by 
Watch the tutorial
Step 1: Set the same duration for every picture
Import your photos. In the Project panel, click one picture and press Ctrl + A (Cmd + A on Mac) to select them all. Right click and choose Speed/Duration. Type the duration you want for each photo. Five seconds is a good length for a slideshow, but you can pick whatever suits your music and pictures. Click OK.
Step 2: Add the pictures to the timeline
Drag all the selected pictures from the Project panel into your sequence. They land next to each other on one video track, each with the duration you just set.
Step 3: Fit the pictures inside the frame
High resolution photos are usually larger than your sequence, so they spill out of the frame. Select all the clips on the timeline, right click and choose Set to Frame Size. Each picture now fits inside the screen. (Premiere Pro also has Scale to Frame Size, which does a similar job but resamples the image. Set to Frame Size keeps the full resolution, so you can still zoom in without losing quality.)
Step 4: Add a slow zoom with the Transform effect
Go to the Effects panel, search for Transform and drag it onto the first image. With that clip selected, open Effect Controls and make sure the playhead is at the start of the clip. Click the stopwatch next to Scale to create a keyframe. Move to the end of the clip and increase Scale to around 110 (relative to where it started). You now have a subtle zoom on the photo.
Smoother with EaseFlow: select the keyframes and apply a real easing curve in one click instead of dragging Bezier handles. See EaseFlow
Step 5: Copy the zoom to all the pictures
In Effect Controls, click the word Transform to select the effect and press Ctrl + C. Then select all the other images on the timeline and press Ctrl + V. Every photo now has the same zoom. Because the effect copies keyframes relative to each clip, each picture zooms from its own start to its own end.
Step 6: Add Cross Dissolve transitions
Search for Dissolve in the Effects panel. Make sure Cross Dissolve is your default transition (it has a blue box around its icon). If it does not, right click it and choose Set Selected as Default Transition. Then select all the pictures and press Ctrl + D to add the transition between every clip. Delete the first and the last transition, since nothing comes before or after them.
Step 7: Nest the slideshow and duplicate it
Select all the pictures, right click and choose Nest, then click OK. Hold Alt (Option on Mac) and drag the nested sequence up to the track above to duplicate it. You now have two copies, one on top of the other.
Step 8: Blur the background layer
Select the bottom nested layer and open Effect Controls. Increase Scale until it covers the whole screen, ideally with the smallest or darkest photo in view so you can check there are no gaps. Then apply Gaussian Blur to this bottom layer and raise Blurriness to around 30, or whatever looks good to you. The top layer stays sharp, while the bottom one fills the black bars of vertical photos with a soft blurred version of the same picture.
Faster with BetterFX: skip the Effects panel. Press your BetterFX shortcut, type the first letters of Gaussian Blur and press Enter to apply it to the selected clip. Get BetterFX
Tips
- Match the music. Choose a duration that fits the beat of your track, or trim a few photos to change the rhythm.
- Keep the zoom subtle. A small zoom feels cinematic, while a large one can distract from the photo.
- Mix directions. Zoom some photos out instead of in for variety.
FAQ
How do I make all photos the same length in Premiere Pro?
Select all the pictures in the Project panel, right click, choose Speed/Duration and enter a duration before you add them to the timeline.
How do I add a transition between all clips at once?
Select all the clips on the timeline and press Ctrl + D (Cmd + D on Mac) to add your default transition between each pair.
How do I fill the black bars next to vertical photos?
Duplicate the slideshow on a track above, scale the bottom copy up to fill the screen and apply Gaussian Blur to it.
Want a more animated photo intro? Check out the Parallax Image Animation Intro.
