Create your first photo story

Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Photo Story 3 for Windows.

On the welcome page, click Begin a new story, and then click Next.

On the Import and arrange your pictures page, click Import Pictures.

In the File Browser dialog box, browse to My Documents\My Pictures.

Add the pictures that you want, and then click OK.

To add more than one picture at a time, press and hold the CTRL key and click the pictures you want to add.

When you are finished making changes to your pictures, click Next.

On the Add a title to your pictures page, click the first picture, and then, in the text box to the right of the picture, type My first photo story.

Click the Select Font button.

In the Font dialog box, under Font style, click Bold, and then click OK.

To move the title up on the page, click the Align Top button.

When you are finished adding text to your pictures, click Next.

On the Narrate your pictures and customize motion page, click the Microphone  button.

The Sound Hardware Test Wizard will appear.

Follow the instructions in the wizard. When you have completed the instructions, your microphone should be ready to record narration.

Click a picture in the filmstrip.

Add any desired text in the cue card area.

To start recording, click the Record Narration button.

The red dot in the record button will flash to indicate that recording is taking place. A timer is provided to help you keep track of your narration length.

When you have finished narrating the picture, click the Stop Recording button.

To preview your narration, click the first picture in the filmstrip, and then click Preview.

Close the preview window, and then click Next.

On the Add background music page, click the first picture in the filmstrip, and then click Select Music.

On the File Open dialog box, in the left pane, click My Documents.

Browse to My Music\Sample Music, click Beethoven's Symphony No9 (Scherzo).wma, and then click Open.

The music you just added is shown as a colored bar above the picture in the filmstrip. This helps you determine which pictures will be shown for each piece of music you add, and is particularly helpful when you add more than one song to your story.

Click the third picture in the film strip, and then click Create Music.

In the Create Music dialog box, in the Genre drop-down list, select Soundtrack.

In the Style drop-down list, select Soundtrack: Mysterious Cave.

You can leave the default Bands and Moods, or choose different ones.

To hear the music, click Play.

When the music has finished playing, click OK.

The music you just added is shown as a colored bar above the picture in the filmstrip.

To see how well your music fits the story, click the first picture in the filmstrip, and then click Preview.

You may want to adjust the music volume levels. To do this, click the picture in the filmstrip, and then adjust the volume slider bar. You may need to adjust the volume and preview your story a few times to get it the way you want.

When you're done, click Next.

On the Save your story page, verify that Save your story for playback on your computer is selected in the activities list.

Click Browse to specify the location and file name of your story.

On the Save As dialog box, browse to My Documents\My Videos.

In the Filename text box, type My First Story.wmv.

Click Save, and then click Next.