diff --git a/src/components/messageStream/utils/albumLayout.ts b/src/components/messageStream/utils/albumLayout.ts
index 2ea0488..6d61849 100644
--- a/src/components/messageStream/utils/albumLayout.ts
+++ b/src/components/messageStream/utils/albumLayout.ts
@@ -34,8 +34,13 @@ export type AlbumLayout = {
  * Keep ratios within a sane range so one extreme image can't make the whole
  * mosaic absurdly tall or flat. Beyond this the cell crops (object-cover).
  */
-function clampRatio(ratio: number | undefined): number {
+function safeRatio(ratio: number | undefined): number {
   if (!ratio || !Number.isFinite(ratio) || ratio <= 0) return 1;
+  return ratio;
+}
+
+/** Bound a ratio so one extreme image can't make a multi-image mosaic ugly. */
+function clampRatio(ratio: number): number {
   return Math.min(2, Math.max(0.55, ratio));
 }
 
@@ -116,8 +121,11 @@ function layoutPrimaryPlusLine(ratios: number[]): AlbumLayout {
 export function computeAlbumLayout(
   rawRatios: (number | undefined)[],
 ): AlbumLayout | null {
-  const ratios = rawRatios.map(clampRatio);
+  const ratios = rawRatios.map(safeRatio);
   if (ratios.length < 2) return null;
+  // Two images keep their true ratios so each cell matches its image exactly
+  // (object-cover then fits with no cropping). 3+ are clamped to keep the
+  // mosaic tidy.
   if (ratios.length === 2) return layoutTwo(ratios);
-  return layoutPrimaryPlusLine(ratios);
+  return layoutPrimaryPlusLine(ratios.map(clampRatio));
 }