Circle photo collage, a ring of photographs with the middle left open

A circle photo collage, arranged as a ring with the centre left as bare paper rather than as a filled disc. That is the first thing to be clear about, because it is the one thing people get wrong from a thumbnail: there is a hole in the middle, it is about a third of the width across, and no photograph goes in it. What you get is a band of pictures running the whole way round. The band is the same thickness the whole way round - barely more than one photograph across at the floor, three at fifty-five and seven at the top of the range - and that is what makes the arrangement read as a ring rather than as a scatter. What it does not buy is unusually even photographs. Measured across every count from twenty to two hundred and fifty, the smallest tenth of pictures here averages nine-tenths of the typical one, which is a shade behind the heart and the star rather than ahead of them. Pick it for the hole in the middle and for the band, not for picture sizes. Two lines of editable text sit underneath in Canva.

See how it works in Canva: watch the how-to video.

How many photos fit

Every figure comes from the layout engine rather than a rule of thumb. The suggested count is where each photograph prints about two inches on each edge - large enough to make out a face across a room. Because this collage is cut to an outline rather than filling the sheet, that is far fewer photographs than a plain grid of the same size takes. The minimum is 9 photos; below that, parts of the outline can be left without a photo.

Questions

How many photos does a circle photo collage need?

Any number in the range on this page. Shape is not the deciding factor on this one at all: the photographs are masked to the outline, so the ring is a ring at fifty-five and a ring at two hundred and fifty, and the band is the same thickness the whole way round in both. What the count changes is how big each picture prints, and a little of how even they are - at the floor the band is barely more than one photograph across, at fifty-five it is three and they sit in tidy rows, and at the top of the range it is seven and the surface gets busier. Pick the low end if you want faces readable from the sofa, the high end if you want something people come close to.

Why is the middle empty?

Because it is the shape, and because the hole is doing work. A filled circle of photographs is a square collage with the corners trimmed and it reads as one. The open centre is what makes this a ring, and a ring behaves differently on a wall: it frames whatever you hang it over or around - a clock, a mirror, a doorway, a name in vinyl letters - and it reads as a wreath over a mantel. People also mount one over a single enlarged photograph, which is the version worth considering if you have one picture that matters more than the rest.

Can I put something in the hole myself?

In Canva, yes, and it is a sensible thing to want. The hole is empty space in the template rather than a locked object, so you can drop a photograph, a monogram, a date or a short line of type straight into it. Keep whatever you put there well inside the opening: the inner edge of the ring is made of rectangles, so it is a stepped circle rather than a smooth one, and anything that crowds it will look like it is colliding rather than sitting inside.

Does it print square?

Yes, exactly square - this is the only outline in the shop that measures the same across as it does down, which makes sense for a ring. A square sheet wastes no paper on it at all, and square frames are easy to buy. If you intend to frame it, leave a generous mat: a ring sitting tight inside a frame edge reads as cramped in a way a figure or an animal does not.

How is this different from the heart or the star?

In how much of the paper each one covers, which is what decides how large the photographs print. All three are plain geometric outlines rather than drawings of a creature, all three hold their shape at any count, and all three take any photographs at all - so none is harder to use than the others. What differs is area. The ring covers about two-thirds of its square and the heart about three-fifths, so at the same count their pictures come out a similar size. A star covers barely more than a third, so the same number of photographs inside one prints about two-thirds as wide. If you are choosing on looks, choose on looks. If you have a fixed set of pictures and want them as large as possible, this one and the heart leave the most room.

What do I receive?

A Canva template with the ring already built and every cell positioned, opening in a free Canva account. You add your photographs, keep or delete the two lines of text, and export at whatever size you are printing. Nothing is printed or posted by us. The template stays in your account, so it can be refilled with different pictures later without buying anything again.

More collages like this

• All photo collage shapes
• Heart photo collage
• Star photo collage