Animoto launches site for professional photographers

Animoto, a company that quickly creates high-quality video slideshows with images and music uploaded by users, announced today that it has launched a new service, called Animoto for Photography. The site will let professional photographers create videos from their photos that can be e-mailed, burned to DVD and resold, or distributed online through blogs, Web sites, social networks, and mobile devices.

"Animoto for Photography takes the heavy lifting out of video creation, allowing photographers to create stunning video in minutes and spend more time taking photos," said Brad Jefferson, CEO and co-founder of Animoto. "Until now, the process of editing photos into professional videos has been time-consuming and difficult, requiring expensive software. Animoto changes everything, giving photographers the fastest, easiest, and most affordable way to produce professional quality video from their photos."

Animoto for Photography will allow photographers to adjust the speed at which their images will be displayed in the videos and can add a "call to action" button, which will let users create a clickable button in the video that can redirect viewers to the photographer's home page or give them information on scheduling a session. If photographers want to create unique videos each time, they can allow Animoto's Cinematical Artificial Intelligence technology to decide tempo, motion design, and transitions.

Photographers will also have access to Animoto's royalty-free library of songs and produce the videos in widescreen format. Each video can be e-mailed, embedded on any Web site, or burned to a DVD.

Animoto for Photography is a subscription-based service. Three-month access costs $99 per user for three months, while full one-year access will cost $249 per user for the year.