Ken Burns photo ads with slow pans and zooms across your stills
A slow push or drift across a still photograph gives it motion without any filming. Pick it when your photography is strong and your video footage is thin: interiors, property, food, craft work, portraits and anything where the image deserves a few seconds of attention.
Formats
9:16 · 1:1 · 16:9
Length
5-60 seconds, 15 to 60 seconds typical
Where it runs
Instagram Reels, Facebook Feed, Pinterest, Landing pages, Email campaigns
How to make it work
How the motion is applied here
Upload the photos and ask for slow zooms and pans across them, saying which part of each image matters, such as the face, the dish or the doorway. The studio plans the direction and pace of each move, quotes the credits, and renders after approval. Paste your website URL so type and color match. If a move feels fast or lands badly, say so in chat and re-render; every revision is kept.
Design rules for moving stills
Use the largest files you have, because a zoom crops into the pixels you started with. Keep every move slow and in one direction, and let it continue under the cut rather than stopping dead. Alternate push in and pull out across shots so the sequence does not feel mechanical. Leave the area where text sits relatively empty, and give each photo three to five seconds, which is what the movement needs to register.
Where it runs and what to export
This suits property tours, restaurants, salons, hotels and craft brands on Instagram and Facebook feeds and Reels, Pinterest, landing pages, email campaigns and in-store screens. Fifteen to 60 seconds covers four to twelve images. Vertical fits Reels and Stories, widescreen fits screens and players. Export is H.264 MP4 with AAC audio at 30 fps, with a PNG poster from any frame.
A brief you can paste
Paste this into the studio chat, or change the names and numbers first.
Thirty-second 9:16 ad for Fern House, a boutique guesthouse. I uploaded nine interior and garden photos. Slow zoom or pan on each, three seconds per image, focus on the beds, the breakfast table and the garden steps. Text over three of them: Six rooms, Breakfast included, Ten minutes from the coast path. End with Book direct and fernhouse.example. Calm narration, quiet music.
Questions people ask
How big should my photos be?
As large as you have. A zoom crops into the original image, so a small file becomes soft by the end of the move. High-resolution photography with space around the subject gives the most room to work.
Is this the same as AI-generated video?
No. The studio does not generate photoreal footage. It moves a camera across the real photographs you upload, which is why the result looks like your business rather than an invented one.
How long should each photo be on screen?
Three to five seconds. Less and the movement does not read as movement; more and a still image starts to feel static again. Four or five strong photos fill a 20-second ad comfortably.
Related guides
- Slideshow video ads that move through your photos card by card
- Video ads built from your product photos, no filming needed
- Carousel to video: your existing slides, rebuilt as one MP4
- Video Ads for Hotels: One Room, One Rate, One Reason to Book This Week
- Video Ads for Real Estate Agents: Turn a New Listing Into a Tour Buyers Finish
Make this video today
Describe it in a sentence, review the plan and the price, approve, and download the MP4 or post it to Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube.