One pupular technique to animate still images is called the "Ken Burns Effect". This effect was not invented by Ken Burns but he used it very efficiently in his masterful documentaries. We show a solution implemented by the GeeThree "PhotoMotion" plugin for Final Cut Pro. Here is a short tutorial:

Best you avoid images that are too sharp. We blur them slightly in Photoshop to reduce flicker.

It can also be implemented just using tools inside Final Cut Pro but it gets quite a bit more tedious.

For more information check out the PhotoMotion product page.