip as two or three photos when planning the length.
Sources
- How many photos should a funeral slideshow have?, UK Funeral Video Services, 2026-06-07 (read 5 October 2026)
- 8 tips to create a beautiful funeral slideshow, Eulogize, 2026-09-25 (read 5 October 2026)
- Media uploader guide, Obitus (read 5 October 2026)
- What advice would you give for a family friend making a memorial slideshow?, r/askfuneraldirectors (Reddit), 2025 (read 5 October 2026)
How we wrote this
Written by the In Memoriam Film team with AI assistance for research and drafting, then checked against the sources above. Figures come only from those sources; where a number is our own rule of thumb we say so. We make memorial films, so where a guide mentions our product, that is why.