The ones for the service
Tick them and press Album. In the album: More, then Slideshow.
For Families Preparing a Memorial
A Funeral Slideshow, in Order, in Hours
Upload the photos. We work out when each was taken. Press Play.
1953
1958
1968
1984
1994
2024
- Free to try
- No credit card to start
- Chronological order, done for you
- Family can watch from home
How it works
Upload the Photos. We Put Them in Order. Press Play.
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Your partAdd the photos
Scans or phone pictures of the prints. Choose the whole folder.
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Our partWe put them in order
One press dates the whole box, from the backs, printed dates and the pictures.
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The payoffPress Play
Full screen, oldest to newest, in your web browser.
Then, for the service, pick one
Option 1 · Nothing to install
Press Play, Right Here
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Press Play
At the top of your Photos page.
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Oldest photo first
The count shows how far along it is.
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The date, and the note on the back
Turn captions on to show both.
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Five seconds a photo
Pick 3 to 30 seconds. It loops through a viewing.
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Full screen, on the TV
Plug a laptop into the TV. The buttons fade away.
The real slideshow, with the demo family.
Or Play Just the Photos You Pick
Only the photos of Mom
Name her face once on the People page. On her page: More, then Slideshow.
Option 2 · Hand off the files
Download One Folder, in Play Order
For PowerPoint, Canva, iMovie or the funeral home.
- Choose the photos Everything, your album, or one person.
- Pick One folder, oldest to newest The first file is the oldest photo.
- Save it Copy it to a USB stick, or send it on.
See every download layout, or why folders by year.
Option 3 · Google Photos
Or Send the Album to Google Photos
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From your Download page
Choose Continue with Google. No ZIP files, no second upload.
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Already in order
The date is written inside each photo.
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Press Slideshow
In the three-dot menu. It casts to a TV.
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Share one link
Relatives watch from anywhere and add photos.
Illustrative recreation. See exactly what transfers to Google Photos.
Family far away
They Can Watch From Home
Invite brothers, sisters and cousins by email: the same photos, in the same order, at home.
- Up to 20 relatives, free
- Can edit also fixes dates, names and places
The week nobody plans for
Sixty Years of Photos. A Few Days Until the Service.
Every guide says sort them chronologically. None says how. Timeline Scan does it for you.
- Prints from five decades mixed in one envelope
- “Was that '68 or '72?” with no one left to ask
- Relatives texting photos in no particular order
What the memorial guides agree on
How Many Photos? How Long? The Slideshow Formula
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60 photos × 5 seconds = 5 minutes
| Decision | What works |
|---|---|
| Number of photos | 60 to 80 |
| Time per photo | 4 to 5 seconds |
| Total length | 5 to 8 minutes, about one or two songs |
| Music | 1 or 2 songs they loved |
| Order | Chronological, oldest to newest |
| Ending | One recent portrait, held longer |
From memorial slideshow guides by Animoto and Funeral.com, among others.
Why these numbers?
- 60 to 80 photos tell a whole life without losing the room. Fewer is fine: hold each one longer.
- 4 to 5 seconds is long enough to recognize faces, short enough to keep the story moving.
- 5 to 8 minutes is one or two songs. Longer versions can loop at the viewing or reception.
- Music: gentle and personal beats generic. Match the tone of the service.
- Oldest to newest: guests instinctively follow a life story from beginning to end.
- The ending: one recent portrait, held longer, gives the room a quiet, dignified place to rest.
Pick from every era. With the photos in order, the gaps show themselves.
Made for a Hard Week
Handing the Photos to the Funeral Home? Even Simpler.
What funeral homes ask for:
- Digital files
- Typically 30 to 100 photos
- In play order
- A day or two before
One folder, oldest to newest, covers all four.
Gentle with the Originals. Fast with the Deadline.
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Fast enough for a funeral timeline
A trial-size batch in minutes; larger collections in hours, not days.
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Your originals are never changed
Dates go into the copies you download.
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Online while you need it
90 days after we date them (30 on the free trial), then Family Library.
Common questions
Questions About Funeral Photo Slideshows
How many photos should a funeral slideshow have?
60 to 80 photos, the number most funeral-industry guides land on. At 4 to 5 seconds each, that plays for 5 to 8 minutes, about one or two songs. Fewer is fine: hold each one on screen a little longer. If the slideshow will loop quietly during a viewing or reception, more photos work well.
How long should a funeral slideshow be?
Five to eight minutes: one or two songs, about 60 to 80 photos at 4 to 5 seconds each. A slideshow that plays quietly through a viewing or reception can run as long as the event; Timeline Scan’s slideshow starts over on its own when it reaches the end.
What order should the photos in a funeral slideshow go in?
Chronological, oldest to newest. Nearly every guide recommends it, and guests follow it instinctively: a life told from childhood to the most recent years. Grouping by theme (family, work, travel) also works. Timeline Scan puts scanned photos in chronological order automatically, even when no one wrote dates on them.
Nobody wrote dates on the photos. How can they be put in order?
Timeline Scan estimates when each photo was taken from handwriting on the backs of prints, dates printed by the photo lab or camera, and clues in the picture itself (clothing, cars, rooms), plus the photos that sat nearby in the same album or envelope.
You can check the timeline and change any photo’s date before the service. Curious about the details? See how we fix scanned photo dates.
Does Timeline Scan play the slideshow itself?
Yes, it is built into Timeline Scan. Press Play at the top of your Photos page and it plays full screen in your web browser, from the oldest photo to the newest.
Each photo holds for five seconds by default (three to thirty if you prefer). Captions can show each date and the handwriting from the back of the print. It starts over on its own, so it can run quietly through a viewing, and an album or one person’s page plays just those photos.
Will the slideshow work if the funeral home has no wifi?
It needs a connection: Timeline Scan’s slideshow plays over the internet. If the room has none, download the photos as one folder, oldest to newest, before you leave the house.
A laptop’s own photo viewer can play that folder as a slideshow with no internet at all, or the funeral home can play it from a USB stick. Do this even if you were promised wifi: guest networks in function rooms are the least reliable part of the day.
Can Google Photos play the slideshow?
Yes. From your Download page, Timeline Scan can send your dated photos straight into a new Google Photos album, with no ZIP file and no second upload. The date is written inside each photo, so the album runs oldest to newest on its own.
Open the album, tap the three-dot menu and choose Slideshow: it plays full screen on a phone or laptop and can be cast to a TV. Share the album link and relatives can watch from anywhere and add their own photos before the service.
Can relatives watch the slideshow from home?
Yes. Invite them by email from your Family page: up to 20 people, free. They sign in with their own account, see the same photos in the same order, and can press Play on their own computer. Anyone you let edit can also fix a date or add a name.
Can the funeral home make the slideshow for us?
Often, yes. Many funeral homes will assemble a tribute video or play your slideshow on their equipment. They need the photos digitized, chosen and in play order, usually a day or two before the service.
Timeline Scan’s oldest-to-newest folder is built for that hand-off: the files are renamed so alphabetical order is date order. Put your picks in an album first and the folder holds just those.
How fast can this be done before the service?
Fast enough: most families go from shoebox to slideshow in a single day. Photographing a shoebox of prints with a phone takes an afternoon, and flatbed or app scans work too.
Once uploaded, a trial-size batch is dated in minutes and larger collections typically finish in hours, not days. If you’re near Lehi, Utah, we can scan the prints for you as well.
What does it cost?
It is free to try with no credit card, enough photos for a small slideshow, so you see your own photos dated and in order before paying anything. After that, you pay per photo dated; see the pricing page for current rates.
Your photos stay online for 90 days after we date them (30 days on the free trial), and you can download them any time. Keeping them online for the family after that is Family Library, $39 a year or a small monthly fee.
Get the Photos in Order Today
Start free, no credit card. See your photos in order before you decide.
Try Photos FreeGoogle Photos is a trademark of Google LLC. The album above is an illustrative recreation, not a screenshot of Google's product. Timeline Scan is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google.