How to make a collage from twenty photos
- Open the photos. Drop up to thirty on the collage. Past twelve, the working copies on screen are made lighter so the tab stays fast; the saved file is drawn from your originals.
- Choose a recipe. Even grid, One large and the rest, Mosaic, or Brick rows — each worked out for exactly the number of photos open and the exact shape of the page.
- Choose the page. It opens on A4 portrait. 5 × 7 in, A4 landscape and the social shapes are in the Layout step's size list.
- Check sharpness and save. On print sizes the Save step lists how many pixels per inch each slot prints at, and warns below 150.
Generated, and labelled as generated
The hand-drawn catalogue stops at twelve. Past that, this page uses layouts computed for your count and your page shape: an even grid with near-square cells, brick rows whose seams do not line up, one large photo with the rest round it, and a mosaic that halves the page again and again. Each one tiles the page with no gaps and no overlaps, checked for every count from one to thirty in every shape when the site is built.
They are honest about what they are: the Layout step says Generated for twenty photos rather than pretending someone drew a twenty-slot map by hand.
Thirty is the ceiling, and why
Thirty photos on an A4 page leaves each slot roughly 1.6 inches across — still a recognisable photo when printed. A hundred photos would leave each about the size of a fingernail, which is a mosaic, not a collage. If you have more than thirty, the Save step can split them into a numbered set of collages instead.
Saving thirty photos on a phone works because the file is drawn one photo at a time: each original is read, drawn into its slot and let go before the next is opened.
| Photos | Grid | Slot width |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 4 × 4 | 2.0 in |
| 20 | 4 × 5 | 2.0 in |
| 24 | 4 × 6 | 2.0 in |
| 30 | 5 × 6 | 1.6 in |
Questions people ask about this one
Can I make a 100 photo collage?
Not on one page here. Thirty is the most one collage takes; past that each photo is too small to read. The Save step can split a bigger set into several collages.
Can I use unlimited photos?
Up to thirty per collage, as many collages as you like.
Will a 20 photo collage print sharply on A4?
Usually. A 12-megapixel photo in a 2-inch slot prints far above 300 pixels per inch. The Save step shows the figure for each slot.
Are thirty photos too many for a phone?
The working copies on screen are kept small and the file is drawn one photo at a time, so it works on ordinary phones. Very old phones may be slower.
Is anything uploaded?
No. All thirty stay on your device.
Where to go next
- Ten to twelve photosSix layouts drawn for ten and twelve, faces kept whole on request.
- Family collageOne photo of everyone and up to twenty-nine more round it.
- Print a collage4 × 6, 5 × 7 and A4 at 300 ppi, with the trim line and a sharpness check.
- Photo gridExact rows and columns, even cells, no gaps unless you want them.