Do you often see posts by friends and family on your social media about their trips, family gatherings, and parties?
I do. Especially these days, as vacations have become more frequent (suddenly everyone I know is visiting Japan?).
Recently, when I came back from a trip, I was looking through my videos and photos, wanting to share them.
I didn’t want to upload each one by one; that felt obnoxious. I really wanted it all cut together like a slideshow.
I also didn’t want to be bogged down with editing software. I’m sure it would be easy enough, but I wanted something super quick.
Here’s where my new favorite Google Photos feature comes in: the highlight video tool.
It is exactly as it sounds: a video full of highlights
Just give it the keywords, and it will do the rest
This is a really quick and handy tool to throw together all your videos and photos in a visually appealing way for you to post online.
I suppose you could also use it to keep for yourself, but in this day and age, you’ll definitely be using this feature for social media. Maybe also to send to relatives.
First, open Google Photos on your device. At the bottom of the page, tap the icon that looks like a paintbrush and says Create.
You’ll see a few options. Click the one that says Highlight video.
Now you’re in the Create highlight video menu. You can either choose from pre-made templates or select content.
The pre-made templates are self-explanatory, but the Select content is really what I think is cool. You can give it words like locations, types of photos, or people’s faces to include.
If you went to Mexico for a friend’s wedding, you might want to input the tags for wedding and Mexico, and then click the people’s faces you want it to include.
Click preview, and you have a slideshow made of photos and videos all put together and ready to edit.
It’s incredibly easy and quick, and it cuts your videos to only the relevant parts for you.
For something so casual, don’t expect Adobe Premiere
Because this is meant to be a quick and easy tool, don’t expect too many options in terms of editing. This is kind of a double-edged sword in my opinion.
It’s simple, easy to understand, and intuitive. All the options make a lot of sense when you click them, so you won’t be Googling for tutorials.
On the other hand, the editing options may feel limited. If you’re used to editing with more powerful software, you may feel frustrated by the lack of capability.
I’m very happy with the amount of editing available. Not because I think it’s completely comprehensive, but because I would only really reach for this tool for casual content.
If I were going to make something more detailed and complex, I’d happily boot up CapCut or even DaVinci Resolve.
But for my everyday casual use, the Google Photos highlight videos tool easily does the trick.
I will give a little shout-out to a surprising addition to the editing options. I didn’t expect Stabilize to be one of the options.
I tested it on one of my shaky handheld videos, and it did a pretty good job! It’s a little extra, but it’s a nice addition to make sure your videos look their best.
A few minor upgrades can take it from great to amazing
It’s the static photo zooming I really wish was better
As much as I had fun making silly collages and videos about my dog, there were a few nitpicks I had about the tool.
Nothing major, but these are on my Google Photos wishlist for future updates.
The first is how it incorporates still images. When it puts together videos, it does a great job finding faces and choosing moments to switch to.
When it gets to still images, to maintain the motion, it defaults to slow zooming in the lower-left corner.
I wouldn’t mind it so much if there were some variation, but it’s always the same.
I found the option to turn the zoom off, but it was a bit odd that there was nothing in between these two options.
The second nitpick I have is the lack of editing you can do visually.
I was hoping you could choose from a few stickers, emotes, or simple GIFs to add into your video, but there’s no option to do so.
You can add text over top, but that is the extent.
I think this tool could be a lot more fun if users had the option to add a little extra pizzazz.
I can’t get too mad at such a cute and fun feature
Why so serious?
This is one of those tools that’s entirely just for fun. You won’t be using it professionally or for anything of importance.
It’s just a quick and fun way to put together photos and videos without making a generic slideshow.
Because it’s just for fun, I can see this tool getting a bit of backlash.
When I think of features like these, it’s easy to criticize Google for not putting time and effort into something I deem more crucial.
But that’s not all there is to life; sometimes the silly fun features are the ones that end up bringing a smile to your otherwise mundane day.
So, despite my mild criticism of this feature, I can’t help but smile that it’s around and making cute little montages to share your everyday life with others.
Easy, quick, and accurate, if you know where to look
I think I’d classify this feature as hidden or secret since it takes a bit of finding to get to.
I don’t think placing it in a tab that says Create will attract many users. I know I didn’t curiously click through a vaguely named tab until I decided to go hunting.
I think that’s a shame because the Google Photos Highlight video tool is such a fun and quick way to put together my ever-expanding Google Photos account.
Now that I know it’s there, I’ll be doing some more digging around for fun features in the future.
