A collage tells a bigger story than one photo: a product in four colors, a before and after, the highlights of an event, a mood board, a "new arrivals" round-up, a recipe from ingredients to plate. It also gets more into a single post, which is useful on platforms where one image is all you get, such as a Facebook link preview, a Pinterest pin or an email header.
This collage maker arranges 2 to 9 photos in clean grid and feature layouts. You choose the canvas size for the platform, the spacing, the corner radius and the background, then move and zoom each photo inside its cell until it looks right. The collage is drawn at full size in your browser, and your photos are never uploaded.
How to make a collage
- Drop 2 to 9 photos into the box above, or click it to choose them. You can add more later with Add photos, up to 9.
- Pick a Layout. The choices change with the number of photos: for 4 photos you get a 2 by 2 grid, one large photo with three beside it, one large photo with three below, a 1 and 3 split, and four columns.
- Choose the Canvas size for where the collage will be posted.
- Set Spacing between the photos, tick or untick Spacing around the outside too, set the Corner radius and the Background color.
- Arrange the photos. Drag inside a cell to move the photo within its frame. Drag a photo onto another cell to swap them. Tap a cell to select it, then use Zoom selected photo to fill the cell more tightly. Shuffle mixes the order.
- Pick JPG or PNG, set the quality and click Download collage.
Empty cells show "+ photo". Click one to add a photo directly into that cell. To remove a photo, select its cell and click Remove selected; the layout list adjusts to the new number of photos.
Canvas sizes
| Canvas | Pixels | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram square | 1080 x 1080 | Square feed posts |
| Instagram portrait | 1080 x 1350 | The largest feed post; the default here |
| Story or Reel | 1080 x 1920 | Instagram and Facebook Stories, Reel covers |
| Facebook link or post | 1200 x 630 | Link previews, blog headers, wide Facebook posts |
| Facebook square | 1080 x 1080 | Square Facebook posts |
| Pinterest pin | 1000 x 1500 | 2:3 pins, which Pinterest recommends |
| Shopify square | 2048 x 2048 | Square product images and collection banners |
| Landscape | 1920 x 1080 | Slides, YouTube end screens, website banners |
| Custom | 200 to 6000 px per side | Print and anything else |
Instagram's profile grid shows posts as a 3:4 center crop since 2025, so on a 1080 x 1350 collage the outer edges of the left and right columns are hidden in the grid view. Keep important faces and products away from the side edges. The Instagram post size guide explains the current sizes in detail.
Layouts for every count
- 2 photos: side by side, stacked, or one wide and one narrow. Ideal for before and after.
- 3 photos: one large plus two, in columns or rows, or a 1 and 2 split.
- 4 photos: the classic 2 by 2 grid, or one hero photo with three supporting ones.
- 5 and 6 photos: rows of 2 and 3, a feature photo with the rest in a grid, or a 1, 2, 3 pyramid.
- 7 to 9 photos: rows such as 3 and 4, 2 by 3 by 2, 3 by 3 or 2, 3, 4, and a feature layout with a large photo on top.
Feature layouts, with one large cell, work best when one photo is clearly the star: the finished dish, the full outfit, the main product. Even grids suit sets of equal importance, such as color variants or event moments.
How many photos is too many?
A collage is usually seen small: about 400 pixels wide in a phone feed, less in a Pinterest column, about 200 pixels in a profile grid. In a 3 by 3 collage on a phone, each photo is roughly 120 pixels across, the size of a large icon. That is fine for a colorful event recap, where the overall impression matters, but too small to show product details. A practical rule:
- 2 to 4 photos when each photo must be understood: products, before and after, steps.
- 5 or 6 photos for variety with one hero image in a feature layout.
- 7 to 9 photos for atmosphere: events, travel, mood boards, "our week in pictures".
Spacing, corners and background
Small style choices change the feel a lot:
| Look | Spacing | Corner radius | Background |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edge to edge mosaic | 0 | 0 | Any |
| Clean magazine grid | 8 to 16 px, outside on | 0 | White |
| Soft and modern | 16 to 24 px | 20 to 40 px | A light brand color or cream |
| Polaroid or scrapbook | 30 to 50 px | 0 to 10 px | Off-white |
| Bold brand post | 12 to 20 px | 24 px | Your strongest brand color |
Spacing and radius are measured against a 1080 pixel canvas and scale with the canvas size, so a style looks the same on a 1080 square and on a 2048 Shopify square. Unticking spacing around the outside lets the photos run to the canvas edge while keeping gaps between them.
Arranging photos inside cells
Each photo fills its cell completely, scaled so there are no empty bars, and centered by default. Because cells and photos rarely share the same shape, some of each photo is outside the cell. You decide which part shows:
- Drag inside the cell to slide the photo, for example to bring a face into view in a narrow cell.
- Zoom from 100 to 300 percent to fill the cell with a detail, such as the texture of a fabric.
- Swap by dragging a photo onto another cell, which turns green as a drop target. A tall photo fits a tall cell; a wide photo fits a wide cell.
If a photo needs a very different crop, crop it first with the image cropper and add the cropped version.
Ideas and examples
Product color variants for Instagram
Four photos of the same bag in different colors, 2 by 2 grid, Instagram portrait, spacing 12, radius 0, white background. Clean and easy to compare. Add the price later with the add text to photo tool.
Before and after
Two photos side by side, Instagram square, spacing 8, background white. Then add "Before" and "After" labels with the text tool. Use the same angle and light in both photos for a fair comparison.
Pinterest pin with a recipe
Three photos, large on top with two below, Pinterest 1000 x 1500, spacing 16, radius 24, cream background. The finished dish goes in the large cell.
Event recap for a newsletter
Six to nine photos in a 3 by 3 or 2, 3, 4 layout, Landscape 1920 x 1080 or Facebook 1200 x 630, spacing 6, saved as JPG at 85.
Shopify collection banner
Three products in columns on the Landscape canvas, with no spacing, as a header for a collection page.
Posting collages and product photos on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook every week? AM Jarvis's Social Autopilot writes the captions with your own AI and schedules the posts to all three.
Collage or carousel?
On Instagram you can post up to 20 photos in one carousel post, each shown full size, one swipe at a time. A carousel is better when every photo deserves full attention, such as a product from several angles. A collage is better when you need everything in one frame: on Pinterest, in a Facebook link preview, in a Story, in an email, on a website banner, or as the first slide of a carousel that shows the whole set at a glance before people swipe. Many sellers combine both: a collage cover slide followed by the individual photos.
Making the photos look like a set
- Match the light. Photos shot at different times of day look odd together. If needed, make them all black and white with the black and white converter for an instant consistent look.
- Repeat a color. A background color picked from the photos ties the collage together. The image color picker gives you the exact hex code to type into the background color field.
- Keep subjects the same size. Zoom photos so products or faces appear at similar sizes across cells.
- Leave the busiest photo in the biggest cell. Detailed photos need space; simple photos read fine in small cells.
Collages for print
For a printed collage, use Custom size and multiply the print size in inches by 300. An 8 by 10 inch print needs 2400 x 3000 pixels; an A4 page needs about 2480 x 3508. The maximum here is 6000 pixels per side. Save as JPG at 90 or higher, or PNG, and check that each photo is large enough for its cell, since photos smaller than their cell are enlarged.
Worked example: a new arrivals post
A boutique has five new dresses and wants one Instagram post and one Pinterest pin from the same photos.
- Drop the five photos in. The layout list shows five layouts; pick the one with a large photo on the left and four beside it.
- Choose Instagram portrait 1080 x 1350, spacing 14, radius 18, and a cream background picked from the shop's packaging.
- Drag the best-selling dress into the large cell. In the narrow cells, drag each photo up or down so the dress is centered, and zoom to 120 percent where the model is small in the frame.
- Download as JPG at 88. The file is ready for the feed.
- Switch the canvas to Pinterest pin 1000 x 1500. The photos stay in their cells, so only small adjustments are needed. Choose the layout with a large photo on top, which suits the tall pin, and download again.
Two platform-ready images from one set of photos, in about five minutes, with the original photos untouched.
JPG or PNG?
JPG is the right choice for photo collages: much smaller files, and social networks convert uploads to JPG anyway. Quality 85 to 90 keeps them sharp. Choose PNG for collages of screenshots, graphics or text, where sharp edges matter, or if you will edit the collage again. Photos are stored at up to 3,000 pixels on their long side, which is plenty for every canvas size offered.
Making collages on a phone
The collage maker works on phones. Tap the drop box to pick photos from your library. Touching the collage moves photos rather than scrolling the page, so scroll by touching the area around it. Tap a cell to select it before zooming. The download goes to your Files or Downloads app, from where you can share it to Instagram or save it to your photos.
Troubleshooting
- Only some layouts appear: layouts depend on the number of photos. Add or remove photos to see other layouts.
- A photo is cut off: drag inside the cell to move it, lower the zoom to 100 percent, or swap it into a cell with a closer shape.
- "A collage here holds up to 9 photos": remove a photo before adding another.
- I see "+ photo" in the download: it is not drawn in the download. Empty cells are saved as background color, and the tool tells you when that happens.
- A photo will not add: the browser cannot read the file, often a HEIC photo in Chrome. Convert it first with the HEIC to JPG converter.
Privacy
All work happens in your browser. Photos are not uploaded or stored, and the collage does not contain the original camera data such as GPS location.
You can close the tab at any time; nothing remains on any server, and your original photos on your device are never changed.