From the Montages menu, you can instead choose a different image, change the background effect to something other than grayscale, or select a generic background such as wood paneling or corkboard.The Photos app on Mac is a highly versatile tool. One last thing: By default, JBS will choose one of your album’s images to display in grayscale behind your Polaroids or postcards. I suggest choosing a value of -50 or -100. In Windows, you can also use the “Spacing between snapshots” slider to control how much your photos overlap. I’ve found that getting the sizing just right can take some finagling, so experiment with different sizes to see what works best. (It’s labeled “Snapshot size” in Windows and “Postcard or Polaroid Pile” on Mac.) Jared Newman / IDGĪgain, if these photos feel too small-or too large-you can head to the same Montages menu I mentioned before, and this time adjust the horizontal slider next to image that shows a stack of pictures. Both will scatter a selection of photos across your desktop, but the latter will mimic old instant photos with square aspect ratios and thick bottom borders. (Mac users must either buy JBS through the developer’s website for $8, or through the Mac App Store for $9.)įor a wallpaper that feels a little less virtual, try setting JBS’s Picture Mode to “Create a postcard Pile” or “Create a Polaroid pile” instead of a collage. Setting up John’s Background Switcherįor Windows, you can install JBS through the green download link on this page. For anyone you click on, all your photos of them will be added to the album-including new photos you take later. Add a title for the album, then hit “Select people & pets.” You’ll then see a menu of faces to select. If you haven’t created a Live Album already, head to the Albums section of Google Photos and select “Create album” in the top-right part of your screen. (If not, here’s a useful primer.) I will, however, suggest using the “Live Albums” feature in Google Photos, which uses face recognition to automatically update albums over time. Get Google Photos ready for the projectįor this story, I’m going to assume you’re already using Google Photos and are somewhat familiar with how it works. But once you’ve got it up and running, you might never want to go back to boring, static wallpapers. Setting up Google Photos with John’s Background Switcher (which I’ll refer to as “JBS” from here on) isn’t as intuitive as it could be.

Mac slideshow app screensaver