Create photo mosaics using free software

Andreamosaic is a freeware program that allows you to create photographic mosaics using your own snapshots. In the same way that a photo is made up of individual pixels, a photo mosaic is made up with thumbnail versions (or ‘tiles’) of lots of larger photos ­ - you’ve probably seen the effect in adverts and on posters.To create a photo mosaic you need a collection of images to use as tiles in the mosaic, as well as a final image to form the mosaic. If you don’t have many photographs on your computer, don’t worry, you can also download a free sample image collection to use as tiles. Visit the Adreamosaic website, click on the download link and select the version that is compatible with your computer’s operating system.Understanding ratios Once you’ve installed the program and you click on Start, Programs, then Andreamosaic, there are four different versions of the program. Each version is tailored for photos with different aspect ratios (this is the ratio of the width to the height of the image). Andreamosaic is used for generic, landscape images, and uses a 4:3 ratio.Andreamosaic Cinescope uses a 16:9 ratio for working with images captured from movie frames. Andreamosaic Portrait is used for working with images that are in portrait (vertical) format. This uses a 3:4 ratio. Andreamosaic Square uses a ratio of 1:1 (ie all tiles would have the same width and height).Read on to learn how to create your photo mosaic.Baffled by jargon? See our free online jargon buster