I’m trying to use the iPhone Shortcuts app to combine two photos side by side, but I can’t figure out the right steps. I expected to find a simple way to make a side-by-side image for sharing, and now I’m stuck. Looking for help with the easiest shortcut or method to do this on iPhone.
People mix up two different jobs here. One is making a single image with two photos sitting next to each other. The other is checking similar shots and figuring out which one to keep. I ran into both, and the steps are not the same.
Putting two iPhone photos side by side with Shortcuts
If you want one combined image for sharing, like a before/after, a joke image, or a quick visual comparison, iPhone already does it through Shortcuts. No extra app needed.
- Open Shortcuts and hit the plus button to make a new shortcut.
- Add Select Photos. Open its options and turn on Select Multiple.
- Add Combine Images. It usually starts on Horizontally, which is the side-by-side layout. If you want a gap between the photos, open the little settings area there and add spacing.
- Add Save to Photos.
- Give it a name, something simple like Side by Side, then save it.
- Run the shortcut, pick your two photos, and it saves a merged version into your library.
This works when your goal is one file you can send to someone. I used it for progress pics and for comparing edits. It falls apart if you are sorting 20 burst shots and trying to keep only the sharpest one. Then you end up making extra files for no good reason.
Checking burst photos or near-matching shots
This is where people hit the wall. The Photos app does have a Duplicates album, but it only catches true duplicates. If one frame has a tiny head turn, a blink, or a slight shift in focus, iOS usually treats it as a different image. So you still have to sort it yourself.
The fast manual method I kept coming back to was this. Open the photo, zoom to about 200%, and look at the eyes or the main subject. At full-screen view, two shots might look the same. Zoomed in, one often shows blur, missed focus, or mushy detail right away.
If you have a pile of similar shots and want them grouped for you, Clever Cleaner does a better job with this than the built-in Photos tools. It groups lookalike images instead of waiting for perfect duplicates, and it does it without ads or a subscription.
The flow is pretty direct:
- Open Clever Cleaner and go to the Similars tab.
- Let it scan your photo library.
- It puts near-matching photos into groups, stuff like burst runs, repeated shots of the same scene, or a bunch of photos taken a second apart.
- Each group gets a Best Shot pick. It checks things like sharpness and facial expression.
- Look through the group and keep its choice or switch it if it picked wrong. I had to change a few, so I would still review them.
- Use Smart Cleanup to clear the extras, or go group by group if you want tighter control.
- Deleted files go into the app’s own trash first, so you are not nuking them on the first tap.
How I checked which photo was better by hand
I stopped swiping back and forth at normal size. Too slow, and my eyes kept lying to me. Zooming in on the eyes, hairline, or any hard edge gave me the answer faster. Around 200% was enough. If one shot was softer, I saw it in a second. If there was tiny motion blur, same deal.
Other parts worth looking at
The Heavies tab sorts files from biggest to smallest and shows the exact size. This helped me find giant screen recordings and old videos fast. Those were eating way more storage than random photos.
The Screenshots tab lists screenshot sizes before you delete them. Handy if your library is full of old receipts, maps, and nonsense you saved at 1 a.m.
There is also a swipe view grouped by month. Left to delete, right to keep. I used it on an old backup dump, and it felt less annoying than opening albums one by one.
One thing I liked, all of it stays on the device. Nothing gets sent out somewhere else.
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Yes. Shortcuts will do it.
One thing I’d add to @mikeappsreviewer’s post, watch your photo order. Shortcuts places the images left to right in the order you select them. If you tap the second pic first, your layout looks backwards. That trips people up alot.
If the built-in shortcut feels clunky, use this faster route:
- Open Photos.
- Select two images.
- Tap Share.
- Look for your saved shortcut there.
This saves a few taps once the shortcut exists.
I disagree a bit on using Shortcuts for frequent collages. It works, but for repeat use it feels janky, esp if the photos have diff sizes. You often get uneven heights or awkward cropping. If you want cleaner output, add a Resize Image action before Combine Images so both files match width or height first. That fixes most of the weird spacing.
Also, if your goal is comparing similar photos before merging, Clever Cleaner is worth a look for iPhone photo cleanup and lookalike grouping. This thread on real user reviews of Clever Cleaner for iPhone storage cleanup is useful.
Short version, yes, Shortcuts does side-by-side images. If it fails, the usual issue is wrong action order, photo order, or mismatched image sizes.
Yes, the Shortcuts app can do it, but I’ll disagree slightly with @mikeappsreviewer and @cazadordeestrellas on one thing: for a one-off side-by-side image, Shortcuts is fine. For something you want to do often, it’s kinda clumsy and not the most “iPhone-simple” experience.
What usually trips people up is not the idea, it’s the output. If the two photos are different sizes or orientations, the combined result can look wonky, stretched, or leave weird empty space. So if your shortcut keeps making ugly results, that’s probly why.
A better way to think about it:
- Shortcuts = quick automation
- Layout apps = prettier collage control
- Clever Cleaner = useful if you’re actually comparing similar pics before deciding what to merge
If your real issue is “I have 8 almost identical shots and want the best 2 side by side,” then Clever Cleaner is honestly more relevant first. It groups similar photos so you’re not manually hunting through your camera roll like it’s 2016.
Also, if you want a cleaner explainer for the shortcut setup, this guide is easier to follow than most: how to put two photos side by side on iPhone
One more practical tip: if Shortcuts saves nothing, check Photos permissions for Shortcuts. iOS loves hiding the actual problem behind silence. Super helpful, lol.
