PowerPoint is the easiest slideshow player most people already have. The trick is not adding photos one at a time — there is a single command that builds the whole deck for you in about ten seconds.
Get the photos in at once
Before you start, put the photos you want in one folder and rename them 01, 02, 03 and so on.
PowerPoint inserts them in filename order, so numbering them is how you choose the running order.
In a blank presentation, go to Insert then the Photo Album dropdown then New Photo Album.
This is the command that makes one slide per photo. Almost nobody knows it exists.
Click File/Disk, select every photo (Ctrl+A inside the folder), then set Picture layout to 'Fit to slide' and click Create.
Fit to slide gives edge-to-edge photos with no white borders, which looks far better on a TV.
Make each photo fill the screen
Check the Design tab, click Slide Size, and choose Widescreen 16:9.
That matches every modern TV and laptop, so nothing is letterboxed.
For any photo with awkward gaps, select it, then under Picture Format use Crop then Fill.
Fill zooms the photo to cover the slide and trims the excess rather than squashing faces.
Delete the automatic title slide if you do not want one, or type a title on it.
A short title slide gives people a moment to settle before the photos begin.
Make it advance and loop by itself
On the Transitions tab, choose Fade, set Duration to 1 second, then under Advance Slide untick On Mouse Click and tick After — set it to 5 seconds.
Automatic timing is what turns a presentation into an unattended slideshow.
Click Apply To All.
Without this, only the slide you were on has the timing, which is the usual reason it stops after one photo.
Go to Slide Show then Set Up Slide Show, tick 'Loop continuously until Esc', and click OK.
Looping means it keeps going all afternoon without anybody minding it.
Press F5 to test, and Escape to stop.
Always test the timing before the guests arrive — five seconds can feel slow or rushed depending on the photos.
Hand it on
Save normally with Ctrl+S, then use File then Save As and choose PowerPoint Show (.ppsx).
A .ppsx opens straight into the slideshow when double-clicked — ideal for someone who does not know PowerPoint.
If the file is very large, use File then Compress Pictures and pick a lower resolution.
Phone photos are enormous. Compressing makes it emailable without any visible difference on a screen.
Check yourself
If you can say yes to each of these, you have finished.
- Every photo has its own slide, in the order I wanted.
- Photos fill a widescreen slide with no borders.
- It advances by itself and loops until I press Escape.
- I have a version that plays when double-clicked.