Microsoft Photo Story is one of those apps that seems to have left such an imprint in the minds of users that they 
continue to look for it many years after its heyday. Photo Story is still around, but its history is tangled and it’s not a given that it will work on your machine. So, if you’re looking for an app with the ease of use and simple approach of Photo Story, but all the benefits that modern software has to offer, read on. We’ll tell you exactly what you need to download!
Microsoft Photo Story
This app is a simple photo presentation program that lets you add simple transitions, effects and music to your photos. It was originally designed for XP, but it also works on Vista and Windows 7. The beauty of the program is that it’s highly automated, so once you pick an effect, Photo Story does most of the application itself. On the downside, however, it doesn’t let you burn to DVD/CD (which is excellent for sharing), and the quality of the stories you make isn’t always the best, especially looking through 2012 eyes (the program was last updated in 2006).
Windows Photo Gallery
Windows Photo Gallery was the photo management app that came as standard on Windows Vista. It was designed to be more of a photo organizer, but still had slideshow and presentation options. Windows Photo Gallery was only released with early versions of Vista, however, and it was soon upgraded to Windows Live Photo Gallery, which added more creative features. Windows Photo Gallery is no longer available for download in its original form, so unless you have it as part of an original Vista install, you’ll need to look elsewhere
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Windows Live Photo Gallery
This is the app that comes as standard on Windows 7, and it has received very mixed reviews. If you’ve never used Photo Story, and your main focus is photo organization, and not presentation, it’s probably fine. However, people complain that looking at it from Photo Story and even Photo Gallery, it’s slow, offers lower quality, and fewer options. From this point of view, it’s no surprise that some users are looking elsewhere.
So, what other photo presentation options are out there?
If the mention of Photo Story encouraged you to read this article, there’s a good chance you’re looking for a photo presentation app that’s free, user-friendly and largely automatic. If that’s the case, check out the following software. If you like any, let us know, and we might even be able to give you a few tips!
