The free Instagram application for smartphones streamlines the process of applying professional looking filters to photos and sharing your snaps online. You can either have a public account, so anyone can see your photos, or keep things private, making your photos visible only to approved followers. Regardless of your account settings, you can upload only one photo at a time to Instagram. Uploading multiple shots in succession might be annoying to your followers, but Instagram offers no native solution for combining images. Instead, use one of several third-party applications that make it possible to create images made up of multiple photos.

PhotoShake! for iOS

Step 1

Install and open the PhotoShake application on your iOS device (link in Resources.)

Step 2

Select "Multi Photo" from the main menu and then select "Album."

Step 3

Select the photos you want to combine and select "Done." You can select a maximum of eight photos at once.

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Step 4

Select "Edit" and drag your photos into place on the frame.

Step 5

Select a suitable frame and then tap the "Share" button.

Step 6

Select "Open Instagram " and then tap " Open In Instagram."

InstaFrame for Android

Step 1

Install and open the free InstaFrame application on your smartphone (link in Resources.)

Step 2

Select the collage style that you want to use for your combined photos.

Step 3

Tap an empty spot on the collage and select a photo from your phone gallery to insert.

Step 4

Repeat the process for the other empty spots on the collage and then select "Done."

Step 5

Select "Instagram" and then tap the camera icon.

Step 6

Select "Photo Gallery" and then select the collage created with InstaFrame.

PhotoGrid for Android

Step 1

Install and open the PhotoGrid application on your smartphone (link in Resources.)

Step 2

Tap "Next" to view the application features and then select "OK."

Step 3

Select "Grid HD" and then select the photos that you want to use.

Step 4

Select "Next" and then align the images on the grid.

Step 5

Apply effects and filters to the images if desired and then click the "Save" button at the top of the screen.

Step 6

Select a resolution and format and then tap "Save."

Step 7

Open Instagram and tap the camera icon.

Step 8

Select "Photo Gallery" and then select the collage you created with PhotoGrid.

Uploading the Photo to Instagram

Step 1

Crop your photo if desired and then tap the ">" button.

Step 2

Select an Instagram filter if desired and then tap the ">" button.

Step 3

Add an optional caption and then tap the check mark button to upload your photo to Instagram.