Add motion to your photos with Generate Video in Lightroom

Transform still photos into short video clips using motion presets and custom prompts with Generate Video in Lightroom.

Published September 30, 2026

00:01

Introduction

[Arabela Espinoza]: These video clips all have one very interesting thing in common: they all began as still photos.

With the Generate Video feature in Lightroom, you can transform a single image into a short video clip in just a few clicks.

Hi, I'm Arabela Espinoza, a creative photographer and Adobe Live regular, working across portrait, street, and commercial photography.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how easy it is to add motion to a still image, all without leaving Lightroom.

00:29

Apply a crop to prepare a photo for video generation.

Let's start with the travel photo.

Say you've come home from a trip with incredible photos, but you wish you had captured a little more video along the way.

This Thailand beach scene is a great example.

The composition already draws your eye through the water and toward the cliffs, so adding subtle movement can help recreate that feeling of being there.

Before generating, here's a quick tip.

Since you can choose from different video aspect ratios, it's a good idea to pre-crop your photo to match the format you want to create.

That way, you have control over the framing instead of leaving the crop up to the video generation.

Select the Crop tool in the toolbar on the right.

For this example, I'm cropping to 16x9 for a landscape video.

Now I'll choose Photo > Generate Video to open the Generate Video dialogue.

Right at the top, you'll find a few different AI models to choose from, including Firefly Video and two versions of Google Veo 3.1.

For this image, I'll choose Veo 3.1.

You can also customize the aspect ratio, resolution, and duration for your video.

Since I've already cropped my image to 16x9, I'll use that same aspect ratio here.

01:40

Select a motion preset.

When it comes to motion, Lightroom gives you a few presets to get started, including Slow pan, Subtle motion, and Hyperlapse.

For this scene, I'll choose Slow pan.

Each preset also gives you a prompt that you can customize.

I can tweak that prompt to better match my vision or switch to Custom if I want to write a prompt completely from scratch.

For now, I'll keep the Slow Pan prompt as is.

There's also an option to create a stack, which keeps your generated video neatly grouped together with the original photo in your Lightroom library.

In the bottom of the window, you can see how many credits the video will use.

Generative credits are included in your plan, and you can check your credit balance right here in the Generate Video dialogue.

Now I'll click Generate and let Lightroom create the motion.

This will take a couple of minutes, so I'll speed this up a bit.

The result is a cinematic clip with gentle movement through the scene, perfect for adding a little extra storytelling to a travel reel or using as B-roll in a video project.

Now let's try the same idea with the photo of a wooded path, but this time in a vertical format.

For this image, I've applied a vertical crop with a 9x16 aspect ratio.

In the Generate Video dialogue, I'll use the same Slow pan preset.

And notice how this time, Lightroom picks up on the path and creates forward movement through the scene.

03:08

Add subtle motion to still photos.

For this wedding detail shot, I want the movement to feel as thoughtful and elegant as the photograph itself.

This is where the Subtle motion preset works really well.

When you select it, Lightroom will analyze your image and generate a prompt based on the scene.

You can always edit the auto-generated prompts if you choose.

In this case, I'll click Generate and see what I get with this prompt.

With just a few clicks, this still photo becomes a beautiful clip that can be woven into a wedding highlight film, slideshow, or social post.

03:42

Create dynamic motion with Hyperlapse.

For this final example, we're going for something with a little more energy.

A night street photo already captures a sense of movement, the lights, the traffic, and the atmosphere of the city.

Hyperlapse helps push that feeling even further by transforming the still image into something more dynamic.

I'll choose Hyperlapse, and Lightroom will generate a prompt based on the image.

I'll leave it as is and click Generate.

The final result feels like a moment from a larger story, making it a great option for an opening shot, a transition, or adding a cinematic touch to an urban edit.

04:22

Explore more video options in Adobe Firefly.

Want to explore even more video options?

In the Generate Video dialogue, select Access more models to open your image in Adobe Firefly.

Here, you'll find additional models and creative workflows not currently available in Lightroom, including Frames.

Frames lets you provide a first and last frame for your video.

The image you upload is the first frame, and you can add a second image to serve as the last frame in the video.

After adding a prompt to describe the motion you want, Firefly then generates the video between those two frames, imagining the visual journey between them.

It's a fun way to experiment with storytelling and expand what's possible beyond generating motion from a single photo.

Whether you're creating travel content, wedding films, or bringing your street photography to life, Generate Video opens up a whole new way to tell stories with the images you already have.

Give this a try with some of your own photos.

I'm Arabela Espinoza.

Thanks so much for watching.

Note: Stock assets provided are for practice purposes only. See terms.

What you’ll learn

Apply a crop to prepare a photo for video generation

Crop your photo to match your intended video aspect ratio, then select Photo > Generate Video and choose an AI model, resolution, and duration. Pre-cropping gives you more control over how the image is framed in the finished video.

Select a motion preset

In the Generate Video dialog, choose from presets such as Slow pan, Subtle motion, and Hyperlapse to add movement that suits your image. You can use the prompt created by the preset, edit it to refine the instruction, or create a custom prompt from scratch.

Add subtle motion to still photos

Use the Subtle motion preset to create a video clip with gentle, understated movement. Lightroom analyzes the photo and generates a scene-specific prompt that you can use as-is or modify before generating your video.

Create dynamic motion with Hyperlapse

Select the Hyperlapse preset and Lightroom will write a prompt based on the scene in your image and generate a dynamic and energetic timelapse effect for a photo.

Explore more video options in Adobe Firefly

In the Generate Video dialog, select Access more models on Firefly to open the photo in Adobe Firefly where you can choose additional AI models and creative workflows. Use Frames to specify images for the first and last frame in the video, then describe the motion you want Firefly to generate between them.

Instruction by: Arabela Espinoza
Photography by: Sean Duggan
Adobe Stock Contributors: Preto_perola; Pyty; F11photo; Bruno Passigatti

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