I’m trying to share two pictures together from my iPhone, but I can’t figure out how to place them side by side in one image. I took both photos for a post and need to send them as a single combined photo, so I’m looking for the easiest way to do this on iPhone.
If you're trying to compare photos on an iPhone, there are two separate jobs people usually mix together.
One is making a single image with two pictures next to each other. The other is checking similar shots so you can pick the better one and delete the rest. I ran into both, and the fix is different for each.
Put two photos side by side on iPhone with Shortcuts
If you want one combined image for sharing, like a before/after, a meme, or two screenshots in one file, the built-in Shortcuts app does the job fine:
- Open Shortcuts and tap the plus button to start a new shortcut
- Search for Select Photos and add it. Tap the blue arrow, then turn on Select Multiple
- Search for Combine Images and add it. Leave it on Horizontally for a side-by-side layout. If you want a gap between the photos, tap the arrow next to Horizontally and adjust the spacing
- Search for Save to Photos and add it
- Give the shortcut a name, like Side by Side, then save it
- Run the shortcut, pick two photos, and iPhone saves the merged image to your library
This works when you need one file you can send. I used it for comparison pics and it was quick. For burst shots or picking a keeper from ten nearly identical images, it gets messy fast and leaves you with extra files you didn't need.
Checking burst photos or edited versions
This is where people hit a wall. The Duplicates album in Photos only catches exact copies. If the face shifts a bit, the lighting changes, or one frame is a hair softer, iOS usually ignores it.
The low-tech way still works. I zoomed to around 200% on the eyes, or the main subject if there was no face. At normal size, two shots looked the same. Zoomed in, one was soft and the other was clean. You spot blur way faster this way than by swiping back and forth for five minutes.
If you have a big pile of similar images, Clever Cleaner sorts this out more directly.
The Similars tab groups near-matching photos together. Things like burst sequences, the same scene from slightly different angles, or three shots of the same person with small lighting changes.
- Open Clever Cleaner and go to the Similars tab
- Let it scan your photo library and build groups of close matches
- Each group marks a Best Shot. The app checks focus and facial expression to pick the sharper image
- Look through the group and keep the pick or change it
- Use Smart Cleanup to remove the extras, or review each group one by one
- Deleted files go to the app’s own trash first, so you get a buffer before they’re gone for good
How I checked photo quality by hand
I stopped looking at the full image first. Waste of time. Zooming into the eyes at about 200% told me more in two seconds than full-screen viewing did in twenty. Soft focus, tiny motion blur, missed detail, it all showed up there. If your subject isn't a person, pick the main point of detail and check it the same way.
A few other tools in there worth using
The Heavies tab lists files from largest to smallest and shows the exact size. Old 4K screen recordings and giant videos jumped right to the top for me. No digging.
The Screenshots tab shows file sizes on each screenshot before you remove anything, which helped more than I expected. I had way too many junk screenshots, lol.
Swipe mode sorts photos by month and lets you go one at a time. Swipe left to delete, swipe right to keep. I used this on an older backlog and it felt less brutal than staring at 8,000 thumbnails at once.
Everything runs on-device, so nothing gets uploaded somewhere else.
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Easiest way on iPhone, use a collage app. I know @mikeappsreviewer mentioned Shortcuts, but I think Shortcuts is overkill if you only need this once or twice. It works, sure, but setup is annoyng for a simple post.
Try this instead.
- Install Layout from Instagram, Canva, or PicCollage
- Pick the 2-photo side-by-side layout
- Select your two photos
- Save the new image
- Share it like any normal pic
If you want no extra app, Pages works too.
- Open Pages and start a blank doc
- Insert both photos
- Drag them next to each other
- Take a screenshot, or export the page as an image or PDF
If your goal is also cleaning up similar shots before posting, Clever Cleaner is worth a look. It helps sort duplicate and similar photos fast, so you don’t end up combining the wrong ones first. I found this thread useful for real user feedback on Clever Cleaner reviews from iPhone users.
For a fast one-off job, collage app is the simpliest route.
I’d actually skip Shortcuts unless you plan to do this over and over. @mikeappsreviewer is right that it works, and @stellacadente is right that collage apps are easier, but there’s also a super simple built-in option a lot of people forget: Instagram Stories.
Do this:
- Open Instagram Story
- Add one photo as the background
- Tap the sticker icon and add the second photo
- Resize and place them side by side
- Save the Story to Photos before posting
That gives you one combined image fast, no setup, no extra doc fiddling. I’ve done this for comparrison pics and it’s way less annoying than building a Shortcut for a one-time thing.
If you want cleaner alignment, use Freeform on iPhone:
- New board
- Insert both photos
- drag them next to each other
- export or screenshot
Also, if you’re picking between a bunch of almost identical shots first, Clever Cleaner helps sort similar photos before you combine the final two. That part matters more than people think tbh.
If you want a readable guide with the Shortcuts method, this one lays it out pretty clearly: easy ways to put two photos side by side on iPhone.
So yeah, fastest routes:
- Instagram Story hack for quick sharing
- Freeform for built-in control
- Clever Cleaner first if your camera roll is a mess
I’d do it in Photoshop Express or Adobe Express on iPhone if you want something that looks cleaner than the Instagram-story workaround and less janky than screenshotting a Pages doc.
Why I slightly disagree with @mikeappsreviewer and @sonhadordobosque: Shortcuts and canvas apps are fine, but they feel like work if all you need is one polished side-by-side image with equal spacing.
Quick route:
- Open Adobe Express or Photoshop Express
- Start a blank canvas or collage
- Add your two photos
- Choose a 2-column layout
- Export as JPG
- Share normally
Nice part: you can control borders, background color, and image crop so one photo doesn’t end up taller than the other.
If you want zero extra apps, try Keynote instead of Pages or Freeform:
- new presentation
- blank slide
- insert both photos
- use Arrange to align them neatly
- export slide as image
That alignment tool is the main reason I prefer it.
On Clever Cleaner before you combine anything:
Pros
- good for spotting similar shots fast
- helps avoid merging the wrong duplicate
- simple cleanup if your library is messy
Cons
- not actually for making collages
- best if you have lots of near-duplicates, otherwise it’s overkill
- you still need another app to place photos side by side
So my take versus @stellacadente, @sonhadordobosque, and @mikeappsreviewer:
- best polished result: Adobe Express / Photoshop Express
- best built-in layout control: Keynote
- best pre-cleanup helper: Clever Cleaner
If you want, I can give the absolute fastest method using only Apple apps already on the phone.