Presentation possibilities in the Slideshow module, part 2: Customizing the slideshow's appearance
Changing the background of the image display
The background around your photo strongly affects how a photo looks (it is called Backdrop in Lightroom). While you can do all sorts of interesting background effects for a simple printed image, you need to be careful what you choose here because the background is going to be the same for all photos.
You need something that complements your other images and doesn't detract from them. In Backdrop, you have several options, as shown in Figure 9. Here’s how to work them:
Figure 9: There are several different background options to choose from.
Background Color. Normally you select this option first even though it is at the bottom of the Backdrop controls. At the right is a color options box. Click it to get a Colors dialog box for choosing background color. This little box has a number of choices that offer you different ways of choosing color based on your operating system’s approach to color. I don’t recommend getting deeply caught up in this. Slideshows, as I mentioned earlier, should be based on the group of images that make up the content of the show. Choose simple colors that don’t distract from your photos.
Color Wash. I recommend you try this. This setting provides a nice gradient to the background instead of a flat color based on the Background Color, as shown in Figure 10. You choose a second color to blend with the first background color by clicking the color box to the right of Color Wash. You then change its strength with the Opacity slider and its direction with Angle. You can click the little circle “dial” and drag it to change the angle (the dark small circle visually shows where the gradation is starting from) or use the slider. I recommend choosing light and dark neutral colors, with a darker color at the top and lighter at the bottom, as shown here.
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Figure 10: Color wash adds a nice gradient to the background.
Background Image. Here you can add a specific photo as a background for your slideshow. You have to drag it in from the Filmstrip, so you need to include it in your grouping or add it to your group of images later so it appears there. It comes in at 100 percent, which is pretty strong and will likely overpower your slideshow. Use the Opacity slider to bring that intensity down so it truly is a background photo, as shown in Figure 11.
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Figure 11: Color wash adds a nice gradient to the background.
