TikTok Isn’t Just A Video App — You Can Post Pictures, Too

TikTok became the social media platform of choice for younger demographics because of its focus on short, compelling videos and an interface that makes it so easy to create them.

It’s not only for videos, though; you can also post pictures on the app. And over the years, it’s become easier and easier for TikTok users to post them in ways that are far from boring.

Let’s take a look at the options.

How to Post a Single Photo to TikTok

This won’t be the type of TikTok content that will grab most people’s attention, since users are accustomed to seeing flashy, fast-moving, compelling TikTok videos when they scroll their feeds.

Even so, you may have taken the perfect shot in a field of butterflies, you might want to share a photo of your one-year-old’s birthday with your TikTok followers, or you could have taken the definitive photo of a meteor shower that’s too good to keep to yourself.

It’s simple to upload a picture to TikTok, whatever the reason.

1. Open the “Create” screen by clicking on the “+” sign on your home screen.
2. Make sure the slider above the white “Record” button is set to “Photo.”
3. Tap the “Record” button to take your picture, or upload it from your camera reel by tapping the icon to the right of the “Record” button and choosing the picture you want to post.
4. Click the red checkmark (if you’ve taken the picture with your phone) or the “Next” button (if you’ve uploaded it) to advance to the “Post” screen.
5. Add a description and select other options for your TikTok post, and tap “Post.” Your picture has been uploaded.

How to Post Multiple Pictures to TikTok

The app provides two ways to make a photo carousel more interesting for viewers, and they both use TikTok’s Photo Mode. You start the same way that you would if you were going to upload a single picture.

1. Open the “Create” screen by clicking on the “+” sign on your home screen.
2. Make sure the slider above the white “Record” button is set to “Photo.”
3. Tap the icon to the right of the “Record” button to see a display of all the photos on your camera reel.
4. Make sure “Select multiple” is checked at the bottom right of the screen.
5. Tap on the circle in the top right corner of each picture you want to include in your carousel. You can choose as many as 35 photos.
6. When you’re done with the selection process, you have two options.
   – Click the “Next” button for TikTok to create a slide show of your pictures. The app will add music to go with the show; you can change it by tapping on the song title at the top of the page and choosing a different sound.
   – Click the “AutoCut” button for TikTok to create a more compelling carousel, complete with all sorts of video effects. If you don’t like the final product, you can choose and preview a different template from the icons at the bottom of the screen. You can change the music as well.
7. Since either option essentially creates a TikTok video, all of the video editing options are available from the right-hand menu that’s displayed during the preview you see.
8. When you’re satisfied, tap “Next,” add a description and any posting details, and then click “Post.” Your carousel is now live on TikTok.

How to Add Photos to a TikTok Video

You have two options here as well.

1. To “overlay” a photo on your video, record your video and move on to the “Edit” screen. Tap the “Stickers” icon (it looks like a stylized face) and then click the “Upload” icon (a landscape with a “+” sign) in the middle of the screen.
   Choose the photo you want to include from your camera reel, tap the button at the bottom if you want to remove the photo’s background, and click “OK.” You’ll see the photo “on top” of your video and you can move it to any position you’d like.
2. To insert a picture into your video, record the video and when you’re done, tap the “Record” button again to stop it. Click the “Effects” icon (usually, a photo) to the left of the “Record” button. When the popup window appears, scroll the top menu to “Photo Editing.” Choose the effect you’d like to use with your picture, and a row of photos from your camera reel will appear above the menu. Pick the picture to use, tap the checkmark, and you’re done.

There are multiple ways to spice up your TikTok posts with photos. Why not try them all and see which one you like best?