How to Make a Slideshow on TikTok

5 steps to make a TikTok slideshow

1. 1

   Tap the + button at the bottom

   Open the TikTok app and tap the plus icon in the center of the bottom navigation bar.

2. 2

   Tap Photo, then Upload, and pick up to 35 photos in order

   Switch the capture mode to Photo. Tap Upload in the bottom right and select up to 35 photos. Tap them in the exact order you want viewers to swipe through them.

3. 3

   Tap Next, then add a sound and any text

   Tap Next to open the editing screen. Tap Add sound at the top to pick background music, and add any text overlays, voice filters, or stickers you need.

4. 4

   Tap Next, write a caption and pick a cover

   Tap Next to open the post settings. Write a descriptive caption (TikTok allows up to 4,000 characters) with relevant keywords and hashtags, and select a cover slide.

5. 5

   Tap Post

   Tap the red Post button to share your slideshow, or tap Drafts to save your work and publish it later.

Why photo slideshows work so well on TikTok

• People swipe at their own pace, so they read every slide. Unlike fast-moving video clips that flash past before readers can finish the sentence, photo mode lets viewers pause, read detailed bullet points, and swipe backward. This user control generates higher watch completion, longer dwell time, and significantly higher bookmark rates.
• Great for lists, tips, and step-by-step posts. Step-by-step tutorials, tool recommendations, workflow cheat sheets, and visual case studies perform exceptionally well as swipe decks. Viewers bookmark slideshows to reference them later, which signals strong value to TikTok's recommendation algorithm.
• Use 1080 × 1920 px (9:16) so each photo fills the screen. Modern smartphones display content in a 9:16 vertical ratio. Uploading photos cropped to 1080 × 1920 pixels (1080×1920) ensures every slide covers the full display without distracting black borders, letterboxing, or blurred background padding.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Weak first slide — it decides if people swipe; borrow a proven hook from /formulas. Slide 1 is your headline and visual hook. If it does not spark immediate curiosity within two seconds, viewers swipe to the next video instead of swiping into your carousel. Borrow a high-converting hook from our viral formulas library to keep viewers swiping.
• Text under the caption or buttons — check with /tools/social-safe-zones. TikTok places icons for likes, comments, and saves along the right edge, while the caption and music title cover the lower section of the screen. Placing critical text in these zones makes it unreadable. Check your slide layouts with our free Social Safe Zones tool before posting.
• Mixed photo sizes — crop every photo to the same shape. Uploading images with different shapes and aspect ratios forces TikTok to add jarring black borders and zoom inconsistent slides. Always crop every photo in your deck to the same 9:16 vertical shape (1080 × 1920 px) so your deck swipes smoothly.

Frequently Asked Questions