1. Choose fewer, better photos
The most common mistake is too many photos. Start with every candidate, then cut until each one earns its place: a wide shot for context, a couple of mid shots with people, and close-ups for texture (hands, food, details). Mix these three distances and even a simple grid looks deliberate.
2. Pick the layout for the story
- One clear hero? Use a featured layout: one frame takes about 62% of the space.
- Everything equally important? Use an even grid.
- A sequence? Use a strip or rows, read left to right, top to bottom.
Browse all of them on the templates page.
3. Understand why photos get cropped
Phone photos are usually 4:3 or 3:2; collage frames are often square, tall or thin. When the shapes differ, there are only two honest options: fill the frame and crop the photo, or fit the whole photo and leave empty border. Try every combination:
47% of the photo is cut off (the faded part), but the frame is full edge to edge.
That’s why the editor lets you drag inside a frame: in Fill mode you’re choosing which part gets cut, not whether. It’s also why a landscape photo in a tall 9:16 story frame loses most of its width. If you like learning this way, ahaboo has narrated interactive explainers on how everyday things really work, one “aha” at a time.
4. Spacing and borders
Spacing gives each photo room to breathe, but every pixel of gap is a pixel taken from the photos. This is the calculation the editor makes on every download:
(1080 − 2 × 24 − 2 × 12) ÷ 3 = 336.0 px per photo
Photos fill 93% of the width; the rest is border. There are always one fewer gaps than photos, which is why a grid with a thick border and thin gaps looks “framed”, and equal border and gaps looks like tiles.
Thin gaps (4–12 px at 1080 wide) read as modern and tight. Thick white borders (30+) read as a printed album page. Rounded corners soften a busy set of photos; square corners look crisper for prints.
5. Pick the right size before you start
| Where | Shape | Pixels |
|---|---|---|
| Instagram post (best) | 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 |
| Instagram square | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 |
| Story / Reel / TikTok cover | 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 |
| Facebook / YouTube / desktop | 16:9 | 1920 × 1080 |
| 6×4 inch print | 3:2 | 1800 × 1200 (300 ppi) |
| 8×10 inch print | 4:5 | 2400 × 3000 (300 ppi) |
| A4 poster | 1:1.414 | 2480 × 3508 (300 ppi) |
Choosing the size first matters because changing it later changes the shape of every frame, and so what gets cropped.
6. Finish and share
Add a short caption if the collage is for an occasion (a name and a date is plenty). Download JPG for social media and PNG if you’ll edit further. Then, if you’re stuck for words, the caption writer on the collage maker suggests five.