When making a post on desktop, you can bulk upload multiple images, creating an image gallery within the post that your patrons can view on both mobile and desktop.
In this guide we’ll walk through the following topics:
- Uploading multiple images to a post
- Reordering your images
- Adding Captions and alt-text to your images
- Finishing touches for your Image gallery
- What your Image gallery will look like
- FAQ
You’ll be sharing Image galleries in no time!
Making a post with an image gallery
While logged into your creator page, select New from the Posts section of your left-hand menu. Then select the post type.
There are two ways that you can add images to an Image gallery: by uploading images directly from your desktop, or by using the Embed image URL link (web links to images). Continue reading below to add images to your Image gallery.
Click the Upload images button, and select as many images as you’d like from your desktop. Your image files must be 512MB or less, but there’s no limit to the number of images you can upload.
You can select multiple image files at once by holding your shift key and selecting individual images, or by dragging your cursor over multiple files. Click Open and your images will begin to upload.
Click the Embed image URL link and paste your image URL. You can embed as many image URLs as you’d like – to add more, just scroll down and click the Embed image URL link again.
You’re not restricted to one type of upload – you can create Image galleries using a combination of uploaded files, and embed image URLs.
Rearranging the order of your Image gallery
With our Image gallery feature, you have control over your narrative. After uploading your images, reorder them by clicking and dragging the images to a new position in the editor.
How do I remove an image?
You can remove images from your post by hovering over the image and clicking the “X” in the upper right corner of the thumbnail. To remove all images from a post, click the Remove all button at the top of your gallery collection.
Adding Captions and alt-text to your images
Captions
Captions are a way to narrate your image. While a picture says a thousand words, a great caption tells your viewer the intent behind an image. Connect on a more personal level with your patrons, by telling them why the image is important to them.
Alt-text
Alt-text is an invisible description of your images. They are read aloud by screen readers so patrons with visual impairments can still consume your content. Alt-text allows you to share images, that are accessible to all of your patrons.
To add both captions and alt-text to images using the Add captions button at the top of your image post editor. Use the On/Off toggle to switch on alt-text.
Click into the Caption, and alt-text fields and type what you’d like. Once you’re happy with your caption, and alt-text, click Save – repeat for each image you want to have a caption or alt-text.
Tip: Keep your alt-text short and sweet. Remember, alt-text will be read by screen readers, so try to use descriptive words that will paint a picture, so to speak, for patrons with visual impairments.
Finishing up your Image gallery post
Once you’ve uploaded your images, and added any captions or alt-text you’d like, scroll down and add your Post title, and any additional text you’d like to include in your post.
Then, on the right-hand side of your post editor, you can choose the following:
- Select who will have access to your post
- Choose whether you’d like to make your post early access (visible to patrons first before it goes public!)
- Add teaser text to your post to tease your social media followers with when you link to your post.
Publishing
If you’re ready to go live, push Publish now. You can also use the drop-down arrow next to this button to Save as draft, or Schedule the post to publish at a later time.
What will my posts look like?
Patrons viewing your image gallery post on Desktop
Patrons will see one main image, with a filmstrip underneath it that patrons can click through. The thumbnails of your images are are squared, and cropped to the max height of the image for a unified look. When patrons click on an image, it will to the un-cropped version in a light box view – patrons can click through your image gallery using the left and right arrows.
Here’s what your post will look like on the Patreon app
Although, you can’t yet post image galleries via the Patreon app at the moment, patrons will be able to view your image gallery posts seamlessly on the app. Patrons can swipe left and right to view through multiple images, or tap on an image to swipe through your images full screen.
Email notification
If patrons have email notifications enabled for your new posts, here’s the email they’ll see alerting them that new content is available:
Note: Patrons will see the main image, with a quick link to view the other images in your gallery. Patrons can use this link once without logging in. If they follow the link again, they’ll need to be logged in to view the content.
FAQ
Q: What is the max # of images you can add to a post?
A: The sky’s the limit! Actually, there is no limit – you can upload, and embed as many images to an Image gallery as you’d like. 
Q: Will captions be added to search?
A: No, captions you add won’t populate in search.
Q: What are the preferred dimensions of an image post?
A: The beauty of image galleries is that it will intellectually size the image for you. No images will be cropped when viewed in full screen. Your image thumbnails will be square, so if you’d like your thumbnails to be entire image, we recommend using a 1:1 (square) ration.
Q: How large can my image files be?
A: Your upload file sizes must be 512 MB, or less per image - and there is no limit to how many images you can upload.
Q: Will my patrons be able to see all of the images in the email notification?
A: No. Patron will be able to view the first image of your set if they opt in to email notifications of your new posts. To view all of the images in a post, patrons will need to click the link to view all images.