By Sacha JibrilThe specs, in one table
| Recommended dimensions | 1080 x 1920 pixels |
|---|---|
| Recommended ratio | 9:16 (full-screen vertical) |
| Other ratios that work | 3:4 portrait (1080 x 1440), the classic feed photo look; 1:1 square (1080 x 1080) for text-heavy slides |
| Number of photos | up to 35 per post (4 to 8 when you are selling) |
| File types | JPG, PNG or WebP |
| File size | keep each image to a few MB, TikTok compresses on upload anyway |
9:16, 3:4 or square: which one to pick
9:16 (1080 x 1920) takes the whole screen. Pick it when the visual carries the slide: a product in a real setting, a lifestyle shot, a strong close-up. Portrait 3:4 (1080 x 1440) is the classic photo shape, posed and catalog-like, which tends to flatter physical products and leaves the caption its own space instead of letting it sit on your image. Neither is better; the mistake is mixing them inside one carousel. If photo mode itself is new to you, the TikTok slideshow walkthrough covers publishing screen by screen.
Square 1:1 (1080 x 1080) shows with bands above and below, which sounds like a downside and is often the opposite: those bands give a title and a subtitle room to breathe outside the photo, so square is the shape to reach for on infographic slides and product cards. 4:5 uploads fine but buys you nothing over 3:4, and landscape has no business in a selling carousel.
The zones to leave empty
between 15 and 40% of the height
- 1
The bottom quarter: no text
The caption, the sound label and the TikTok Shop product bar all live down there. Anything you write in that band is hidden for most of the time someone spends on your slide.
- 2
The right edge: the icon column
Like, comment, share and the profile picture run down the right side. Leave a margin of at least 8 percent on each side so nothing that matters ends up under a button.
- 3
The sweet spot: the upper third
Put your hook and your key line between 15 and 40 percent of the height. That band stays clear on every phone, notch or no notch.
The failure we see most often isn't a wrong canvas, it's a correct canvas with the hook sitting under the caption bar. Cheap way to catch it: before you export the set, put one slide on your phone, open TikTok next to it and compare where your text lands against where the interface is. Slides generated by Carouscale keep the copy inside that safe zone by default, side margins included.
Export at the right size, do not crop in the app
If your images are the wrong shape, fix them where you made them, not inside TikTok. Cropping at upload throws away pixels and moves your copy without asking, which is how a hook ends up half under the caption bar. Export a fresh set at 1080 by 1920, or 1080 by 1440 if you went portrait, and upload those instead.
One more thing the first slide has to survive: it doubles as the cover of the post on your profile grid, where it is displayed cropped and small. Keep the hook away from the edges and use type large enough to read at thumbnail size, otherwise the post looks empty to anyone browsing your profile.
The mistakes that ruin image quality
- Starting from an image under 1080 pixels wide. TikTok's compression will make it look soft and nothing you do afterwards brings it back.
- Screenshotting photos instead of exporting the originals, which throws away resolution before you even open the app.
- Mixing ratios inside one carousel. Bands appear on the odd slides out and the swipe stops feeling smooth.
- Cropping in a hurry, so the product ends up clipped or glued to an edge. That one reads as amateur in half a second.
With the format settled, what is left is content: the hook, the argument, the call to action. The full method is in the TikTok Shop carousel guide, and if you would rather start from a format that already sold, see how to recreate a TikTok carousel.
Frequently asked questions
- What size should a TikTok carousel be?
- 1080 x 1920 pixels, a 9:16 ratio, which fills the screen with no crop. Portrait 3:4 (1080 x 1440) also displays in full in the feed, and square 1:1 (1080 x 1080) shows with bands above and below. Landscape is the only shape to rule out.
- How many photos can you put in a TikTok carousel?
- TikTok accepts up to 35 photos per post. For selling a product, 4 to 8 is plenty: a hook, a few slides of argument, a call to action. Past ten you are mostly adding swipes between the hook and the part where you ask for the sale.
- Which image formats does TikTok accept?
- JPG, PNG and WebP all upload without trouble. The starting resolution matters more than the extension: at least 1080 pixels wide, or TikTok's compression turns your slide to mush.
- Can you mix vertical and square photos in one carousel?
- Technically yes, in practice no. TikTok locks the display to fit and adds bands around the images that do not match, which breaks the swipe rhythm. Keep one ratio across the whole set.
- Is anything different for TikTok Shop carousels?
- Yes. The product tag adds a tappable bar over the post, at the bottom of the screen. With the caption and the sound label on top of that, the bottom quarter of your image is covered most of the time, so never put anything you need read down there.