Your Guide To Creating A Photo Collage On Instagram Stories

Gone are the days when people clicked pictures using a digital camera and preserved them in physical photo albums. In a world driven by social media, clicking and sharing images has never been easier. The social media platform of Instagram is particularly booming currently with more than 500 million daily users. Using features such as Instagram stories, posts, reels, IGTV, etc., users can share their special moments with all their family and friends in seconds.

Although sharing images as Instagram posts is convenient, you might still miss the process of curating photographs of a particular event in a photo album. If you do feel so, do not worry! Instagram stories can help you with that too!

What are Instagram Stories?

If you are an active user of Instagram, Instagram stories would not be a novel feature for you. Launched in 2016, Instagram Stories allows users to post photos and videos on their accounts. However, these stories remain live only for 24 hours but you have the option to keep them for a longer period by adding them to highlights. The combined features of Instagram Stories and highlights can help you create the perfect collage or photo album for any special occasion or event. Before we address how you can create a collage using Instagram stories, let’s first discuss what exactly Instagram collage means.

What is an Instagram Photo Collage?

An Instagram photo collage is a great way of expressing and sharing your photographs and videos more creatively. When you arrange two or more photos and share them as a single image or video, it is known as a collage. A well-designed Instagram photo collage can attract new Instagram followers to your account, organise your content properly, and boost engagement. At the same time, you will be able to share your stories with all your loved ones easily. You can even apply your own creative ideas to create a unique Instagram photo collage.

Although the possibility of creating a collage on Instagram was always present, it has become a trend in recent years. As more and more influencers and celebrities adopt this medium to attract real Instagram followers, normal Instagram users are also accepting the same. It is for this reason numerous apps have been developed with the sole purpose of making your Instagram stories more attractive and visually appealing.

Why should you use Instagram stories?

The reasons why you should use Instagram stories to create an Instagram photo collage are many. Some of them are:

1. It allows you to post unlimited photos and videos and organise them as highlights. These highlights appear on your profile with the relevant title. For instance, you may categorise all your wedding pics under the highlight titled “My Wedding.”
2. Numerous features are available on Instagram stories that can make your stories more informative and engaging. You can use various filters, add text to describe a certain image, add location, use hashtags, tag people present in the image, and so on.
3. You might also want to share your images and videos with only a certain group of people rather than all your followers. For such occasions, Instagram allows you to post stories in the close friends’ section. Only people who are added in the close friends can view those stories. This feature is not available for Instagram posts that are visible to all followers.
4. Instagram stories also have a layout feature where you can directly create a photo collage using multiple images and upload it as a single story.
5. Various other apps help in creating aesthetic story layouts for Instagram.

From the above points, it is clear that you can make use of Instagram stories in numerous ways to create the desired photo collage. Find out below the steps to make beautiful Instagram slides for your stories.

How to make an Instagram Photo Collage?

Making a photo collage on Instagram is very easy. It can be done in several ways. The steps for the first one is mentioned below:

1. Click a picture using your iOS or Android phone. Upload it on Instagram stories. Add filters to enhance the image if you like.
2. Resize the photo as you want. You can also change background colours by tapping the airbrush for a second and selecting the required colour.
3. Next, open the gallery on your phone.
4. Select the image you want to add to the same Instagram story. In the share icon, you will find an option to copy the image. Click on Copy.
5. Open your Instagram story again. When you do so, a new sticker will emerge with the copied photo giving you an option to “add a sticker.”
6. Add the sticker to the story. You will now see the copied photo along with the original one, in the same story.
7. Repeat the steps as many times as you like to add more photos.

This is a quick and easy hack available on most smartphones. There are other means of adding a photo collage as well. Check them below.

How to make an Instagram Photo Collage using the Layout Mode on Instagram Stories?

Noticing the rising preference for Instagram photo collages, Instagram launched its own app to assist users in the same. This app is known as Layout. It enables users to create and upload photo collages directly through their Instagram stories. The steps to use the Layout feature are:

1. Open Instagram stories on your Instagram account.
2. Swipe left. Many options will be visible for your camera such as Create, Boomerang, Layout, Multi-Capture, etc.
3. Select Layout.
4. Several grid options would appear. Choose the grid option that you like the most.
5. Either capture photos straight away or select images from your gallery.
6. Once the Instagram collage is ready, you can enhance it using normal story features (filters, text, effects, etc.)

Are there any third-party apps for creating Instagram photo collages?

Apart from the above two methods, many third-party apps can help you create aesthetic Instagram collages. While the previously covered methods are easy and quick ways of making a photo collage, they do not provide as many creative options as third-party apps. Some of the most popular apps for creating Instagram photo collages are:

Canva

Canva is the most popular graphic design app suitable for beginners and professionals alike. With a wide range of free templates, Canva allows you to create beautiful photos not just for Instagram stories but also for other purposes. It has a variety of options for layout and text along with filters and photo editing tools. It is easy to use and its huge inventory of templates and other features enables you to create the perfect collage for your Instagram.

InShot

With the growth in video marketing, InShot has also become a popular app among influencers and Instagram users. There are a number of things you can do with this video and photo editing app. Its offerings include myriads of design features, options to trim, split, crop, and merge videos, add music to videos and photos, and so on. It also has filters, text, overlays, effects, and animations to enhance the quality of your content. In addition, it allows you to increase or decrease the speed of your videos. Overall, this app has everything that you would require to create attractive Instagram stories including a collage maker.

Unfold

If you are someone who prefers minimalistic, classy, and elegant content, use the Unfold app. It has a variety of free and premium templates that are perfect for creating aesthetic stories and collages. It supports both images and videos.

PhotoGrid

PhotoGrid is another wonderful app for making image and video collages for stories on Instagram. It also has many templates and design features specifically made for Instagram stories. It also offers photo editing features like removing the background or adding another one. Beautifying effects for adding or removing makeup are also present. You can even add GIFs to the stories.

Adobe Spark

This app is highly recommended for creating Instagram stories. Adobe Spark is easy to use and can be used by beginners as well. There are a number of design and theme options available for the users to choose from. You can also add music and sound to photos and videos.

Other popular third-party apps are StoryArt, Typorama, Microsoft Hyperlapse, CutStory, etc.

To summarise, through an Instagram collage, you will be able to fulfill all the tasks that you used to when you added photographs to your physical photo album. In fact, you can do much more. You can add relevant captions looking at which you will be reminded of the fun incidents that had happened at the time the photo was clicked. The best way to make a collage is by narrating a tale through Instagram stories. This helps in building engagement and thus, getting more Instagram likes. Make use of the plethora of features that Instagram offers to make your stories more engaging and meaningful. Do not forget to save them as highlights so that you and your Instagram followers could visit them as and when they like!