How to Post Different Size Photos on Instagram
How to Post Different Size Photos on Instagram
Adding multiple photos or videos to a single post wasn’t an option in Instagram’s early days. The platform introduced the carousel feature in 2017, which has grown in popularity since then. Today, the vast majority of content creators rely on this feature to increase the engagement and reach of their posts.
However, the feature isn’t without fault, as you cannot add photos with different aspect ratios to an Instagram carousel. This means that you cannot combine photos with 1:1 square and 4:5 vertical aspect ratios within the same carousel.
The platform forces you to separate your portrait and landscape images into different carousels, which can be inconvenient for several reasons. Fortunately, there’s an easy workaround that enables you to fix this issue and include images or videos with different aspect ratios to an Instagram carousel. So, let’s see how to post photos in different sizes on Instagram.
Further Reading: How to Post Longer Videos on Instagram >
Why Size Matters When Posting Photos on Instagram?
It’s important to make a distinction between a picture’s size and its aspect ratio if you want to share photos or videos on Instagram or any other social media network.
The term size refers to the maximum number of pixels a photo can have or its resolution, while the aspect ratio refers to its shape and orientation. You can add up to ten images with square, portrait (vertical), or landscape(horizontal) aspect ratios to an Instagram carousel, and the only limitation is that you cannot mix pictures with different aspect ratios.
Different Size Photos on Instagram
The maximum size of a 1:1 square photo you can add to an Instagram carousel is 1080×1080 pixels, while a 4:5 vertical image shouldn’t be larger than 1080×1350 pixels. Remember that Instagram allows you to mix videos and photos within the same carousel, but you must ensure that the video meets the platform’s size, aspect ratio, and length guidelines.
How to Post Different Size Photos on Instagram
Creating a new carousel Instagram post is a remarkably simple process that takes only a few minutes to complete. Even so, the task can be challenging if you want to complete it using only the tools available in the app.
The steps you need to take to create an Instagram carousel are intuitive, as you just have to follow the in-app instructions. However, if you want to include photos with different sizes, you must use a photo editing app like Gemo Image Editor to adjust the photo’s aspect ratio to Instagram’s guidelines.
Using the Built-in Instagram Crop Tool for Square Photos
Instagram already offers everything you need to create a carousel post, so all you need to do is add the pictures you want to share on your profile to your phone’s camera roll.
Step 1. Launch the Instagram app and tap on the Plus icon to see all images in your camera roll. Make sure that the Post option is selected at the bottom of the New Post window. You’ll notice that, by default, you can only select one picture, which is why you must tap on the Multiple Images button located in the right corner, just below the preview window.
Launch Instagram app
Step 2. Select up to ten images you want to include in your carousel post. Numbers from 1 to 10 will be displayed on each photo to indicate the order in which the images will appear in the carousel. Hence, you must tap first on the photo you want to appear first in the carousel, then tap on the second, and so on.
Select Images
Step 3. Instagram allows you to see how each photo you select will look after you publish it, and you can use your fingers to move the photo so that the app doesn’t crop important elements from the images you want to add to your post. Keep in mind that Instagram will crop all images you add to the carousel to a 1:1 square aspect ratio, so you won’t be able to do much more than move the picture around to ensure the most important elements are in the frame.
Step 4. Tap on the Next button once you have cropped all your images to square and proceed to use Instagram’s built-in photo editing tools to apply filters or adjust the color, saturation, brightness, and other parameters for each photo.
Step 5. Hit Next and write the carousel’s caption, add tags, music, or the location before tapping on the Share button.
Using an Online Tool to Resize Your Image
Instead of tinkering with Instagram’s built-in crop tool and trying to prevent the app from removing important parts of each photo in the carousel, you can use an online photo editing tool to include photos in different sizes in your Instagram carousel.
The process of preparing photos in different sizes for an Instagram carousel is the same regardless of the image editor you choose, and for this article, we’ll use the Gemo Online Image Editor.
Step 1. Navigate to the Gemo Free Online Image Editor’s homepage and click the “Edit an Image Now” button. A new window will open where you can upload or drag and drop the photo you want to include in your Instagram carousel post.
Gemoo Image Editor Interface
Step 2. The Gemo’s online editor will load after you upload the photo. The tool will automatically create a background for your photo and allow you to customize them to your needs.
Customize the Background
Step 3. Go to the Background tab located on the right side of the photo editor’s window and select the background’s aspect ratio. As already mentioned, images in Instagram carousels can have 1:1 square or 4:5 vertical aspect ratios. You can enter the recommended size manually or choose the 1080×1350 Instagram Portrait Post option from the Instagram menu.
Select the Background’s Aspect Ratio
Optionally, you can pick the 1080×1080 Instagram Square Post from the same menu.
Step 4. Scroll down to the Color section of the Background menu to change the color of the photo’s background. Ideally, you should pick black or a dark color to match the tone of Instagram’s interface. Click on the three-dot icon if the color you want to use isn’t included in the editor’s default selection.
Step 5. Go to the Size & Layout tab to adjust the photo’s position on the background. You can use one of the default layout options or drag the photo freely to the desired location on the background. Moreover, you can change its size by inserting new values into height and width boxes or resize the picture by dragging one of its ends.
Go to the Size & Layout Tab
Moreover, the Gemo Image Editor allows you to round your photo’s edges, add or remove shadows, and create a frame for it.
Step 6. Click on the Download button when you’re done editing and choose whether you want to save the picture as a JPG, PNG, or PDF file.
Repeat this process for all ten photos you want to add to your Instagram carousel post and follow the steps we described earlier to share the carousel on your Instagram feed.
How to Split a Long Photos Into Two Instagram Carousel Slides
Compressing a landscape photo to the 1:1 or 4:5 aspect ratio isn’t always the best solution because you may have to sacrifice some of the image’s quality in the process. That’s why content creators often spit panorama and other types of landscape photos into two or more carousel slides.
You don’t have to be a Photoshop expert to create multiple slides from a single photo because the Gemo Image Editor makes this process easy. Here’s what you need to do.
Step 1. Upload a photo to the Gemo Image Editor and set the aspect ratio in the Background tab. Go to the Size & Layout tab and use the Cover Background option to make sure the photo and background have the same aspect ratio.
Step 2. Click the Crop button and use it to split the picture in half and download the photo. Upload the same photo to the editor and repeat the same steps you took to create the second half of the picture.
Click the Crop button
If you’re happy with the results, you should transfer the pictures to your phone and launch the Instagram app. Make sure to include the original landscape photo as the first picture in the carousel, followed by its left half as a second image and its right half as the third picture in the carousel.
FAQs on Post Different Size Photos on Instagram
What Are the Main Benefits of Posting Photos in Different Sizes on Instagram?
Including photos in different sizes in an Instagram carousel post enables you to present your images as you shoot them to your audience and avoid cropping out important details.
What To Do if My Photo Is Too Big for an Instagram Carousel?
Use a photo editing tool to resize each photo you want to add to an Instagram carousel if they’re too big to fit the preview screen.
Can I Mix Landscape and Portrait Photos in an Instagram Carousel Post?
You can mix portrait and landscape photos in an Instagram carousel post, but you must first create a background that matches Instagram’s size and aspect ratio guidelines to avoid cropping.
Final Thoughts
Having control over how the images in Instagram carousels appear before your followers can help you reach broader audiences and make your posts more engaging. Online photo editors like Gemo give you access to the tools you need to create Instagram carousels with differently-sized images.
The best part is that you don’t need previous photo editing experience to create photos in different sizes and aspect ratios with Gemo or any other online photo editor for your Instagram carousel post since the process is straightforward, and you can complete it in just a few minutes. We hope this article will help you create more engaging content for your next Instagram carousel.
