How to Create a Side by Side Photo: Methods, Tools, and What to Consider
Placing two images next to each other in a single frame is one of the most practical things you can do with photos — whether you're showing a before-and-after, comparing two products, or combining portraits for a shared memory. The concept is simple, but the how varies significantly depending on your device, software, and what you actually need the final image to look like.
What a Side by Side Photo Actually Is
A side by side photo (also called a photo collage or diptych) is a single image file that contains two photos arranged horizontally — left and right — within the same frame. The result is one exportable, shareable image rather than two separate files.
The key technical reality: you're not "joining" two photos — you're creating a new canvas and placing both images onto it. This means decisions like canvas size, aspect ratio, image alignment, and spacing all affect the final output.
The Main Methods for Creating One
📱 On a Smartphone
Most people reach for their phone first, and there are three common routes:
Built-in tools: Some Android skins (Samsung's Gallery app, for example) include a collage or layout feature natively. iOS does not offer this in the default Photos app, though the Shortcuts app can be configured for basic image merging with some setup.
Dedicated collage apps: Apps like Google Photos (available on both iOS and Android) include a built-in collage tool. You select two images, choose a layout, and the app handles the canvas. The tradeoff is limited control — spacing, border thickness, and output resolution are often fixed or narrowly adjustable.
Design apps: Apps like Canva, Adobe Express, or Snapseed offer more control. You start from a template or blank canvas, manually place each photo, and adjust sizing independently. These are better when the output needs to look polished — social media posts, presentations, printed cards.
💻 On a Desktop or Laptop
Desktop tools offer the most flexibility, especially when image quality matters.
Photo editors (Photoshop, GIMP, Affinity Photo): The standard method is to create a new document at double the width of one image (or whatever proportions you need), paste each photo onto a separate layer, and position them side by side. This gives you full control over resolution, exact pixel dimensions, color correction per image, and border/gap styling. GIMP is free and handles this workflow well, though the interface has a steeper learning curve than consumer apps.
Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides: A surprisingly effective workaround — insert both images, arrange them side by side, then export or screenshot the slide as an image. Output resolution is limited by the slide export settings, which may not suit print use cases but is generally fine for digital sharing.
Online tools: Websites like IMGonline, PineTools, or Fotor allow you to upload two images and merge them without installing anything. These are fast for one-off tasks but typically offer less control and may compress your images during upload/download.
Key Variables That Affect Your Result
This is where individual setups start to diverge:
| Variable | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Image resolution | Low-res photos placed on a high-res canvas will appear blurry or pixelated |
| Aspect ratio of source images | Mismatched ratios create uneven frames unless you crop first |
| Intended output | Screen sharing needs lower resolution; print needs 300 DPI or higher |
| App access and OS | iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS have different native capabilities |
| Skill level | Layer-based editing is faster once learned but has an initial time cost |
| File format | JPEG is standard for sharing; PNG preserves transparency if borders matter |
Aspect ratio is the most commonly overlooked issue. If one photo is 4:3 and the other is 16:9, placing them side by side without cropping first will result in one image being taller than the other, creating an uneven, unprofessional-looking result. Most tools handle this by cropping automatically — but automatic cropping may cut out parts of the image you wanted to keep.
How the Workflow Differs by Use Case
Before-and-after comparisons (fitness, home renovation, design work) typically benefit from matched framing — both images at the same crop and dimensions so the comparison reads clearly. Manual cropping before combining usually produces better results than relying on auto-layout.
Casual social media posts don't require high precision. A collage app on your phone takes under a minute and produces output that works fine for Instagram, WhatsApp, or similar platforms.
Professional or print use (marketing materials, photo books, editorial use) generally requires a proper image editor, careful attention to DPI, and color consistency between the two photos — especially if they were shot under different lighting conditions.
Presentations or documents sit in the middle — quality matters more than speed, but full photo editor functionality is rarely necessary. A slide-based workaround or Canva-style design tool usually covers this range well.
The Part That Depends on Your Situation 🖼️
The method that works best is almost entirely determined by factors that vary from person to person: which device you're working on, whether you have photo editing software installed, what the final image will be used for, and how much control you actually need over the output. A quick phone collage and a layer-based Photoshop merge are both valid answers to the same question — they just serve meaningfully different needs. Where your own project falls on that spectrum is something only your specific setup and goals can determine.