Make & keep
How to design a four-frame photo strip
Work out the slots, gaps and caption area before decorating the paper.
Four photographs feel like one object when their layout has a consistent rhythm. Start with the dimensions of the strip, then reserve borders and a caption area. The photographs should fit that plan; squeezing them around a finished decoration usually makes faces smaller than expected.
Choose a free photo booth template and add your pictures
Open the print room
The Flashroom print room now contains 4,000 original design presets across 20 occasions, 20 illustrated borders and 10 arrangements. Choose a template, add JPEG, PNG or WebP pictures in your browser, and download a composed PNG. Each design also includes a blank SVG. The web presets are separate from the eight designs inside the mobile app.
Calculate the available space
Suppose a strip is 600×1800 pixels. Reserve 30 pixels at each side, 40 above and 80 below. Each photograph can then be 540 pixels wide. With three gaps of 20 pixels, the remaining 1620 pixels divide into four slots 405 pixels high. This is one worked example, not a standard required by every booth.
The slot ratio in that example is 4:3. A photograph with another ratio needs cropping or borders. Decide which before placing a face near the edge.
Crop each frame independently
A group can change position between exposures, so one crop applied blindly to all four frames may cut off a face. Centre the important subject in each slot and preserve comparable head size. When a gesture needs extra room, choose a different take or a more generous layout instead of compressing the image.
Keep decorations outside the story
Use one quiet caption, a narrow border or a small repeated colour to connect the frames. Large words between every photograph interrupt the sequence. On a paired print sheet, check that every essential element stays inside its own strip and away from the centre cut.
Read the strip from top to bottom
Put the establishing expression first, then a change, a response and a finish. You can reverse an accidental order if you are assembling existing photographs, but preserve the original captures separately. Print a proof and look at it from an ordinary viewing distance. If a face or caption needs close inspection, enlarge that element rather than adding more visual effects.
The templates page provides blank arrangements; the dimension guide helps you adapt this calculation to a different final size.