Combining several photos into one

Before and after, several angles of one product, a day in a few frames. Combining them into a single image means nobody has to swipe to see the point. Carousel views drop sharply after the first slide, so photos that must be seen together belong in one image.

Choosing a layout

• For two photos, side by side reads fastest, especially for before and after. People read left to right, so put "before" on the left.
• With three or more, one large photo plus smaller ones creates a reading order. The large one leads, the small ones support.
• Use a grid when every photo carries equal weight. 2x2 and 2x3 hold up; 3x3 makes every cell too small.
• Tall layouts suit Reels and Stories. Two photos stacked in 1080x1920 gives each one 1080x960.
• Stitching has no limit on count. Several screenshots joined vertically become one long conversation or document.

Free layout versus fixed frames

There are two approaches. Free layout gives every photo its own position, size, and tilt. Auto-arrange only sets a starting point; after that everything drags. Overlapping photos or a slightly tilted scrapbook collage belong here.

Fixed frames have set cells, and each photo is cropped to fill its cell. Cell sizes and the borders between them can be dragged. For product comparisons or a tidy grid this is faster, and the result stays neat even when the photos are all different shapes.

Gap and background

A gap of zero makes the photos touch and read as one scene. Widen the gap over a white background and each frame reads as its own picture. Pick according to what you are showing: before and after wants zero or a hairline, several products want a generous gap.

Scale the gap with the output size. 12px looks right at 1080 wide; at 2160 wide, 24px gives the same feel. Corner rounding follows the same rule.

Output size

Picking a layout sets a size that suits it. If you already know where it is going, choose from the preset list instead. A 2x2 grid headed for an Instagram feed wants 1080x1080.

Remember that every photo gets smaller as you add more. A 2x2 grid at 1080x1080 gives each photo 540x540. Two landscape photos side by side at 1080 wide are 540 wide each. If detail matters, double the output size and let the app scale it down.

Source-quality export scales the whole sheet so that no photo loses any of the original pixels it uses. Two 4000px photos side by side come out 8000px wide. That is for print or later editing; for a direct upload, save at the preset size.

Order carries meaning

People read from top left to bottom right. Photos with a time order should follow that direction. Put "before" on the right and every viewer stumbles once. In a grid, the most important photo goes top left or in the largest cell.