How to make a GIF from photos
A GIF made from photos is just a stack of still images shown in order. It is the same idea as a hand-drawn animation, except the frames start as pictures instead of blank canvases. This works well for stop-motion, a burst of action shots, or a set of drawings you have photographed or scanned.
1. Gather and order your images first
Decide the sequence before you start. Rename the files 01, 02, 03 and so on, or at least know the order you want them in, because photos imported together go in by file name. Between eight and thirty images is a comfortable range for a short loop; you can always drop some later.
For stop-motion, shots taken from a fixed position (a phone propped against something, moving the subject a little between each) give by far the smoothest result. Handheld bursts work too but expect the frame to jump around.
2. Set the canvas to match your photos
Open Canvas size (in the sidebar, or behind the menu button on a phone) and pick the shape closest to your images: 4:3 for most phone photos taken sideways, 9:16 for upright ones, 16:9 for widescreen, square for anything you plan to crop. If none fit, type your own width and height in the boxes under the list and press Set. Getting the shape right now saves fighting with letterboxing later.
Keep the size modest. 640 × 480 is plenty for a GIF, and photographic frames get heavy fast. See making a GIF file smaller for why.
3. Import all the photos at once
Press Import and pick every photo you want in one go (hold Ctrl or ⌘ to pick several on a computer, or tap each one on a phone). Each photo lands on its own frame, fitted to the canvas, in file-name order, and shows for 1 second (the frame rate is set to 1 fps). For quick motion instead, press Play fast in the message that appears, or drag the fps slider up.
Nothing is uploaded. The photos are read and processed in the browser tab, the same as everything else in the studio.
4. Or place photos one at a time
Pick a single photo with Import, or paste one with Ctrl/⌘+V, and it drops onto the current frame as a floating selection you can drag, scale from the corners and rotate. Apply it to lock it in, then add a blank frame for the next photo. A blank frame rather than a copied one keeps each picture on its own with nothing bleeding through.
If the framing shifts between shots, use Ghost frames (on by default, beside the frame buttons). The previous photo shows through faintly while you position the new one, so you can line up a horizon, a table edge or a character and keep the animation from lurching.
5. Set the timing
Frame rate decides how fast the photos advance. For motion, like a person waving or an object being built up, 8 to 12 frames per second looks natural. For a slideshow feel where each image should be read, drop to 1 or 2 frames per second.
Each frame card in the strip says how long it shows, such as "Shows 2 seconds". To give one photo more time, like an opening shot or a punchline, type a bigger number in the × box on that card instead of copying the frame. 2 shows it twice as long.
6. Tidy up and export
Delete any frames that do not earn their place, trim dead air from the start and end, and check the loop by playing it a few times. Then export as an animated GIF.
Because the frames are photographic, the GIF may be large. If it is heavier than you want, a smaller canvas and fewer frames are the fastest fixes, or export as MP4 instead of GIF where the destination accepts video. You can also draw directly on any frame to add a caption, circle something or paint out a distraction before exporting.