How to create a photo mosaic
The Photo Mosaic app has five steps: Size, Upload, Enhance, Preview, and Order. The whole process takes 15–30 minutes. Your progress is saved automatically — so you can take as long as you need and come back any time.
Everything up to ordering is free. No account required — just your name and email to save your progress.
| Step | Name | What you do |
|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Size
|
Choose your canvas size and tile detail level
|
|
2
|
Upload
|
Upload your main photo and tile photos
|
|
3
|
Enhance
|
Adjust brightness, colour tone, and contrast
|
|
4
|
Preview
|
Review tiles, zoom in, swap, crop, or remove
print |
|
5
|
Order
|
Download HD file or order a canvas |
01
Size — Choose your canvas and tile detail
- Choose your canvas size: Keepsake (20–30cm), Standard (40–50cm), Large (75–80cm), or Grand (85–90cm).
- Choose your tile detail: Few & Large (8×8 grid, 64 tiles), Standard (10×10 or 16×16), or Detailed (20×20, 400 tiles).
- The app shows a live preview: grid size, number of photos needed, and physical tile size in mm.
- You can go back and change both settings at any time before ordering.
Tip: match size to tile detail
Keepsake sizes look best with Few & Large tiles — tiles are more visible and impactful. Large and Grand canvases can handle Detailed tiling, creating a rich, gallery-quality look.
| Tile detail | Grid | Tiles | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Few & Large
|
8×8
|
64
|
Bold portraits, Keepsake sizes, minimal compositions
|
|
Standard
|
10×10
|
100
|
Balanced look, first-time users
|
|
Standard
|
16×16
|
256
|
Great all-rounder — detailed without being dense
|
|
Detailed
|
20×20
|
400
|
Rich and intricate — best with Large/Grand canvas + 300+ photos
|
02
Upload — Your big picture and your little moments
- Upload your main photo — this is what the mosaic looks like from a distance. JPG, PNG, or WEBP, up to 20MB.
- Upload your tile photos — these become the small squares that fill the mosaic. Add as many as you like in one go.
- The app needs at least 100 tile photos. If you have fewer, it will automatically duplicate photos to fill the grid.
- Not sure yet? Use the built-in sample set (+48 or +120 photos) to explore the app before using your own images.
- Your progress is automatically saved — you can close the browser and come back any time.
Tip: match size to tile detail
Keepsake sizes look best with Few & Large tiles — tiles are more visible and impactful. Large and Grand canvases can handle Detailed tiling, creating a rich, gallery-quality look.
03
Enhance — Fine-tune the look
- Adjust brightness: if the main photo looks too dark in the mosaic, increase brightness to help the tile matching pop.
- Adjust colour tone: warmer tones suit family portraits, weddings, and anniversaries. Cooler tones work well for corporate and modern compositions.
- Adjust contrast: higher contrast makes the main image more defined from a distance — great for portraits.
- The enhance settings affect how tiles are matched — brighter settings favour lighter tiles; darker settings favour richer, moodier ones.
- All changes are previewed in real time before you move on.
Tip: If the main image looks muddy, try brightness first
The most common issue is a main photo that is too dark. A small brightness increase (10–20%) often makes the mosaic significantly clearer from a distance without needing to adjust anything else
04
Preview — Review and curate your tiles
- See your completed mosaic — the full composition with all tile photos in place.
- Zoom in to inspect individual tiles — check each photo is cropped and positioned the way you want.
- Swap any tile: if a specific photo has landed somewhere you’re not happy with, move it.
- Crop individual tiles: adjust the crop of any tile to show the best part of that photo.
- Remove tiles that don’t fit — blurry shots, accidental photos, or anything with too much plain white that clashes with the composition.
- The free low-res preview (500px canvas) lets you check the full composition before paying anything.
Tip: Spend a few minutes here — it's worth it
Most people click through quickly. But reviewing the tile grid and swapping or removing 10–15 problem tiles — ones that are too dark, too white, or off-colour — noticeably transforms the final result.
05
Order — Download or print your mosaic
- Choose your output: HD digital download or canvas print.
- Digital download is instant — your high-resolution file is delivered to your inbox within minutes.
- Canvas print is produced in 5–7 business days and shipped to your door.
- You only pay at this step — everything before is completely free.
- Singapore delivery: 2–3 business days from dispatch. International shipping also available.
Not sure which format? Here's a quick guide:
HD digital download — ideal if you want to print yourself, frame at a local printer, share digitally, or keep a backup. You receive the full resolution file instantly.
Canvas print — ready to hang. Our gallery-wrap canvas on Premium Russian Red Pine Wood frame is produced and shipped directly to you. No framing needed.
Want to take it further?
Our tips guide covers the exact settings to get the best result — colour match strength, main image overlay, tile composition, and how to compose your main photo.
Recommended settings at a glance
| Setting | Recommended range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
Colour match strength
|
10 – 50%
|
Start at 25%. Too high = unnatural look.
|
|
Main image overlay
|
50 – 80%
|
Start at 65%. Adjust for portrait clarity. |
|
Face / body overlay
|
+5 to +10 above global
|
Keeps subject readable without hiding tiles. |
|
Tile photos
|
300 – 500 unique
|
100 is minimum; more = richer mosaic. |
|
Main image composition
|
Face ~40% of frame
|
Leave room for background context. |
|
Tile shape
|
Square ideal
|
App auto-crops; you can adjust any crop. |
|
White tile areas
|
Minimise
|
Crop, swap, or remove problem tiles in Step 4. |
Frequently asked questions
What is colour match strength in the photo mosaic app?
Colour match strength controls how much the app shifts the colour of each tile to match the region of the main image it’s placed in. A low setting keeps tiles looking natural; a high setting makes the main image more readable but can make tiles look artificially tinted. We recommend 10–50% for the best balance.
What should I set the main image overlay to?
The main image overlay blends the main photo over the tile grid, making the portrait readable from a distance. We recommend 50–80%. Start at 65% — if the portrait looks too soft from arm’s length, nudge it up; if the tile photos are disappearing, bring it down.
How many photos do I need for a good mosaic?
The minimum is 100 tile photos, but 300–500 gives a noticeably richer result. The more unique tile photos you have, the fewer repeated tiles appear in the grid. The app automatically duplicates tiles if you have fewer than the minimum, but variety always produces a better mosaic.
Do my tile photos need to be square?
Not necessarily — the app automatically crops all tile photos to square. But if you can provide square photos, they fill the grid most naturally with no cropping needed. You can also manually adjust the crop of any individual tile in Step 4 (Preview).
What photos work best for the main image?
A well-lit portrait with strong contrast and a simple composition. The subject’s face should take up roughly 40% of the frame — leaving background context on all sides. Avoid plain white or grey backgrounds; natural settings or soft indoor light produce the richest mosaic. High resolution is better, but most phone camera shots work perfectly.
Why do some tiles look too white or pale in my mosaic?
White or near-white tiles add very little colour to the mosaic and create pale patches. In Step 4 (Preview), you can crop the tile to show a more colourful part of the photo, swap it for a different photo, or remove it from the tile set entirely. A 5-minute review of the tile grid before ordering makes a significant difference.
Is the mosaic builder better on desktop or mobile?
Desktop gives a much better experience. The tile grid, drag-and-drop tools, and preview panel are all designed for a larger screen. Mobile will open the app and let you create a mosaic, but for the best creating experience — especially if you’re uploading many photos or reviewing tiles carefully — use a desktop or laptop computer.