Anniversary Photo Collage Maker
The strongest anniversary collage is almost always a "then and now" — an old photograph next to a recent one. The problem is technical: the old photo is usually a low-resolution scan or a phone photo of a print, and the new one is a sharp 12-megapixel shot. Put them side by side untouched and the old one looks broken.
The fix is to make them meet in the middle. Apply the Fade or Vintage preset to the new photo so it loses a little contrast and saturation, and raise contrast slightly on the old one. The Anniversary template uses a magazine layout — one large photo above a row of smaller ones — which suits that pairing.
The other format worth considering is a simple two-photo side by side on a landscape canvas. With exactly two photographs, any grid is doing unnecessary work, and the direct comparison is the whole point.
Open this template in the editor
Recommended canvas size
1080 × 1350 px (4:5 portrait)
Portrait gives the hero photo real height. If you are making a side-by-side then-and-now with exactly two photos, switch to the Side by Side style on a landscape canvas instead.
How to make it
- Upload old and new photos together Three to six. Put the strongest recent photo first — it lands in the hero slot.
- Apply the Anniversary template Celebrations tab, then Anniversary.
- Match the two eras Select the newer photos and apply Fade or Vintage. Select the old scan and nudge Contrast up. They should look like they belong in the same frame.
- Add the years A small text layer with "1998" and "2026" under the relevant photos does more than a long caption.
- Export Ultra HD PNG, or 300 DPI PDF for a framed print.
Tips that actually change the result
- Scanned photos often have a colour cast — usually yellow or magenta. Nudge Saturation down slightly before anything else.
- Crop old photos tighter. Scans usually include a white border and a bit of the scanner bed.
- A thin white polaroid border on every photo hides the resolution difference surprisingly well.
What usually goes wrong
The largest cell is the least forgiving of low resolution. Give the hero to the sharp modern photo and let the scan sit smaller.
An untouched 1998 scan beside a 2026 phone photo looks like a mistake rather than a deliberate pairing. Fade the new one, add contrast to the old one.
Scans usually include a white margin and a strip of the scanner bed. Crop them out before the layout runs.
Two dates do more than two sentences. The photographs are carrying the story.
Questions
How do I make a "then and now" collage?
Use the Side by Side style on a landscape canvas for exactly two photos, or the Anniversary template for more. The important part is colour-matching: apply Fade to the new photo and raise contrast on the old one so they do not look like they came from different decades.
My old photo is blurry when enlarged. What can I do?
Put it in a smaller cell. A low-resolution photo looks fine at 400 px and obviously soft at 1000 px. The magazine layout gives you small cells for exactly this.
Can I use photos of printed photographs?
Yes. Photograph the print in even daylight, avoid flash, then use Crop to remove the edges and the surface it was lying on.