How to make a slideshow on TikTok

To make a slideshow on TikTok, tap the Add post (+) button, tap Photo, then Upload, and pick up to 35 photos. Tap Next to add sound and text to each slide, then tap Next again and Post. That gives you a swipeable photo post, which TikTok calls photo mode.

If you want a slideshow that plays like a video, with a set time per photo, upload the photos as video clips or start from a template. Every step below was checked against TikTok’s help center as of October 2026. Menu labels shift between app versions, so where TikTok has used more than one name, both are given.

Photo mode vs video slideshow: which one do you need?

TikTok has two kinds of slideshow. The swipe slideshows you see in the feed are photo mode posts. TikTok launched the format in October 2022 as “a new carousel format” where images display one after another and viewers can swipe at their own pace.

	Photo mode (swipeable)	Video slideshow
How viewers see it	Swipe through slides, back and forth	Plays like any video, no swiping
Maximum items	35 photos	35 photos or clips per editing session
Time on each slide	The viewer decides	You set each clip’s length
Transitions	None	Yes, between clips
Sound	One sound for the whole post	One sound, plus voiceover and sound effects
Best for	Lists, tutorials, comparisons, anything people read	Photo dumps, recaps, mood pieces, fast reveals

Pick photo mode when people need time to read each slide. Pick a video slideshow when rhythm and timing matter more than the words.

How to make a swipe slideshow on TikTok (photo mode)

1. Get your slides ready

Export each slide as a vertical 9:16 image, ideally 1080 x 1920 pixels. Put them in one album on your phone, in order, so selecting them takes seconds. If your slides carry a lot of text, design them in a design app first. TikTok’s text tool is fine for a line or two, but slow for full slides.

2. Open Photo and upload

1. In the TikTok app, tap the Add post (+) button at the bottom.
2. Tap Photo, then tap Upload.
3. Select your photos in the order you want them to appear. You can add up to 35.
4. Tap Next.

If TikTok turns your pictures into a video, you started from the wrong place. Go back and start from Photo, or look for a Photo or Switch to photo mode option; TikTok has used both labels in different app versions.

3. Edit each slide

After you tap Next, swipe to move between photos and edit each one. TikTok’s help center lists filter, sound, text, stickers and crop as the edits available here. Text, stickers and filters apply per photo; the sound plays across the whole post.

Keep your important words in the middle of the frame. TikTok lays the caption, your username and the like, comment and share buttons over the bottom and right edge of every slide.

4. Add your post details

Tap Next again to reach the post screen. From here you can:

• Edit cover to choose which slide shows on your profile grid
• add a description and hashtags
• tag people, add a location or add a link
• manage privacy settings, such as who can view and comment

If your slides use realistic AI-generated images, turn on the AI-generated content setting in your post settings. TikTok requires a label on realistic AI-generated content and may remove unlabeled posts.

5. Post or save a draft

Tap Post to publish, or Drafts to save it for later. Drafts are visible only to you. You can also tap Your Story to send the photos to Stories instead of your feed.

One catch: a new post copies the privacy setting of your last post. If your previous post was set to Only you, check the setting before you tap Post.

How to make a video slideshow on TikTok

A video slideshow is a normal TikTok video built from still images. Use it when you want control over timing, transitions and voiceover.

Upload photos as clips

1. Tap Add post (+), then Upload from the camera screen, not from Photo.
2. Select your photos and any video clips. TikTok allows 35 items per editing session.
3. If TikTok offers a choice between photo and video, choose video.
4. Tap Next, then tap Edit on the side panel to open the timeline.
5. Tap a clip and drag the arrow on either side to make it shorter or longer. Press and hold a clip to move it.
6. Tap the Transition button between two clips to add a transition, or tap Apply to all.
7. Add sound and text. Drag the edges of a text item on the timeline to control when it appears.
8. Tap Next, add your details, and Post.

Use a template

1. Tap Add post (+), then tap Create at the bottom.
2. Select or search for a template, then tap Try this template.
3. Select the photos or videos to add, and follow the steps.

TikTok says templates are not available to everyone yet. If you have a Business Account, you can only use templates made with music licensed for commercial use. Each template is built for a set number of photos, so choose one that matches what you have.

Build it in another editor

You can also build the slideshow in CapCut, Canva or any video editor, export a vertical MP4, and upload it. This is also the simplest route if you work from a computer, because TikTok’s web uploader takes video.

How many photos can you put in a TikTok slideshow?

You can put up to 35 photos in one TikTok photo post. Here are the limits that matter, as of October 2026:

Limit	Value	Where it comes from
Photos in one photo post	35	TikTok Help Center
Photos and videos in one editing session	35	TikTok Help Center
Overlay items on one post	8	TikTok Help Center
Sounds per post	1	TikTok Help Center
Photo post title	90 characters	TikTok Content Posting API
Photo post description	4,000 characters	TikTok Content Posting API
Image resolution and file size	Up to 1080p, 20 MB per image	TikTok Content Posting API
Images in a carousel ad	2 to 35	TikTok Ads Help Center

The title and description limits come from TikTok’s developer documentation, which counts characters in UTF-16 units. Emoji can count as two.

Treat 35 as a ceiling, not a target. Most how-to and list posts need 5 to 10 slides. Past that, each extra slide has to earn the next swipe.

What size should TikTok slideshow pictures be?

Use 1080 x 1920 pixels, a 9:16 vertical ratio. TikTok does not publish one required size for photo posts. Its posting API accepts images up to 1080p, and its carousel ad spec lists 720 x 1280 for vertical images, which is also 9:16. A 1080 x 1920 image fills the screen at the highest resolution TikTok’s API accepts.

Pictures in other shapes still post, but they will not fill the screen. Square and landscape photos get empty space around them, which wastes room you could use for text.

A few practical rules:

• Do not upscale small images. A 600-pixel screenshot stretched to 1080 looks soft.
• Use JPEG or PNG from design apps. TikTok’s API lists JPEG and WebP; the app accepts normal photos from your camera roll.
• Keep text off the bottom and right edges, where TikTok’s caption and buttons sit.

The social media size guide lists sizes for TikTok and Instagram side by side.

How to add music to a TikTok slideshow

1. On the editing screen, tap Sound at the bottom. On the recording screen, it’s Add sound at the top.
2. Choose a track from the For You, Favorites or Recent tab, or tap Search.
3. Tap Trim next to the track and drag the slider to choose where it starts.

You get one sound per post. Adding new music replaces any earlier background music and voice audio.

If you post from a Business Account, you can only use music licensed for commercial use, from TikTok’s Commercial Music Library. The same rule applies if you want to boost the post later with Promote: it needs your own original sound or a commercial-use sound.

How to add text and captions to a TikTok slideshow

Your words go in three places:

1. On the slides. This is what people actually read. Tap Text on the editing screen, type, then drag the text into place. In a photo post, swipe to the next photo and repeat.
2. The title. Photo posts carry a short title above the description, capped at 90 characters in TikTok’s API. Restate the hook here.
3. The description. Add context, keywords people might search for, and a few hashtags.

Put the hook on slide one as text on the image. The description is cut off after the first line or two, but the first slide is seen in full.

Can you make a TikTok slideshow on a computer?

Partly. As of October 2026, TikTok’s help center documents web uploads for video only: click Upload, then Select video to upload. The documented way to post a swipeable photo post is the TikTok app, or the separate TikTok Studio app, whose Upload option takes images or videos.

If you work on a computer, you have three options:

1. Design on the computer, post from your phone. Send the finished slides to your phone and post them through Photo in the app.
2. Upload a video slideshow. Export an MP4 from a video editor and upload it at tiktok.com. It will not be swipeable.
3. Use a scheduling tool connected to TikTok. TikTok’s Content Posting API supports photo posts of up to 35 images. Tools built on it can post directly or send the post to your TikTok inbox to finish in the app.

Some third-party guides say a photo option has appeared in TikTok’s web uploader. TikTok’s help center does not document it yet, so check your own account before you plan around it.

How to post photos on TikTok (and add pictures to a video)

“Posting photos” can mean a few different things:

• One photo. Tap Add post (+), then Photo, then Upload, and select a single picture.
• Several photos people can swipe. Follow the photo mode steps above.
• Pictures inside a video you’re editing. On the editing screen, tap Add + to add photos as clips. Or tap Overlay to place a photo on top of a clip; TikTok allows up to 8 overlay items.
• Words only. Tap Add post (+), then Text, to make a text post with a colored background.

How should a business structure a TikTok slideshow?

Use hook, value, call to action. The hook earns the first swipe, the middle slides pay it off, and the last slide asks for one thing. Here’s a 7-slide example for a budgeting app:

Slide	Job	Example text
1	Hook: a specific promise	“5 money leaks I found in my bank statement”
2	Pay off right away	“Leak 1: three streaming services. I watch one.”
3	Value	“Leak 2: the gym I haven’t visited since March”
4	Value	“Leak 3: delivery fees. $14 a week adds up.”
5	Value	“Leak 4: an annual renewal I forgot existed”
6	Proof or method	“How I spot them in 10 minutes” over an app screenshot
7	Call to action	“Follow for the checklist I use every month”

What makes this work:

• Slide 2 delivers. Do not spend it on another teaser.
• One idea per slide, in about 20 words or fewer.
• The product shows up as the method, on slide 6, not as an ad on slide 1.
• The last slide asks for one action: follow, comment, save, or visit the link in your bio.
• Visuals stay consistent: same font, same text position, similar backgrounds.

That example uses the mistakes listicle format. For other structures, see before-and-after and myth vs fact, or browse 45 slideshow ideas by niche. For first lines, the hooks library has examples sorted by type.

If you already know a slideshow in your niche that works, TokCloner can rebuild its structure for your business. It reads each slide, rewrites the text for your business profile, and makes new backgrounds or uses your own photos. You get 1080 x 1920 PNGs that you post yourself. It handles image posts only, and plans start at $29 a month with no free plan.

TikTok slideshow not working? Fixes for common problems

There’s no Photo option

Update TikTok from the App Store or Google Play, then close and reopen the app. Look for Photo on the camera screen after you tap Add post (+). Some features, such as templates, roll out gradually and are not available to every account.

Your slideshow posted as a video, not swipeable

You probably started from Upload on the camera screen or from a template. Both create a video. Delete the post if needed, start again from Photo, and check that you can swipe between slides on the editing screen before you post.

Your photos don’t show up in the picker

TikTok can only see the photos you allowed. In your phone’s settings, open TikTok’s permissions and give it full access to photos, not limited access. On iPhone, photos stored only in iCloud may need to download to the device first.

The upload is stuck or fails

TikTok’s help center suggests these steps, in order:

1. Switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data.
2. Clear the app’s cache.
3. Restart the app and your phone.
4. Make sure you’re running the latest version of TikTok.

You can’t find the post on your profile

Only public posts appear in your posts tab. Private posts sit behind the Lock icon on your profile. Remember that a new post copies the privacy setting of your previous one.

The song you want isn’t available

Business Accounts can only use commercially licensed music. Search the Commercial Music Library for an alternative, or use your own original audio.

Slides look blurry or cut off

Export at 1080 x 1920, start from full-size images, and avoid screenshots of screenshots. Move text away from the bottom and right edges.

You can’t add more photos

You have hit the 35-photo cap. Split the post into a Part 1 and Part 2, and say so on the last slide.