Occasionally, we want to post a single photo showing your present self compared to your childhood self. However, we don’t have that option in our gallery app. So, how can we edit our photos and place them side-by-side on our iPhones?
You can use the in-built Shortcuts app on your iPhone. Or you can even install a third-party photo editing app from the Apple store.
Let’s see how to do both.
How To Put Two Pictures Side-by-side on Your iPhone
To put two pictures side by side on an iPhone, you can either use the Siri Shortcut app or the Layout app. You can get the Layout app from the Apple Store, whereas the Siri Shortcut app comes with your iPhone.
Below are the steps you should follow to use these apps to place your photos side by side.
Method #1: Using the Siri Shortcuts App
If you have the Shortcuts app already pre-installed on your iPhone, you can directly launch it and follow the below steps. In case you don’t have it, simply go to the Apple App Store and install it from there. Shortcuts app, however, works for only iOS 12 and above. Here is how to use it on iOS 14 and iOS 15.
For iOS 14 Users
To place your photos side-by-side using an iPhone with iOS 14, you should:
- Open the “Shortcuts” app by clicking on its icon.
- Click on “Create Shortcut” present on the app’s main screen and add a new shortcut.
- On the next screen, choose the “Combine Images” option in the search list after finding it in the search bar.
- Under this option, you will now have to edit and place your images next to each other as follows:
- As you want to combine the two images by placing them next to each other, in the “Mode” option, select “Side-by-Side.”
- Based on whether you want your photos placed horizontally or vertically next to each other, select either “Horizontal” or “Vertical.”
- To keep no space between the two images, leave the “Spacing” field blank.
- Now, choose the “Save to Photo Album” option in the search list after finding it in the search bar. This will place the final photo collage in the Photo App.
- Again click on the “Album” option under the “Save to Photo Album” section. Select the location to save your final photo collage.
- Click on the “Settings” option, placed in the top right-hand corner of the shortcut.
- Tap on the “Name” option and type in a proper name like “Create Photo Collages” for the shortcut. This shortcut can be reused the next time directly.
- In the Photos app, you can find the shortcut “Create Photo Collages” by clicking on the “Show in Share Sheet” toggle.
- In the top right-hand corner, press on “Done.“ Again, press “Done“ to save this shortcut.
For iOS 15 Users
You can place your photos side-by-side by:
- Launching the “Shortcuts” app and clicking on the “(+)” sign in the top-right corner.
- Now, choose “Add Action” and find and choose “Select Photos.”
- Here, toggle on the ‘Select Multiple’ options.
- In the search bar at the bottom, search for “Combine Images.”
- Click on “Combine Images” and select “Horizontally.”
- Search for “Save to Photo Album” and click on it in the search results. This will save your photos in the Photo app.
- Now, use the box on top to name your shortcut.
- Next, on the top-right corner, click on the blue toggle and click on “Add to Home Screen,” and then “Add.” This will take you to the Home Screen.
- Go back to the App and click on “Done” and “X” to save everything and exit.
Next time you want to use the “Combine Photos” shortcut, select the photos you wish to combine on the Photos App. Click on the “Share” icon and choose “Shortcuts.” Here, click on the “Combine Photos” shortcut. It will combine the photos you selected and store them in the Photos app automatically.
For iOS 15 users, in the Shortcut app, you can use the arrow to adjust the space between photos.
Method #2: Using a Third-party App Like Layout
You can also combine two photos using a free app like Layout by Instagram. Posting pictures on your Instagram account was never more fun! Using Layout, you can incorporate photos in many ways.
- Install and launch the “Layout” app from the Apple App Store.
- On Layout’s main screen, select the photos you want to put side by side.
- As you select your photos, the Layout displays various combinations of your pictures at the top.
- Choose the combination that has your pictures side-by-side.
- Your selected option will open in full-screen mode. Various tools and filters will display below; you can use them to edit or enhance your combined photo.
- In the top-right corner, click on “Save” to save your final combined photo. The layout keeps the image in the Photos app.
- Finally, close the editing mode on the Layout app by clicking on “Done.”
The layout app is free and can be used infinitely. It can be used on iOS models that don’t support Apple’s Shortcut app.
Conclusion
Combining your photos is now much easier with the Shortcuts app by Apple. If you don’t have it installed already, you can get it from the app store. Follow the steps given above to create your photo collages. Your phone doesn’t support Shortcuts? No problem. You can go for the Layout app by Instagram or any other third-party app from the App store. They also combine photos pretty seamlessly.
Frequently Asked Questions
On Android phones, you can combine photos using the Photo Gallery.
1. In the gallery, you will find the option to Combine Photos by clicking on the “Hamburger Icon.”
2. You can now choose the photos you want to combine and click on “OK.”
There is no need to install an external app for this.
1. On a Samsung phone, go to the File Manager Option and tap the “Hamburger Icon.”
2. Pick the photos you want to combine and select the “Checkmark Option.”
3. You will have both images combined.
Yes, Layout by Instagram, Collage Maker by Kapwing, and PicMonkey are a few free third-party photo editing apps. They can be downloaded and used from the App store. Another app, Photoshop Mix by Adobe, is paid but can be used by Android and iOS users.
