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Complete Guide To Instagram Post Sizes

Instagram Post Size Guide

With the rise of Instagram’s sharing options, publishing your content in the correct Instagram post dimensions is crucial. Instagram videos and photos have different dimensions, depending on the type of post and orientation. 

Without tailoring your photos and videos to the right resolutions, there’s a good chance Instagram will compress or resize it automatically, resulting in blurriness or pixelation. But, with so many post options, it’s becoming harder to know which Instagram size to use and when.

As Instagram is a visual platform, using the right sizes is a must! It will help with your engagement and ensure that you can maintain your aesthetic. No one wants to look at blurry, low-quality images, after all! 

So, to make sure all your posts are clear and crisp, we’ve compiled a complete guide to Instagram post sizes and how to use them correctly.

Instagram Post Size

Instagram posts are the bread and butter of Instagram. It’s where it all began. Posts are the best way to build your brand online, attract new customers, run campaigns and so much more. Needless to say, any good brand has to know exactly how to leverage Instagram posts to promote their business. 

There are three kinds of Instagram feed posts, these are:

Many businesses continue to use the conventional square Instagram post, creating a neat symmetrical look to their posts. 

Portrait photos are also quite popular, adding a personal touch to your feed. Keep in mind, you will have to crop larger or oversized photos to fit into the dimensions. 

For users who want to post in a landscape format, the landscape orientation is great for wider shots. 

What’s cool is that no matter how you edit your photo, be it vertical, square, or portrait, all your images will be cropped to a square in the feed and on your grid. This gives you a lot of room for creativity, letting you customize your profile to meet your needs. 

Instagram Stories Size

Instagram stories are a great way to engage with your audience directly. They’ve quickly become the best way to connect with followers and start conversations. 

The main purpose or advantage of Instagram stories is that people can easily watch them while holding their phones (usually vertically). When it comes to Instagram Stories, vertical or portrait shots work the best. 

Vertical or portrait orientation allows you to make the best use of the space on camera and on mobile screens. 

The correct dimensions for Instagram Stories should be:

You’ll notice if you try to use a landscape shot, your stories will look bare with lots of background space around them. 

You could post landscape shots sideways so that they take up the whole screen but then your viewers will need to tilt their phones to view the shot properly. And, let’s be honest, they’ll probably just tap to the next Story instead. 

We get it, sometimes you have the best story-worthy content and sadly it’s a landscape. Don’t sweat it!  Just consider sharing it as an Instagram post instead.

What Are The Dimensions For Instagram Videos?

Video content is another fun way to engage with your audience. They generally don’t take that much time to do (depending on your industry or influencer level), and really help humanize your brand. 

And now with Instagram Reels, there’s even more fun to be had! Reels allow you to create and share videos that don’t disappear after 24 hours as traditional videos do. And, as with any post, it is crucial to know what Instagram post size to use.

Here are the different types of Instagram video options and the dimensions to use for each:

Instagram TV (IGTV)

What makes IGTV great is that you have the ability to edit the preview content. Generally, the first 15 seconds of your video will automatically be chosen as the preview. 

If you use the portrait orientation, you can ‘edit preview’ and select the 15-second clip and the still image or thumbnail for the preview. Unfortunately, these options are not available for landscape IGTV videos so be sure to keep this in mind when making content.

While you can make a landscape IGTV, it is highly recommended to use the portrait feature instead. Despite which orientation you choose, all previews on profile pages or timelines will have a 4:5 center crop of the video.

The correct Instagram post size for IGTV is:

Instagram Reels

Since the rise of TikTok, Instagram Reels have become a global sensation. Instagram reels allow you to create and share varying types of content or engaging information. 

The videos can be anywhere from 1 second to 60 seconds. What makes it more exciting is you can add music and filters to make your content pop! 

When it comes to this Instagram post size, the video size for a Reel is:

How Do You Get Full-Size Videos On Instagram?

Keep in mind that it is impossible to fit a 9:16 ratio video into a normal Instagram post. Whether it’s a screenshot, video, Snapchat, or TikTok, if you want to post it to your feed, Instagram will automatically crop part of it out. This makes it crucial to resize it beforehand to prevent that from happening. 

To post a full vertical video without cropping it to 4:5, simply add a white background behind the video, making it a square.

Once that’s done, you can post your video normally without having to change the Instagram post size.

Wrapping It Up

Now that you know all about the various Instagram sharing options and the precise sizes for each one, it’s time to get going! 

Make sure you keep these tips and guidelines in mind when making new content. Your goal is to share content that is more professional-looking and more engaging.