3 Ways to Put Two Photos Side by Side on iPhone

Do you want to combine two photos into one and post them as your story on social media apps? Or do you want to do before and after pictures on your iPhone? If you have answered yes, you have arrived on the right page. Here we will tell you different ways to put two photos side by side on iPhone.

The Apple Photos app doesn’t offer a native feature to combine two photos on iPhone. However, you can use the Apple Shortcuts app, third-party apps, and online tools to merge photos. Let’s get started.

1. Put Two Pictures Together Without Third-Party App

If you don’t like installing third-party apps, you can create side-by-side photos on your iPhone using the Apple Shortcuts app. This app comes pre-installed on all iPhones.

There are two ways to do before and after pictures on iPhone using the Shortcuts app. You can either use an existing shortcut or create one yourself. Let’s check both ways.

Method 1: Using Existing Shortcut

The Apple Shortcut app comes with a native shortcut that lets you put two pictures together on iPhone without a third-party app.

Follow these steps to put two pictures together on iPhone:

Step 1: Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone. If you can’t find it, install it from App Store.

Download Shortcuts App

Step 2: Tap on the Gallery tab at the bottom and type grid in the search bar.

Step 3: Tap on the (+) icon on the Photo Grid shortcut to install it. Once the shortcut is installed, the (+) icon will be replaced by a checkmark icon.

Step 4: Now, go to the Shortcuts tab, and you will find the newly installed Photo Grid shortcut. Tap on it to run it.

Step 5: The photo viewer will show up. Tap on the two photos that you want to combine horizontally. A checkmark icon will show on the selected photos. Tap on the Add button.

Step 6: You will see a preview of the combined photos. If you are happy with the result, tap on the small down arrow at the top and select Save to Photos to download the combined picture on your phone.

Alternatively, tap the Share icon at the bottom and select Save Image to download it on your iPhone.  

Step 7: Tap on Done.

The drawback of this method is that it doesn’t let you adjust the spacing between the images or put more than two images side by side. Moreover, you need to download the images manually.

You can overcome these shortcomings if you create your iPhone shortcut to combine photos, as shown in the next section.

Tip: Check out the best iPhone shortcuts for everyday use.

Method 2: Create a Shortcut

When you create a shortcut to combine photos on iPhone, you can set the spacing and also choose the mode (horizontal/vertical) to combine photos.

Follow these steps to create your shortcut for side-by-side photos on your iPhone. We have divided the steps into two sections: Create a new shortcut and Use a shortcut.

Part 1: Create a New Shortcut

Step 1: Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone.

Step 2: Tap on the (+) icon at the top, followed by the Add Action button.

Step 3: Tap on the search bar and type Select Photos. Tap on Select Photos from the search results.

Step 4: Tap on the blue arrow icon next to Select Photos and enable the toggle next to Select Multiple.

Step 5: Tap on the search bar and type Combine images. Tap on it from the search results.

Step 6: By default, photos will be combined horizontally. If you want to merge them vertically or decide later, tap on Horizontally and select Ask Each Time. This gives you the power to select how you want the photos combined.

Step 7: Again, tap on the search bar and search for ‘Save to Photo Album.’ Tap on it.

Step 8: You can also rename the shortcut by tapping on the small arrow at the top. You can also add it to your home screen.

Step 9: Finally, tap on Done to create the photo collage shortcut.

Part 2: Use Shortcut to Merge Pictures on iPhone

Now, whenever you want to do side-by-side photos on your iPhone, follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the Shortcut app and tap on the shortcut you created above.

Step 2: The photo gallery will show up. Select the photos that you want to combine and press the Add button.

Step 3: Select the mode to combine photos. If you want to put them side by side, select Horizontally. Or, if you want to put one above the other, select Vertically.

That’s it. Now, open the Photos app to see the combined photos.

Pro Tip: You can combine photos on your iPhone using the Apple Photos app. This method works best if the two pictures are next to each other in the Photos app. In the Photos app, zoom in on the photos so that both photos appear next to each other. Now, take a screenshot and crop the photo so that only the two photos appear side by side. For horizontal pictures, you must rotate the phone before taking the screenshot.

2. Combine iPhone Images Using Third-Party Apps

If the above methods do not meet your requirements, you can use third-party apps to put two pictures side by side on your iPhone. These side-by-side photo apps are free and offer additional features like adding borders, changing spacing, and much more.

We will show the steps using two third-party apps:

1. Using the InShot App

InShot is one of the best free apps to combine photos on iPhone.

Step 1: Install and open the InShot app on your iPhone.

Download InShot

Step 2: Tap on the Collage button.

Step 3: Select the photos that you want to merge. Press the Checkmark icon to go ahead.

Step 4: Tap on the Layout tab if you want to change the layout of your photos.

Step 5: Within the Layout tab, tap on Border to change the border size and style. Tap on the Checkmark icon.

Step 6: Tap on Canvas tab followed by Background.

Step 7: Then, choose a background/border color for your picture. Tap on Checkmark.

Step 8: You can also make other adjustments to your photo, like adding stickers, text, effects, etc.

Step 9: Once done, tap on the Share icon at the top to download the image on your phone. Open the Photos app to see the merged photo.

Pro Tip: You can also use the PicsArt app to combine photos on your iPhone. Check out the best tips to use PicsArt.

2. Using Layout From Instagram

If you want to put two photos side by side on Instagram, you can use a free app from Instagram to combine photos. This app not only lets you merge photos for Instagram but also use them outside of Instagram too.

Step 1: Install and open the Layout from the Instagram app on your iPhone.

Download Layout from Instagram

Step 2: Grant permission to access your photos.

Step 3: Select the photo you want to put side by side.

Step 4: The available layouts will show at the top. Scroll through them and tap on the layout where two images appear side by side.

Step 5: On the image edit screen, drag the blue bar (present in the middle) left or right to adjust the size of the photos.

Tip: Use the pinch in and out gesture on individual photos to zoom them. You can also move them using one finger.

Step 6: Tap on the Borders option from the tools at the bottom to add a border to your photo.

Step 7: Finally, tap on Save to download the image on your iPhone.

Pro Tip: You can also combine images directly within the Instagram app. Open the Instagram app and swipe right to open the Camera > tap on the Layout icon followed by Change grid > select the desired layout > add your pictures > in the story edit screen, tap on the three-dot icon > select Save to download the image.

3. Use Online Tools to Combine Two Photos

You can also use free online tools like Tinywow to put two pictures together on iPhone, as shown below:

Step 1: Open the combine image webpage of Tiny Wow on your iPhone browser using the link below.

Open Tiny Wow

Step 2: Tap on the Add Photos button followed by ‘Upload from PC or Mobile.’

Step 3: Select the two photos that you want to keep side by side. Press the Add button.

Step 4: The two images will be merged into one. Tap the Download Image button.

Step 5: Enter the Captcha and wait for the Download pop-up. It might take around 10-15 seconds. Tap on Download.

The image will be saved in the Downloads folder of your iPhone.

Step 6: Open the Files app and access the Downloads folder for the picture. Open the picture and tap on the Share icon. Select Save Image to see it in the Photos app.

FAQs About Putting Photos Side by Side on iPhone

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