The short version
- TikTok photo mode posts a set of still images that viewers swipe through, with optional music and a caption.
- Design photo mode slides at 1080×1920, a 9:16 vertical frame, so they fill the screen without bars.
- TikTok places the caption, username and sound along the bottom and its buttons down the right side, so keep words in the upper middle.
- A photo mode carousel needs a first slide that makes a clear promise and a reason to swipe on every slide after it.
- Using one background, one font and one text position across every slide makes a carousel look made rather than collected.
On this page
TikTok photo mode lets you post a set of still images that people swipe through, with music and a caption, in the same feed as video. Make each slide 1080×1920 so it fills the screen, keep the words in the upper middle away from TikTok's buttons, and plan the set like a short story: a first slide that promises something, middle slides that deliver it one step at a time, and a last slide that pays off.
TikTok photo mode size and safe zones
Photo mode accepts other shapes, but anything that is not 9:16 gets bars or a crop, and both look careless next to full screen video. Design at the same size as a TikTok cover and every slide fills the phone.
Use it for
What TikTok puts there
Use it for
What TikTok puts there
Use it for
What TikTok puts there
Use it for
What TikTok puts there
Use it for
Photo mode slide 9:16
1080 × 1920
Instagram carousel 4:5
1080 × 1350
TikTok's interface is heavier at the bottom and right than a story's, so leave wider margins on those sides than you might elsewhere. Social media safe zones compares the platforms side by side.
Planning a photo mode carousel that holds attention
A carousel is a sequence, so plan the sequence before designing a single slide. Write each slide as one line in a list. If a line does not make the viewer want the next one, cut it or move it.
- 1
Slide 1: the promise
Say what the viewer gets for swiping, in a few large words: 5 desk setups under one shelf, What I'd tell myself at 22, The only bread recipe you need.
- 2
Slide 2: the setup
The context or the problem, briefly. This is where viewers decide whether the promise is real.
- 3
Middle slides: one step each
One idea, tip or item per slide, numbered if order matters. Keep the rhythm steady so swiping feels easy.
- 4
Second to last: the best one
Save your strongest point for late in the set. It rewards the people who stayed.
- 5
Last slide: the payoff
A summary, the result, or a single next step such as Save this for later or Part two tomorrow.
Slide one: the promise in large type, high in the frame, clear of the caption area.
A middle slide from the same design: one point, one supporting line, same position.
Writing text for TikTok slides
Slides are read on a phone held at arm's length, often with the sound on and the thumb ready to move. Write less than you think, set it bigger than you think, and give every slide a single focal point. Font size for Instagram posts has the sizes, and they apply here too.
Avoid
- A paragraph per slide
- Text running into the right hand buttons
- Thin, light fonts on a bright background
- A new layout on every slide
- The payoff on slide one, so nobody swipes
Do
- One headline and at most one supporting line
- Words in the upper middle, left of the buttons
- A bold heading weight with strong contrast
- The same text position on every slide
- The promise first, the payoff last
Leave the long explanation for the caption. Photo mode captions have room for detail, which keeps the slides clean and gives curious viewers more to read.
Backgrounds that make a carousel look like you
Photo mode is full screen, so the background is most of every slide. A recognisable background is how a viewer knows it is you before they read a word, and a still post with a strong look stands out in a feed of video. Choose one and keep it across the set, varying light rather than changing colours entirely.
Photos work too: crop them full frame and keep a consistent treatment across the set. If you post often, a fixed look matters more than any single slide, which is the heart of TikTok branding for business.
From idea to finished slides
The quickest route is one design with a page per slide. In Gradiently, describe the carousel to the Designer, for example ten tips for first time renters, and it writes the slides, lays them out at 1080×1920 in your Mark and keeps the words where the background stays calm behind them. Every page shares the same look, so you edit words rather than layouts. With Pro, the same pages can be resized in one step into an Instagram carousel when you want to post the set there too.
Questions people ask
What size are TikTok photo mode images?
Use 1080×1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical frame. Other shapes get bars or a crop.
Where should text go on a TikTok carousel?
In the upper middle of the frame. The caption, username and sound sit along the bottom and TikTok's buttons run down the right side.
How many slides should a TikTok photo carousel have?
As many as the idea needs and no more. TikTok currently allows up to 35 images in one post, but each slide should make the viewer want the next, so cut anything that does not.
Can I post the same carousel on TikTok and Instagram?
Yes, but lay it out again for each. TikTok slides are 1080×1920 while Instagram carousel pages work best at 1080×1350.
What should the first slide of a TikTok carousel say?
A clear promise of what the viewer gets by swiping, in a few large words.
Written by Gradiently
The team behind Gradiently, a design tool built around Marks: living gradients that make everything you design look like yours.
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