25 Top-Notch After Effects Slideshow Templates (Free & Premium)

After Effects 30/01/2020 6 min read

Motion Graphics slideshows are a great way of impressing your audiences; they look slick and professionals and show off your skills as an editor. However, these stylish videos can take a lot of time and energy to produce. After Effects Slideshow Templates are the perfect solution, allowing you to quickly piece together your motion graphics videos to the highest quality.

What are After Effects Slideshow Templates?

After Effects Slideshow templates are an editable AE project, which you can download and edit as you’d like, some templates have limitations to what you can change. For example, moving backgrounds might be created with a single .mov file rather than editable layers. All After Effects Slideshow templates will have two core customizable values; the text and the media.

Most After Effects templates are laid out to make customizing them super easy, allowing you to create your own version of the example project video quickly. More experienced animators will be able to customize the templates further, including rearranging the order of the slideshow entirely. After Effects Slideshow Templates are an excellent way for beginners to start learning After Effects; begin with a fully formed project and pull it apart to see how it works.

Part 1: Check out these top Free & Premium After Effects Slideshow templates

1. Free Dynamic Colorful Slideshow

Need to add a modern elegance to your work? The Dynamic Colorful Slideshow pack has got you covered and fully loaded with 19 editable text layers, and 23 media placeholders. Perfect for corporate presentations, social media, and event videos for an impressive finish. 

2. Stylish Slideshow

The Stylish Slideshow pack is one to keep at hand to add warmth and a sleek design in no time. The lens flare and subtle film dust effects tie the piece together, as the speedy wipe transitions move you from image to image.

Download Stylish Slideshow Now

3. Free Clean Slideshow

Just because you’re looking for clear and straightforward, doesn’t mean it has to be dull. This Clean Slideshow pack offers a range of effortless transitions and text animations, easily convey short pieces of information efficiently with this crisp template.

Free Clean Slideshow Download

4. Urban Slideshow

These are brilliant for adding energy and creative flair to your work. Whether you’re adding some style to a presentation, opening credits, or making an events video, the Urban Slideshow has a wide selection of energetic elements.

Download Urban Slideshow Now

5. Free Parallax Slideshow

With a slick and contemporary design, the Parallax Opener wouldn’t look out of place in a Christopher Nolan film. The twisting tunnel effect transitions the viewer between 8 video/photo placeholders, and the dramatic text elements are perfect for big, bold messages.

Download Parallax SlideshowNow

6. Modern Slideshow

This Modern Slideshow contains a massive 28 media placeholders, perfect for longer image-based videos such as showreels, events and presentations. The parallax effect, with flickering square overlays, offers a unique design element, while the camera roll transitions move you seamlessly from one shot to the next. 

Download Modern Slideshow Now

7. Inspiring Cinematic Slideshow

Add a stylish intro to your presentations and videos with the Inspiring Cinematic Slideshow template. Containing 32 title and 17 media placeholders, this dramatic and intense looking project has a wide variety of uses and would suit most brands.

Download Inspiring Cinematic Slideshow Now

8. Free Modern Fast Promo

The Modern Fast Promo is just that! Super quick transitions roll the viewer from one image to the next, while big bold typography elements offer snappy, dynamic messaging. Perfect for promos, events video, and showreels.

Free Modern Fast Promo Download

9. Paper Slideshow

This template is a big, bold statement piece, sure to catch your viewers attention. The media appears through torn paper, while the text types on the screen. This project gives the feel of a camera panning around areas of a scrapbook, pausing momentarily on images and text.

Download Paper Slideshow Now

10. Cool Dark Slideshow

Cool Dark Slideshow is a pack of 3 versions of the project; 30 seconds, 1 minute and 2 minutes giving you plenty of options to work with. A parallax effect gives each image subtle movement helping to keep still images interesting. 

Download Cool Dark Slideshow Now

11. Stylish Glitch Slideshow

Stylish Glitch Slideshow is an upbeat, fast-paced video project, perfect for music videos, trailers, and title sequences. The grunge aesthetic and glitch effects work perfectly together to give you a unique and eye-catching sequence.

Download Stylish Glitch Slideshow Now

12. Free Parallax Scrolling Slideshow

This stunning template is so beautifully designed, you’ll want to use it for everything. The circular parallax effect draws you into each image before transitioning to the next, moving perfectly in sync with the title animations.

13. Polygon Slideshow

Perfect for technology or futuristic themed videos, the Polygon Slideshow is a sleek and stylishly designed project. The smooth transitions build up your images like a jigsaw, while the dynamically animated connected lines add a unique element.

Download Polygon Slideshow Now

14. Old Fashion Slides

Old Fashion Slides is a grungy, artistically designed template, perfect for fashion, product and intro videos. The cut-out style media elements work best with photos, and the huge text areas allow you to add a lot of information.

Download Old Fashion Slides Now

15. Universal Slideshow

The Universal Slideshow template is a unique and eye-catching video project, with a glitchy twist. The fast-paced movement between scenes, and bold title animations give the project a modern, urban feel, perfect for video intro sequences, events, and trailers.

Download Universal Slideshow Now

16. Free Elegant Slideshow

This template project is perfect for presentations, showreels, and corporate communication videos. The text animations are quite basic, but the subtle color wipe transitions make this template perfect for using on videos without text.

Free Elegant Slideshow Download

17. Clean Slideshow

If you are looking for a clean, minimal looking template, that is both easy to use and incredibly versatile, then this is the project for you. The smooth transitions, bold text elements, and simple color palette make the Clean Slideshow a perfect base for any project. 

Download Clean Slideshow Now

18. Mosaic Slideshow

Mosaic Slideshow is a stylish video template, perfect for photography showreels, or anyone that wants to create a video photo album. The unique mosaic wipe transitions offer the perfect movement between images, while the layer effects add a modern feel.

Download Mosaic Slideshow Now

19. Free Contact Sheet Slideshow

The Contact Sheet slideshow is just that, a slideshow video of a photography contact sheet. The stylish template glides seamlessly from image to image, making it the perfect project for photography showreels, holiday snaps, and wedding videos.

Free Contact Sheet Slideshow Download

20. Neon Lights Slideshow

Perfect for events videos, showreels, and intro sequences, the Neon lights slideshow has a bright and funky design. The quick camera tracking transitions and grunge background give a modern and fun feel to the project.

Download Neon Lights Slideshow Now

21. Creative Upbeat Slideshow

The Creative Upbeat Slideshow is an eye-catching and energetic template, that works brilliantly with both photos and video footage. The clean text animations and colorful dynamic transitions are sure to keep your audience and clients happy.

Download Creative Upbeat Slideshow Now

22. Corporate Slideshow

As the title suggests, Corporate Slideshow is perfect for all your business video needs. The smooth transitions and text animations allow plenty of space for your messaging, and the design has a sleek professional feel.

Download Corporate Slideshow Now

23. Slideshow

This fast-paced beautiful template includes a massive 20 media and 35 text placeholders, allowing you to create longer slideshow pieces. The bold titles and snappy transitions make this project perfect for showreels, events and highlights videos.

Download Slideshow Now

24. Slideshow Soft Intro

The Slideshow Soft Intro template is a clean and stylish looking video project, with subtle color palettes that would suit any brand. The smooth transitions and text animations make this template incredibly versatile.

Download Slideshow Soft Intro Now

25. Colorful Liquid Slideshow

The Colorful Liquid Slideshow is a fun and dynamically animated slideshow, featuring fun splash style transitions and text elements. The cartoony style makes this slideshow perfect for fun brand communications, product slideshows, or events videos.

Download Colorful Liquid Slideshow Now

Part 2: Getting Started with After Effects Slideshow Templates

Once you have downloaded your template pack, you should be able to simply launch the project as you would any of your own. If you want more information about how to get started with AE templates, check out this handy article. For now, here are some top tips for using the templates.

Find a template close to what you want

While templates can be customized, you are still limited by the initial style. There is no point in choosing a fast-paced fun slideshow and turning it into a slow elegant one. There are plenty of templates to choose from, so pick one that will require the least changes.

Look for the controller

Some templates have a Controller layer, which allows you to change certain values across the whole project. A common example of using a Controller layer would be the project colors. Rather than going to each asset individually and changing its color, you can click on the Controller layer and make changes in the Effects Control Panel. If you are unable to change the color of an element in your template, it is most likely because you will need to do it from the Controller layer.

Know the hidden layers button

When a template is created, the animator will often hide a number of layers. This is to keep the project looking clean, simple and easy to customize. If you want to look further into the project and change other elements, you might need to turn on the hidden layers with this handy button.

As I am sure you can see, After Effects Slideshow Templates are a great way of saving you time and energy, while still delivering a high quality, impressive motion graphics video. Now that you know where you can get a selection of free and premium AE templates, get downloading and have fun.