How to Choose Photos for a Memorial Video

How Many Photos Should You Include in a Memorial Video?

The sweet spot for most memorial videos is 20 to 50 photos. This range gives you enough images to tell a complete life story without rushing through them so quickly that viewers cannot absorb what they are seeing.

Here is a rough guide based on video length:

Video Length	Recommended Photos	Avg. Time Per Photo
3-4 minutes	15-25 photos	8-10 seconds
5-7 minutes	25-40 photos	8-12 seconds
8-10 minutes	40-55 photos	9-12 seconds
10-15 minutes	50-75 photos	8-12 seconds

More is not always better. Fifteen carefully chosen, emotionally powerful photos will create a more moving video than sixty mediocre snapshots. Every photo should earn its place by either advancing the story of their life or capturing a genuine moment of emotion.

What Types of Photos Should You Include?

A great memorial video covers the full arc of a person’s life. Think of the video as a visual biography and aim to include photos from each major chapter. Here are the key categories:

Childhood and early years

Baby photos, school portraits, photos with parents and siblings. These set the stage and show where the story began. Even one or two childhood photos provide important context for the life that followed.

Teenage and young adult years

High school or college photos, early friendships, first car, graduation. These capture the person becoming who they would be — full of potential and personality.

Wedding and partnership

If they were married or in a long-term partnership, their wedding photos (or earliest couple photos) are essential. These moments mark a pivotal chapter and resonate deeply with the surviving partner.

Parenthood and family

Photos with their children at various ages, family holidays, vacations, everyday family moments. For many people, raising a family was the defining work of their life — the video should reflect that.

Career and accomplishments

Workplace photos, professional achievements, retirement celebrations. These acknowledge the decades of work that shaped their daily life and identity.

Hobbies and passions

Fishing, gardening, woodworking, sports, cooking, travel — whatever made them light up. These photos often capture the most genuine smiles and reveal who the person truly was when they were doing what they loved.

Everyday moments

Candid shots at home, holiday dinners, backyard gatherings, reading in their favorite chair. These ordinary moments are often what family members miss most. Do not overlook them in favor of “important” milestone photos.

Recent years

Photos from the last few years of their life. These are important because they show the person as attendees at the memorial most recently knew them. Ending with a recent, happy photo is a powerful closing for the video.

What Photos Should You Avoid?

Not every photo belongs in a memorial video. Use judgment and consider these guidelines:

• Extremely blurry or dark photos. If you cannot tell who is in the photo without squinting, it will look even worse on a big screen. That said, a slightly imperfect photo with great emotional content is worth including — AI tools can often enhance quality enough to make it work.
• Photos from their illness. Unless the family specifically wants to include them, photos showing visible signs of illness or hospital settings can be painful for viewers. Focus on photos that show the person as they want to be remembered.
• Photos where they would not want to be seen. Respect their dignity. If they would have been embarrassed by a photo, leave it out regardless of how much you like it.
• Too many group photos where they are hard to find. One or two large group shots are fine, but if the viewer needs a search party to find the subject in every photo, the impact is lost.
• Nearly identical duplicates. Choose the best version of a moment and let the others go. Five photos from the same birthday party angle does not add variety — it adds redundancy.

How Do You Gather Photos from Family Members?

One of the most valuable things you can do is reach out to family and friends for photos you may not have. Different people hold different pieces of the story. Here is a template text message you can send:

“We are putting together a memorial video for [Name]. If you have any photos of [him/her] that you would be willing to share, could you text them to me or email them to [email address]? We are looking for photos from any era — childhood, holidays, everyday moments, anything that captures who [he/she] was. It would mean a lot to the family. Thank you.”

Tips for gathering photos from others:

• Set a deadline. Give people a specific date (even if it is tight) so they act promptly. “By Thursday evening” works better than “whenever you get a chance.”
• Create a shared album. Google Photos and Apple Photos both allow shared albums where multiple people can add photos. This is easier than managing dozens of individual text threads.
• Ask specific people for specific eras. The person’s siblings probably have the best childhood photos. College friends have the college years. Coworkers might have workplace photos you have never seen.
• Accept everything gratefully. You can curate later. Do not discourage people from sharing by being too specific about what you want — you might miss a photo you did not know existed.

How Do You Scan Old Printed Photos?

Many of the best photos — especially from childhood and early adulthood — exist only as physical prints. You do not need an expensive scanner to digitize them. Modern smartphone apps produce excellent results:

1. Google PhotoScan (free, iOS and Android) — takes multiple shots of each print to eliminate glare. Excellent results.
2. Apple’s built-in camera — for iPhone users, the Notes app has a document scanner that works well for photos.
3. Microsoft Lens (free, iOS and Android) — auto-crops and corrects perspective, good for batches of photos.

Scanning tips for the best quality:

• Place the photo on a flat, dark surface with even lighting.
• Avoid direct overhead light, which creates glare (especially on glossy prints).
• Remove the photo from any frame or album sleeve before scanning.
• Scan at the highest resolution available.
• Take multiple scans and keep the best one.

How Does AI Handle Mixed Quality Photos?

If your photo collection is a mix of high-resolution digital photos and scanned 1970s prints, do not worry. AI memorial video tools are specifically designed to handle mixed-quality collections. Here is how:

• Automatic quality assessment. AI evaluates each photo and adjusts display time and zoom level accordingly. High-resolution photos get wider pans; lower-resolution photos get tighter crops that hide quality issues.
• Smart enhancement. AI can sharpen slightly blurry images, adjust brightness and contrast, and correct color balance — subtly improving older photos without making them look artificially processed.
• Intelligent ordering. AI arranges photos in a logical sequence (typically chronological), naturally transitioning from older, lower-quality images to newer, sharper ones. This visual progression feels natural to viewers.

A Simple Photo Selection Checklist

Before uploading your photos to create the memorial video, run through this quick checklist:

1. Do you have at least one photo from each major life stage?
2. Is there a mix of solo portraits and group/family photos?
3. Have you included their hobbies, passions, or interests?
4. Are there candid, everyday moments (not just formal occasions)?
5. Have you asked close family and friends for additional photos?
6. Have you scanned any important printed photos?
7. Is each photo one the person would be comfortable with?
8. Are there fewer than 5 near-duplicates?

If you can check most of these boxes, you have a strong collection ready to become a beautiful memorial video. Upload your photos and let AI handle the editing, transitions, and music — the hardest part is already done.

Frequently Asked Questions

What resolution do photos need to be for a memorial video?

For the best results, photos should be at least 1024 x 768 pixels, which is the minimum resolution for clear display in a standard-definition video. Photos from any smartphone made in the last decade will exceed this easily. Scanned prints should be scanned at 300 DPI or higher. That said, AI tools can work with lower-resolution images — a meaningful photo at lower quality is always better than a technically perfect but emotionally empty image.

Should I include photos where the person looks much younger than when they passed?

Yes, absolutely. Photos from their youth, young adulthood, and middle years are essential to telling the complete story of their life. Viewers expect a memorial video to show the person at all stages. Starting with a baby photo and ending with a recent image creates a powerful emotional arc that honors the full journey of their life.

What if the family disagrees about which photos to include?

This is common, especially in large families. A practical approach is to have one person serve as the curator who collects photos from everyone, makes the initial selection, and then shares the draft video with key family members for feedback before the service. Having too many opinions in the selection process leads to paralysis. Designate one trusted person and let others contribute photos, not editorial decisions.

Can I add photos to the memorial video after the funeral?

With many AI memorial video platforms, yes. You can update the video with additional photos that surface after the service — and they often do, as news of the passing reaches more distant friends and relatives who have photos to share. The memorial webpage can also host a full photo gallery beyond what appears in the video itself, giving every contributed photo a permanent home.