The iPhone has become an exciting tool for photographers. It is easy to take a burst of photos or even multiple exposures without the need for the usual additional gear. However, merging multiple images into a single preview used to be a painstaking process. Still, Apple has introduced iOS 12, enabling iPhone users to do so.
It is possible to merge photos on iPhone via Shortcuts app by navigating to the “Combine Images” page, adding trusted shortcuts, creating new shortcuts, and combining images from photographs. You can also use third-party apps like Layout from Instagram or PicStitch to merge pictures on your iPhone.
You may already know combining pictures on a computer, but did you know that doing this on iPhone is much easier? For your convenience, we have written a comprehensive guide on merging photos on iPhone to let you turn your shots into more exciting ones.
Everything About the Shortcuts App
Shortcuts is a new app from Apple that allows you to automate your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
You can create shortcuts for different tasks, such as opening a specific app or performing a particular task. For example, open all your favorite apps in one action, search for the latest news stories related to anything, or combine multiple photos into a single frame on your iOS device.
Shortcuts use SiriKit to trigger actions using voice commands and support multiple apps like Photos, Workflow, etc. However, the app is only available for iOS 12 or later versions.
Merging Photos On iPhone
The iPhone has a great camera to capture photos, and there are plenty of ways to enhance them. One of the most popular ways is to merge two or more photos to create a new image.
However, if you are wondering how to merge photos on iPhone, our step-by-step methods will help you do this task without much effort.
Method #1: Merging Photos With Shortcuts App On iPhone
The Shortcuts app has a lot of valuable features to help you save time, including merging photos into one preview and performing editing on them.
Here are the steps involved in using the Shortcuts app to merge photos on your iPhone.
Step #1: Setting Up Shortcuts App
To merge photos on an iPhone using the Shortcuts app, you first need to set it up. Go to the Settings app and select “Shortcuts“. Now toggle the “Allow Untrusted Shortcuts” switch to on. Tap the “Allow” option and enter your PIN to confirm your selection.
Step #2: Setting Up Combine Photos Action
In the next step, you need to create a new shortcut for the app to merge your photos.
To do so, navigate to the “Combine Images” web page on your Safari. Once the page is loaded, tap on the “Get Shortcut” button to open the Shortcut app. Now, scroll down and tap the “Add Trusted Shortcut” button to add the action.
Step #3: Using the Combine Photos Action
On the Shortcuts app, tap on “My Shortcuts” and select “Combine Images“, and a pop-up will appear asking permission to access your photo library to let you choose the images to combine. Tap “OK” and select the photos you want to merge. Press “Add” on the top-right corner of the screen.
Step #4: Configuring the New Combined Photos
The app will now ask you to choose the order of images. Select “Chronological” to sort from old to new or select “Reverse Chronological” to sort from new to old.
Next, input the image spacing number to insert space between the merged photos. Finally, choose the order you want to arrange the pictures by combining images horizontally, vertically, or in a grid.
Step #5: Saving the Photos Combined
Now, the Shortcuts app will merge the photos for you and show you the preview. Tap on the “Done” button on the top-left of the screen and select “Save to Camera Roll” to save the combined photo on your iPhone.
If you cannot find the Shortcuts app on your iPhone, you can easily download it from the App Store. To do so, open the App Store and type “Shortcuts” in the search bar. Then, tap on the relevant result and press the “Get” button to download and install it.
Method #2: Using Layout From Instagram To Merge Photos on iPhone
Everyone has the Instagram app on their iPhones to capture and share pictures on the most extensively used social media platform. The app features a child app named Layout from Instagram, enabling users to merge photos into a collage. Download and use the app in the following way.
- Open the App Store and type “Layout” in the search bar.
- Tap the “Get” button on the app named “Layout from Instagram” to install it.
- Launch the app and select the photos you want to merge.
- Select the desired layout as it keeps changing based on the number of pictures.
- Tap the “Save” button to save the combined photos on your iPhone.
Method #3: Using PicStitch To Merge Photos
PicStitch is a free app that not only lets you merge photos but can also combine videos into a single one. To do so, follow these steps.
- Open the App Store and download the PicStitch app.
- Select a layout from the Classic, “Fancy, and “Trending” tabs.
- Tap on any layout section to add photos, choose the pictures you want to include, and tap “Done“.
- Drag and drop the images in the desired frames.
- Tap the “Save” button to save the collage in your Photos app.
Summary
In this guide about how to merge photos on iPhone, we have discussed Apple’s Shortcuts app and using it to combine images into one preview. We’ve also explored using third-party apps to merge pictures on your device.
Hopefully, you can quickly see multiple photos in a single frame, making the editing much more accessible.
