How to Make a Slideshow on TikTok (Up to 35 Photos)
Here’s how to make a slideshow on TikTok: tap Add post +, choose Photo, tap Upload and select up to 35 photos, then tap Next to add a sound, text or stickers before you post. Viewers swipe through the result at their own pace. TikTok’s Help Center doesn’t use the word slideshow, though; it calls this a photo post.
A second route, the effect template, drops your photos into a ready-made edit instead. Both are below with TikTok’s own steps and limits, followed by alt text and the question of posting from a computer. For the rest of the app, start with our guide to using TikTok.
Table of Contents
- How to make a slideshow on TikTok (photo mode steps)
- How many pictures can you put in a TikTok slideshow?
- How do you add music and text to a TikTok slideshow?
- How do you make a slideshow with a TikTok template?
- How do you add alt text to slideshow photos?
- Can you post a slideshow on TikTok from a PC?
- TikTok slideshow FAQ
How to make a slideshow on TikTok (photo mode steps)
Make a photo post in the TikTok app. TikTok publishes one set of app steps for it, the same on iPhone and Android:
In the app:
- In the TikTok app, tap the Add post + button at the bottom.
- Tap Photo, then tap Upload to select photos from your device. You can add up to 35 photos.
- Tap Next. Swipe to switch photos and make edits. You can add a filter, sound, text, stickers, or crop your photos.
- Tap Your Story to post to your Stories or Next again to make additional edits, including: Edit cover, Add description, Add hashtags, Tag people, Add a location, Add link.
- Tap Post to publish your post, or tap Drafts to save it. Your drafts are visible only to you on your profile.
Checked against TikTok Help Center: Making a post.
Step 4 is where the routes split. Your Story sends the photos to your Stories, while Next opens the post screen, where you can edit the cover, add a description and hashtags, tag people, and add a location or a link.
The format itself is Photo Mode, which TikTok announced on 6 October 2022: carousel posts of still images that display one after another automatically, with music if you add it, which viewers can swipe through at their own pace. Checked against TikTok Newsroom: Inspiring creativity with our new editing tools (6 October 2022)
Before you tap Post, check who can view it: TikTok says a new post keeps your previous post’s privacy setting. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Making a post Depending on your age and location, post privacy may also default to Only you. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Post privacy settings
Not ready to post? Step 5’s Drafts button keeps the slideshow on your profile, visible only to you. Don’t treat a draft as a backup, though: TikTok says drafts may be removed if TikTok is uninstalled and reinstalled or the account moves to another device, and they can’t be shared or transferred between accounts. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Editing, posting, and deleting
Using AI images? TikTok requires creators to label AI-generated or significantly edited content that shows realistic-looking scenes or people, and says unlabeled content may be removed, restricted or labeled by its team. Checked against TikTok Community Guidelines: Integrity and Authenticity (released 25 August 2026, effective 24 September 2026)
A finished photo post can also be promoted like a video: TikTok says “Promote is available for all short/long video and photo-mode content”, though not for Stories. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Use Promote to grow your TikTok audience Our TikTok Promote guide covers who can use it.
How many pictures can you put in a TikTok slideshow?
Up to 35 photos per post. TikTok’s editor works to the same ceiling, up to 35 photos and videos in one editing session, and adds two more limits: up to 8 overlay items and one sound per post. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Editing TikTok videos and photos
| Slideshow limit | TikTok’s number | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Photos in one photo post | Up to 35 | Checked against TikTok Help Center: Making a post |
| Photos and videos in one editing session | Up to 35 | Checked against TikTok Help Center: Editing TikTok videos and photos |
| Overlay items | Up to 8 | Checked against TikTok Help Center: Editing TikTok videos and photos |
| Sounds per post | 1 | Checked against TikTok Help Center: Editing TikTok videos and photos |
| Alt text per photo | Up to 300 characters | Checked against TikTok Help Center: Accessibility for your videos |
| Photo shape | No requirement in TikTok’s Help Center; the usual vertical shape is 9:16 (widely reported) | Our TikTok video size guide |
If you reuse the same photos on other networks, the social media image sizes cheat sheet has each one’s dimensions.
How do you add music and text to a TikTok slideshow?
Both are added in the photo editor: after choosing your photos, tap Next, swipe between them and add a sound, text, stickers or a filter, or crop. The sound covers the whole post, because TikTok allows one sound per post.
For the sound, TikTok’s Sounds help describes the picker: tap a sound to preview it, choose one from the For You, Favorites or Recent tab or search, and use the Favorites button to save a sound for later. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Sounds To choose where the song starts, trim it:
In the app:
- Select a sound to add to your post.
- Tap the Trim button next to the sound you selected.
- Drag the slider to set the starting point of the sound.
- Tap the Confirm button ✓.
Checked against TikTok Help Center: Sounds.
A Business Account has a narrower choice: TikTok says it can’t use music that isn’t licensed for commercial use. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Sounds Our guide to TikTok sounds covers finding and saving them.
For text, TikTok’s editing help gives the steps below. They’re written for TikTok’s editing screen in general, not for photo posts specifically:
In the app:
- From the editing screen, tap Text at the bottom.
- Enter the text you'd like to add.
- Tap the Continue ✓ button. To arrange the text, hold the text below the video track and move it. To change the duration of the text, hold and drag the arrow on either side to make it shorter or longer. To edit the text, tap the text on the preview screen to edit it, or tap Edit at the bottom.
- Tap the text sticker or the text below the video track and tap Copy to duplicate the text.
Checked against TikTok Help Center: Editing TikTok videos and photos.
How do you make a slideshow with a TikTok template?
Use an effect template, which drops your photos or videos into a ready-made edit. Two limits come first: TikTok says the feature isn’t available to everyone, and Business Accounts can only use templates made with commercially licensed music. If templates show up for you, these are TikTok’s steps:
In the app:
- In the TikTok app, tap the Add post + button at the bottom.
- Tap Create at the bottom.
- Select or search for a template.
- Tap Try this template at the bottom.
- Select photos or videos to add to the template.
- Follow the steps to complete template edits.
Checked against TikTok Help Center: Editing TikTok videos and photos.
The trade-off is control. A template hands you someone else’s edit, while a photo post leaves each photo’s edits to you.
How do you add alt text to slideshow photos?
Each photo can carry its own description of up to 300 characters, added before you post or afterwards. Alt text describes a photo for people who can’t see it, so say what’s in the picture rather than repeating your caption. TikTok gives two routes:
In the app: Before you post:
- In the TikTok app, upload or create a photo and tap Next.
- On the post screen, tap More options.
- Tap Add alternative text.
- Enter alt text next to the photo(s) you want to add context to.
- Tap Done at the top.
In the app: On a photo you've already posted:
- In the TikTok app, go to the photo you want to add alt text to.
- Tap the More options … button on the side.
- Tap Edit post at the bottom.
- Tap Add alternative text and enter alt text next to the photo(s) you want to add context to.
- Tap Done.
Checked against TikTok Help Center: Accessibility for your videos.
Can you post a slideshow on TikTok from a PC?
TikTok’s Help Center doesn’t document it. Its computer steps cover selecting a video file, TikTok Studio’s web requirements cover MP4 or WebM video, and its photo-post steps are for the TikTok app. Checked against TikTok Help Center: Tools for creators (TikTok Studio) and Making a post (searched)Not verified
Two routes stay inside what TikTok documents: make the photo post in the app, or turn your slideshow into an MP4 or WebM video in an editor and upload that from your computer. The second posts as a video, not as swipeable photos. The computer steps are in our guide to posting on TikTok from a PC or Mac.
Scheduling a photo post from your computer with a tool instead?
Plan a TikTok photo post in Outfeed AI
TikTok slideshow FAQ
Why can’t I make a slideshow on TikTok?
It depends on which kind you’re after. A photo post starts in the TikTok app from Add post +, then Photo, then Upload, and TikTok’s Help Center gives no steps for making one on a computer. If it’s a template you can’t find, TikTok says effect templates aren’t available to everyone, and Business Accounts can only use templates made with commercially licensed music.
Will my TikTok slideshow be private?
Only if your last post was, or if your age and location set a default. TikTok says a new post keeps your previous post’s privacy setting, so a post made after an Only you post starts as Only you too. Depending on age and location, TikTok may also default posts to Only you, so check who can view the post before you publish it.
What’s the difference between photo mode and a template slideshow?
A photo post, which TikTok introduced as Photo Mode in October 2022, shows still images one after another, with music if you add it, and viewers can swipe through at their own pace. An effect template drops your photos or videos into a ready-made edit instead, and TikTok says templates aren’t available to everyone.
Can each photo in a TikTok slideshow have its own song?
No. TikTok’s editor allows one sound per post, so one sound plays across the whole photo post. Text, stickers and filters are added in the same editor, where TikTok’s photo-post steps have you swipe to switch photos and make edits.
How do you make a swipeable slideshow on TikTok?
Make it as a photo post rather than a video. TikTok’s photo posts show still images one after another automatically, and viewers can swipe through them at their own pace. A slideshow you export as a video file and upload is posted as a regular video instead.