Want to make a cool-looking photo collage on your Mac? No problem. You don’t need super-advanced tools like Adobe Photoshop. Many free and easy-to-use apps allow you to make like-worthy collages and share them on social media.
This article provides step-by-step instructions to use FotoJet Collage Maker Lite and serves as a general guide on using the tools for collages. In addition, there’s a section with top free collage apps for Mac. Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
Use FotoJet Collage Maker Lite on Mac
FotoJet Collage Maker Lite by PearlMountain Technologies is a free app to make collages for your Mac. We chose this particular app for the step-by-step guide because of its wide selection of collage templates, including 3D layouts that most collage apps do not offer, including others by PearlMountain Technologies. The simple-to-use navigation leads the way through each step, allowing you to customize the appearance and design. You can make some cool collages, especially with 3D art. Here’s how to use it.
- Install and launch FotoJet Collage Maker Lite.
- Select the template/layout that fits your needs. Choose “Photo Grid,” “Classic,” a creative collage, or something under the “Misc.” category.
- Now that you have the template established, choose your design.
- Use the “Back” button in the top-right section anytime to revert the last menu step, such as adding the template or creating the layout. This button is not the back button for all actions, which is a the bottom.
- Once you have your template and layout established, click on the “Photo” icon to add images to the collage.
- Option 1: Choose the “Monitor” tab to browse your Mac for images or move to the next step for Option 2.
- Option 2: Click on the “Globe” tab to browse Pixabay online for free images.
- Click and drag the desired image onto the template and over the shape where you want to place it, then release the mouse button. To fit the shape, wait for the gray background to appear, then release the mouse button.
- When you have the layout set to your preferences, you can add text, stickers, and patterned backgrounds to the collage. The options here are only limited by your creativity.
- Once you have your collage completed, click on the “Save” icon (diskette) at the top to save your collage image.
When selecting a FotoJetCollage Maker Lite template, the grid usually allows several photos of the same size. The classic one features different image sizes, and the 3D one offers dimensional shapes like the one in the images above.
If an image is not showing where the gray background appeared, you may need to try a different picture. The yellow sports car above was troublesome, and we had to exit the app and relaunch it to get it to work. Other times, we had to click other images or shapes (single click, double click, etc.) and then slide the image over it again.
Other layouts may work seamlessly, as we tried drag-and-drop on a multi-block 3D design without any trouble.
Some templates may be a little buggy. You can always try the undo button at the bottom for reverting last actions, and don’t forget that the “Back” icon at the top is for menu steps (template step, layout step, images step, etc., and not every user action.
You can also delete the “FotoJet” watermark if desired by selecting it and pressing “Delete.”
If you don’t like the app, try the FotoJet Online Collage Maker.
For sharing and online purposes, both JPEG and PNG work great. If you want to print the collage, it might be best to go for TIFF (if available) because it’s the industry standard for bitmapped and raster images.
Other Photo Collage Apps for Mac
The apps listed here are free (premium versions are available) and have average user ratings above four stars. In addition, the UI of these apps is intuitive and straightforward to use, which makes the design process more manageable.
Picture Collage Maker Lite
Picture Collage Maker Lite is a free app that features more than 40 templates and many other art resources. Aside from cool collages, you can create scrapbook pages, posters, photo albums, and more.
The simple and easy-to-use interface is what makes this app stand out. The imported photos are on the menu on the left, and you can access art tools from the menu on the right. You can also add photo filters and effects to make your images stand out even more.
Collagelt 3 Free
Like other apps, Collagelt 3 Free provides various tools, filters, and effects to embellish your designs. But what are the features that make it stand out?
This app has four different collage styles, with the pile style being the true highlight. It allows you to stack several images, randomly creating an interesting free-form collage. In addition, you get all formats, including TIFF, BMP, JPEG, PNG, and GIF, plus you can save the file in PDF.
There are also options to share the collage via email, AirDrop, or iMessage and set it as your desktop wallpaper.
Photoscape X
Photoscape X is a free-to-download photo editing software available in the App Store for Macs and the Microsoft Store for PCs. Not only do you have the option to create a collage, but you can also perform a lot of detailed editing too.
While you do have the option to pay for the pro version, the free option of this desktop app is spectacular because it not only gives you a choice to make collages and edits, but you can also create GIFs!
In closing, it’s easy to get carried away with all the available tools for photo collages and spend hours perfecting a single collage. But that’s where all the fun is.
Remember that most apps come with an auto feature that lets you expedite the process and have the collage ready in no time. So which one is your favorite? Share your thought in the comments section below.