How to Make a Cool Facebook Photo Stream

At the top of every Facebook profile are a series of five photos. You can use these five photos in conjunction with your Facebook profile picture to create a cool photo stream effect. To do this select any picture you would like to use as the photo stream, then cut it into six pieces. The first piece, on the left, will be your profile picture. The remaining five pieces will be arranged in order to create the stream. You can use a picture of yourself staring across a landscape, or any other image you like.

Instructions

Cropping Your Photos

1. Select any single photo you want to use for the photo stream. This should be a medium to large size image. Keep in mind that you will be taking your photo stream images from the left side and top of this photo.

2. Open the photo in any image editing software like GIMP, Paint.NET, Photoshop, etc., that allows you to crop and cut images. Activate the rulers if they are not visible, using pixels as the unit of measurement.

3. Use the selection tool to select the left side of the image, 180 pixels wide and 540 pixels high. This will be your profile image. Cut this selection. You can cut by pressing "Ctrl-V" in most programs.

4. Open a new image that is 180 pixels wide and 540 pixels high. Paste your selected profile into the blank image. Do this by pressing "Ctrl-V" in most programs. Save this file as "stream-profile.jpg." Close this image file.

5. Place your selection tool on the right side of the cut you made in step three. Move the selection tool 21 pixels to the right of the cut mark and 39 pixels down from the top of the image. This gap is to allow for the border beside the profile picture on Facebook, and for your name which is above the photo stream.

6. Drag the selection tool to create a rectangle 97 pixels wide by 68 pixels high. Cut this selection.

7. Open a new image file that is 97 pixels wide by 68 pixels high. Paste the selection into this image. Save the image as "stream-5.jpg." Close this image.

8. Cut another selection from the first image that is the same size as the last section, beginning 3 pixels to the left of the last cut. This is to allow for the border between images in the photo stream. Cut this selection and save it in a new image file named "stream-4.jpg."

9. Repeat step eight to create three more images named "stream-3.jpg," "stream-2.jpg," and "stream-1.jpg."

Placing the Photos on Your Profile

1. Open a new Web browser window and log in to Facebook. Click the "Photo" link above your news feed on your Facebook home page. Select "Upload a Photo." Click the "Browse" button and upload your "stream-profile.jpg." image.

2. Select "Make Profile Picture" at the bottom of the image. You can tag this image, but it is not necessary. Do not crop the image.

3. Upload "stream-1.jpg." Click "Tag this Photo." Begin typing your name in the text field and click on your name as soon as it appears.

4. Upload each of the remaining four images in order, tagging them in order. They will appear in the photo stream. Each new image pushes the earlier images you've been tagged in to the right.

5. Click the "Profile" link at the top of your home page to see your new cool Facebook photo stream.

References

• Mashable; 10 Creative Uses of the New Facebook Profile [PICS]; Amy-Mae Elliot; December 2010
• Facebook Help Center: How Do I Tag Friends and Pages in Photos?