Add photos from iPhoto to a project

You can add photos to your iMovie projects. All the photos in your iPhoto library are automatically available for use in iMovie, via the Media Browser. Simply click the Photo button, and all of the photos you’ve already imported into iPhoto appear, ready to be added to your projects.

To add a photo from your iPhoto library:

  1. With your project open in the Project browser, click the Photo button in the toolbar below the viewer, or choose Window > Photos.

    Image of the Photo button

    The Window menu appears in a light gray bar across the top of your computer screen.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To browse photos, choose iPhoto from the pop-up menu at the top of the Photo browser, and then scroll through the thumbnails of all your photos. Or, choose an iPhoto album from the pop-up menu to focus your search.

      If you don’t see the pop-up menu, drag the gray dot (shown below) upward to reveal it.

      Image of the gray dot in the Photo browser

    • To find a photo by its filename or keywords, use the search field below the Photo browser. Keywords are case-sensitive.

    • To browse photos taken at or near the same time as an Event in your video library, click to select an Event in the Event Library, select the “Show photos” checkbox below the Photo browser, and then choose a time range from the pop-up menu.

      Image of the "Show photos" pop-up menu

  3. After you find the photo you want to use, click the photo to see a preview in the viewer. Then do one of the following to add it to your project:

    • Drag it between clips or between a clip and a transition. As you drag, a vertical green line appears anyplace you can add the photo.

      When you add a photo, by default it is set to remain onscreen for four seconds, but you can change this duration if you want. Also, the Ken Burns effect is applied to the photo, which makes it appear as though the camera is panning across and zooming in on the image. You can modify this effect if you choose. Refer to the “See also” topics below for more information.

    • Drag the photo to a video clip; a green Add (+) symbol appears where you can drop it. From the menu that appears, you can choose to replace the video clip with the photo or insert the photo. If Advanced Tools are turned on, you can add the photo as a picture-in-picture clip, and more.

  4. To change how long the photo stays onscreen, double-click the photo in your project to open the inspector, and then type a new value, in seconds, in the Duration field.

    If you want all the photos in your project to have the same duration, select “Applies to all stills.”

    The setting applies to all images you’ve already added and to all images you add from now on.

  5. Click Done.

After you add a photo to your project, you can crop it and add effects to it to make it look grainy or aged, for example. Refer to the “See also” topics below for more information.