How to Use Grids in Canva to Make Photo Collage

A photo collage is a collection of photos that are arranged together to create a single picture. Making a collage is now made easier with Canva grids. This amazing feature acts like a frame where you can just drag and drop your images into. In this tutorial, we’re going to go over how to make use of grids to create a photo collage in Canva.

We're going to make this friends photo collage that is great to give as a gift and preserve your memories of friendship.

Step 1 - Create a new document

Create a new collage document by scrolling through the different Canva templates. We're going to choose Photo Collage template. Even though there are lots of premade collages in Canva, we want to create one from scratch. Click the Create blank button in the middle of the photo collage thumbnail.

Your design space will appear in a new window.

Step 2 - Upload photos

Upload all the photos you want to include in your collage from your computer. When selecting photos, it's best to make sure they are related so they work together as a group. This helps to tell a story.

From the side panel, click on the Uploads tab and then click on Upload Media. I will be using a few of these images of friends eating together from Design Bundles. Once uploaded, your photos will then show up in the Gallery tab.

Step 3 - Add grid

From the editor panel on the left, Click Elements > Grids> See all.

Choose grid

Scroll down to see all the available grids. There, you can find both single and multi-frame grids. The grid you're going to select will depend on the number of photos you want to include in your collage. Since we have 8 photos, we need to find either an 8-frame grid or combine 2-3 grids that will hold 8 photos.

We're going to select this 3-frame grid as shown below in the image. Once clicked, it will fill the whole canvas. Scale it to the desired size by clicking on the grid and drawing it in and out from its corners.

Duplicate grid

We want to duplicate this grid so we're going to Select it> right-click> copy or press Ctrl/Command + C>paste or press Ctrl/Command +V. We now have a 6- frame grid.

Add another grid

Since we have 8 photos, we still need another grid. This time, we will choose a 2-frame grid. Scale it to the appropriate size and place it in between the first 2 grids.

Step 4 - Fill the frames with your photos

Now it's time to fill each frame with your chosen photos. Go to Upload, click the photo and drag it inside the frame. Repeat this for all the frames.

Adjust your image in the grid

You can zoom in on your photo inside the grid to get the best view of your image. Double click on it and drag out the corners to enlarge it.

Step 5 - Add text and borders

To add text, click the text button>Add a heading or just simply type "T" to quickly add a textbox. With the sample text selected/highlighted, start typing some quotes. You can change the text's font, color, and size.

You can change everything mentioned from the toolbar shown above after you have selected the text. You can also add a border if you wish.

Here's our finished friends photo collage.

There you have it. You can now collect your favorite photos and create a memorable collage made in Canva.

Next up, check out our tutorials on how to create an email signature, and then how to add a hyperlink in Canva.