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How to expand pictures on instagram


How to Fit the Whole Picture on Instagram

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Julia Enthoven

4 min

This article shows you how to fit the whole picture on Instagram. If you have a full portrait (9:16) image or video or a landscape (16:9) image or video, you can fit the whole picture in your Instagram post by following this tutorial.

Instagram has a maximum aspect ratio of 4:5 on portrait posts (four pixels wide for every five pixels tall). Instagram’s restriction reduces the number of very tall images that take up a lot of vertical space in the feed. Although it’s nice that Instagram keeps users from publishing massive, obtrusive posts, the 4:5 limit makes it difficult to post a whole vertical picture or video that you shot on your phone.

Here's what your tall photos will look like on Instagram without added borders. 

If you want to fit your whole picture on Instagram but it is taller than the 4:5 aspect ratio, you need to modify your image before posting. Otherwise, Instagram will automatically crop your image to a maximum of 4:5. I recommend the Kapwing resizer as it allows you to add white space on either side to bring your image to the required aspect ratio. In this article, I’ll explain how to fit the whole picture on Instagram in three simple steps:

  1. Upload picture
  2. Resize to 4:5
  3. Download and Post to Instagram

Step 1: Upload Picture

Start by opening the Kapwing’s Resizer tool on your phone or computer. Upload your image file from camera roll or import it from a URL. Kapwing supports images, videos, and GIFs, so you can use it to resize for any kind of media.

The video resizer tool in Kapwing

Once your picture loads into the editor, you’ll be taken into the Kapwing Studio Editor where you'll see a preview of your image in the center of the screen.

Step 2: Resize to 4:5

In the Output Size section, select the 4:5 option. This allows your photo to take up maximum vertical space in the Instagram feed without getting sized down. There is a resizing option for Instagram, 1:1, but this shrinks your image to fit in the default square shape.

Resize the image to 4:5 using the button in the Output Size list

Once you have selected the size option, Kapwing adds white padding to either side of your image to make it fit the 4:5 aspect ratio. You can change this white background to any color you want so that it stands out in the Instagram feed.

Step 3: Download and Post

Click the red Export Image button at the top of the screen. After a few moments of processing, Kapwing makes your resized 4:5 picture or video available for download. Whether you're using a desktop computer, iPhone, Android, or tablet you'll be able to instantly download the image to your photo gallery once published.

If you're not signed into a Kapwing account, sign in or sign up using your Google or Facebook account – once you've signed into a Kapwing account, the watermark in the lower right corner will be removed from your final image.

Open the Instagram app and upload your picture. You’ll notice that Instagram crops the picture to square by default, but you can click the expand arrows or pinch the image in the lower left to fit the whole picture on Instagram. When you publish it, Instagram will resize to image width to fit the screen, the white image background will blend in with Instagram’s white background, and your whole picture will appear on Instagram with no cropping.

Note: You can also choose a black background, if you and your followers use Instagram in Dark Mode.

Conclusion

This tutorial shows you a workaround for posting full portrait pictures and videos on Instagram. You can use Kapwing’s Resizer to post multiple images with different sizes on Instagram, add a thin white border around your media, and publish TikTok and Snap videos. I hope that it helps speed up your social media workflow and enables you to post your beautiful and fun candid moments to Instagram.

This is how your tall photos will appear on Instagram slides – you can see the whole thing!

For more information on how to resize a video for Instagram, check out this video tutorial (we give you the best sizes for each type of video too!):

Check back in at the Kapwing Resources page or our YouTube channel for other content creation tips and tutorials! And remember to tag us @KapwingApp whenever you share your content on social media– we love to see what our creators are passionate about!

Related Articles:

  • How to Post a TikTok on Instagram
  • How to Post a Portrait Photo or Video on Instagram
  • Resize an Animated GIF

Your Complete Guide to Instagram Image Sizes for 2022 (UPDATED)

Instagram is a platform that provides many content options from posts to Stories to IGTV video and Live videos. For each type of content, there are different image guidelines that you need to adhere to. 

In this post, you will find out everything that you need to know about Instagram image size guidelines. We will discuss the resolutions and aspect ratios required for different types of Instagram content and how you can resize your images without any hassles.

Your Complete Guide to Instagram Image Sizes:
  • Image Posts
  • Stories
  • IGTV Cover Picture
  • How to Upload the Right-Sized Images on Instagram Without Hassle
  • Does Your Choice of Image Size Impact Your Feed?

Size Guide for Different Types of Instagram Images

Instagram accepts images between 320px and 1080px, but there are specific guidelines for images added to Stories, posts, and IGTV. If your image is lower than 320px, then Instagram will enlarge it. And if it is higher than the upper limit, it will get resized to 1080px or lower. So, you don’t need to worry too much about image size as Instagram automatically takes care of it.

However, you should be aware of image size guidelines for different types of Instagram content. Here are the specific guidelines.

Image Posts

Traditionally, Instagram has been known for its square image posts with a 1:1 aspect ratio. And, it was quite a problem for users as they had to crop their pictures to fit the prescribed image size and ratio.

However, Instagram has long evolved from that initial model and now allows you to upload your portrait as well as landscape images. For Instagram posts, you can choose from three different aspect ratios—1:1 (square), 1.91:1 (landscape), and 4:5 (portrait).

Here are more details one each of these options.

1:1 - Square Images

Ideal image size - 1080px by 1080px

These are the traditional square images that are characteristic of Instagram. If you want to use this option, Instagram has an auto-cropping functionality that makes it super-easy.

Earlier it was a problem uploading square pictures because most cameras took pictures in landscape or portrait formats, but not square. Nowadays, however, you can take a square picture directly from an iOS device or by using any photo apps that have different size options.

Here’s an example of an Instagram post with a square (1:1) image.

1.91:1 - Landscape

Ideal image size - 1080px by 608px

These are the horizontal photos that you might have seen on some Instagram posts. Adding these types of images is a bit tricky as most landscape images are of 16:9 aspect ratio as opposed to 1.91:1. So, most pictures that you upload will automatically get added with a black border around it.

More often than not, the black border does not look aesthetically pleasing and would make the post inconsistent with other posts on a person or brand’s Instagram feed.  

Here’s an example of a horizontal Instagram image post with black borders at the top and bottom, because of an imperfect aspect ratio.

This is another horizontal post from the same Instagram page, but this time they’ve got the image size and aspect ratio right.

4:5 - Portrait

Ideal image size - 1080px by 1350px

These are the posts that have a portrait format images with an aspect ratio of 4:5. These are fairly easy to upload as you can take a portrait image from your mobile’s camera. And, even if you have a portrait image of different aspect ratios, you can always crop it to fit the Instagram post.

Here’s an example of an Instagram post with a vertical, portrait-style image.

Stories

The beauty of Instagram is that you can create different types of content like posts, Stories, and IGTV videos. And, all these have the option of uploading images and different image size guidelines for each.

Now that we have discussed the different image sizes allowed for Instagram posts, let’s have a look at the guidelines for Instagram Stories.

The ideal Instagram Stories image size is 1080px by 1920px and the aspect ratio should be 9:16. This is the perfect image size to ensure that there is no black border and the image fits the Story perfectly.

However, Instagram Stories allows you to add any image between 1.91:1 to 9:16. You can simply crop the image to fit the Story or it will automatically add a black border to fill the remaining space.

Ideally, you should upload portrait-style images for your Stories as Stories are basically vertical and are meant to be viewed as such. Even though you are allowed to add landscape images to Stories, it just does not look good. It is always better to use a 9:16 aspect ratio, to the extent possible.

And, if for some reason you can’t upload an image with a 9:16 aspect ratio, at least try to upload a vertical image in any other dimension.

IGTV Cover Picture

While IGTV is essentially meant for videos, you do need to upload images for the cover photos of those videos. There are specific image size guidelines for adding IGTV cover photos, which are very different from those for posts and Stories. 

IGTV cover photos should ideally have a resolution of 420px by 654px and an aspect ratio of 1:1.55. And, you can choose to either upload a new image or a still from your IGTV video, as your cover picture.

How to Upload the Right-Sized Images on Instagram Without Hassle

After reading about all the different image sizes and Instagram image guidelines, you might be a little worried. There’s no need to worry though because uploading the right-sized images is not as big of a deal as it may look.

No one really has the time to modify their pictures and change the size and aspect ratio every time they upload a picture to Instagram. There are several ways in which you can achieve this without making too much effort.

You can either use a photo editing tool that allows you to edit a picture to make it Instagram-friendly or simply let Instagram do it for you.

Here’s how you can upload images to Instagram while meeting the size guidelines.

Photo Editing Tools

There are several no-crop photo editors that allow you to make your images Insta-friendly without cropping those.

Square InPic

This is one of the best and highest-rated Instagram-friendly photo editors that you can use to resize your images without cropping. This is especially good at creating square-sized Instagram images without cropping your original picture. And, it also comes with other design features like emojis, filters, etc. that you can use to enhance your images.

Square Pic

This is another great photo editor that can convert any image into a square-sized, Instagram-friendly image. It comes with different background options like blur, black, and white backgrounds to create aesthetically-pleasing, Instagram-friendly images.

No Crop & Square for Instagram

This is another no-crop photo editor that you can use to resize images for Instagram. It is simple to use and comes packed with a variety of useful features to enhance your images. Apart from resizing images, this tool also lets you create photo collages and add filters and other effects to your images. And, it has over 300 background patterns for you to choose from.

Instagram Auto-Cropping

If you don’t care much if your pictures appear with a black border, then you don’t need to resize images before uploading as Instagram will do it for you. Whenever you upload an image that is of an incompatible size, Instagram will automatically crop and resize it to fit its dimensions.

A lot of people don’t bother about editing images and just let Instagram do it for them. However, it might make your Instagram feed look less visually appealing. The trick to avoid that is to follow a consistent pattern for all your image posts. 

For example, you can consistently use only portrait-style images with the auto-cropped black borders and make it look like your theme. This way, your Instagram feed will look consistent and you won’t have to put in any extra effort into resizing and editing your images.

Does Your Choice of Image Size Impact Your Feed?

A lot of people worry that if they will use a mix of landscape, portrait, and square images then that might make their Instagram feed look inconsistent and haphazard. However, that’s not the case because all your images automatically appear as square images on your feed.

This means that if someone opens a post, they will see the landscape or portrait style images. But, your entire feed as a whole will appear consistent because the preview image will automatically be a square one for all posts.

So, no matter your choice of image, your Instagram grid will appear perfect.

Wrapping it Up

Instagram automatically crops images and fits them in the right dimensions for any type of content. However, you need to be mindful of the image sizes to avoid that and ensure that your images fit perfectly without cropping. 

Cropped images often are shown with black borders, which ruins the visual appeal. To avoid that, you should upload your images in the right size to fit your post or story dimensions perfectly.

You can use this guide and create amazing Instagram image content.

How to upload a photo without cropping to Instagram - we comply with the requirements and use applications for posting

Instagram's habit* of cropping photos in the most inappropriate places is frustrating. The user uploads a photo, and Insta boldly compresses and cuts off half of the picture. As a result, heads, legs, parts of the landscape remain behind the scenes, and I only want to delete such a post. Previously, to place a photo without cropping, you had to use additional software, but now there are other ways that we will talk about in our article.

Why Instagram* crops photos

This social network has several reasons to crop users' photos. She tries to adapt pictures so that they look on vertical phone screens, even if the photo has a strange aspect ratio. And besides, network owners want to save space on servers.

The main reason why a social network crops photos is to equalize the conditions for all users so that photos of any size and quality look attractive, and all pages are the same on the social network on all devices.

Insta by default crops photos that do not meet its requirements. If the image width is between 320 and 1080 px and the aspect ratio is between 1. 91:1 and 4:5, then the image is published unchanged. If the resolution is lower, Instagram* increases it. If more than 1080 px, then it compresses to 1080 px.

In Paint, the size of the future frame is always indicated at the bottom. The picture can be edited by moving the corners to achieve the desired size

By default, Instagram* scales the photo and takes the center of the frame for publication. If you click on the zoom icon in the lower left corner, then Instagram * will take the entire frame for publication.

When you click on the zoom icon, the entire photo is in the frame. The frame can be sent to Insta without editing the edges if the aspect ratio is 16:9. Before publishing, you can see how it will look like

Recommended reading: Optimal image sizes for social networks: cheat sheet.

How to post a photo to Instagram* without cropping

If the photo falls within the proportions Instagram* needs, then Instagram* will not crop part of the image.

Format Approval
Avatar photo square, 1:1 optimal 160 x 160 px,

minimum 110 x 110 px,

maximum 180 x 180 px

Post photo horizontal 1.91:1,

vertical 4:5,

square 1:1

horizontal, 1080 x 566 px,

vertical, 1080 x 1350 px,

square, 1080 x 1080 px

Photos for stories and IGTV vertical

9:16 orientation

1080 x 1920 px

Official information from the support of Instagram* informs that the photo will be published in the best possible resolution with a width of up to 1080 pixels. This rule does not depend on whether the device is Android or iOS.

If the photo has a width of 320 to 1080 pixels, then its original size is preserved, but only in cases where the aspect ratio meets parameters from 1.91:1 to 4:5. In this case, the height should be from 566 to 1350 pixels, and the width should be 1080 pixels.

If you want to share a photo with a different extension, Instagram* will crop the photo to the correct size.

If the photo is smaller, then Instagram* will increase the width to 320 pixels. If more than 1080 pixels, then the width will be reduced to 1080 pixels.

There are several ways to add a full photo to Instagram*. To do this, select one of the options:

  • do not use the background;
  • use a vertical photo;
  • present the photo as a panorama.

Let's consider these placement methods in more detail.

How to upload a photo without a background

Previously, all images of non-standard sizes were published by the social network with a white background behind the frame. This was necessary if the width or height of the photo was not enough. Now you can do without it. Instagram* allows you to post pictures that do not fit the size requirements. When publishing, an automatic transparent background will appear on the image.

Transparent background adjusts to the frame and is not noticeable

There will be no background if the photo is scaled when publishing. After the frame is selected, it remains to decide on the part of the picture that you want to publish. But there is a nuance - sometimes important parts of the photo disappear, because Insta crops them.

Half of the text at the bottom of the frame and part of the character's head are missing from the photo. But there is no transparent background on the sides. It is worth scaling if the essence of the image is in the center of the frame, and there is nothing important at the edges

Recommended reading: How to make your own stickers in Telegram.

How to upload if the photo is vertical

Not so long ago, Instagram* introduced the ability to post vertical long photos. A special button has appeared in the interface that allows you to stretch the image on the sides and add a transparent background there. The photo will be in full size, but with frames.

The button is easy to find. You can also use your fingers to stretch and reduce the frame until a frame appears on the sides

How to work with a panoramic photo

Instagram* will not allow you to post a panoramic photo in the feed because it is too long horizontally. To upload a frame to the social network completely, without cropping along the edges of half the frame, you need to use special software.

There are 2 simple programs that will help you with this - SwieablePanorama (iOS only) and InSwipe Panorama for Instagram* (works on Android and iOS). In any of the programs, a photo is easily loaded and cut into several identical blocks. They can be uploaded to Insta in the form of a carousel. This is a rather unusual and winning way to publish a panorama without losing the quality and meaning of the image.

InSwipe allows you to divide a photo into equal pieces up to 10 parts and save it for sharing on Instagram*. When posting to Instagram*, all you have to do is click on “Select Multiple” and highlight the parts you want. The result will appear in the carousel

Recommended reading: How to make an attractive cover for a VK group.

How to adjust the size to Insta

To make the image meet the requirements of the social network, you can use special applications. Finding software that will help you crop a photo or fit it to the right size is not difficult.

Crop yourself from a computer

In order for the image to be displayed on the network completely, you can crop it manually, through the program. Almost any graphic editor will help with this, even the simplest Paint will cope with the task of changing the size in pixels or as a percentage.

Here are a couple of programs through which photos are usually cropped:

  • Photoshop . A huge number of functions and possibilities for editing. The only difficulty is that you will have to install this rather big software and understand its intricacies.
  • Lightroom . Here you crop the layers, choose the aspect ratio, adjust the sharpness. You can apply the settings of one photo to the next, which will be processed later.
  • Canva . A great online program for creating covers, pictures and more. You can not only compress the size or change the aspect ratio of the frame, there are many possibilities. Available effects, insert any text or background, elements and inserts.

The main thing is to remember the proportions and the maximum possible expansion of the image, depending on its purpose. After all, it can be square, vertical or panoramic.

The easiest way to check and adjust the aspect ratio is in Paint

Compress the size to fit

You can use any online program, including Canva. Through them you can upload photos, resize and edit. After such processing, Instagram* will not cut the edges.

Blogs usually prepare many photos at once to provide a page with content for weeks and months. To do this, it is convenient to use SMMplanner delayed posting, where posts are posted in advance, and then become visible to subscribers exactly on schedule.

To understand this feature, we advise you to study Delayed Posting to Instagram* from a computer. Here we talked about how to work with it, how to create and plan Stories, how to publish carousels and much more.

Third party apps to share from your phone

Another way to upload full size photos is to use dedicated apps. Below are the most popular and simple among the programs.

InstaSize

Software for Android and iOS phones. There are both standard functions and other features - change the size, edge, frame characteristics. You can edit a photo for publication, create a collage or story. In addition - the function of zooming pictures. You can pull up a photo from the gallery, clouds, or take a picture right now.

Several formats in which you can work. There is the most necessary functionality - crop edges, add filters, text and settings. Program with many functions. Most of them are paid, but for the main goal - to publish a photo without cropping the edges - the free functionality is enough.

When you click on each of the options, the program offers to download additional utilities for editing

In addition, the following functions are available:

  • rotate or resize the photo;
  • use the background - over a hundred free options;
  • filters - if there are not enough of those that are in Insta;
  • blocks of text - insert, change slope, location;
  • stickers - the user has more than 400 different stickers to choose from.

Run the program and select a picture to share. A light frame will appear in the frame, under which you need to fit the image. After that, the frame can be published - Instagram * will no longer crop it.

We looked at the main ways you can post a photo to Instagram* without cropping half of the photo. All of them are easy to use, because the main thing is just to keep the proportion and resolution of the frame. And through the program, you can further configure filters, add frames and inscriptions, in general, fully prepare the photo for publication in all its beauty. If you know other ways - tell us about it.

The article has been updated. First published: January 26, 2021

How to enlarge a photo on Instagram

Instagram never ceases to amaze with the number beautiful and bright pictures. Even the most sophisticated users will be able to find new ideas for themselves here and interesting masterpieces, share pictures with others. Sometimes it's what you need see in detail what is shown in the picture. In the very the resource does not have the opportunity to zoom in on the photo, and many do not understand how to enlarge a photo on Instagram?

When double-clicking on the smartphone screen, the picture does not get closer, there is no zoom button anywhere. It's not clear what to do to see the details of the photo. This problem has several solutions. The easiest way enlarging photos on Instagram is creating a screenshot and enlarging it in the standard photo viewer. To make screen on an iPhone, simultaneously press the lock screen and "Home" buttons. The screen will automatically move to your gallery. This method is the simplest solution, but has its drawbacks. Photo quality and resolution is not always possible to keep in its original form. You can also take a screenshot on your PC by going to the official Instagram page. Tap the button "Prt Sc", located in the right corner of the keyboard.

Move to the Paint program. Simultaneously press on the CTRL + V keys. The picture image will appear in your program. You can crop it or keep it as it is. There is also a slider that will allow you to zoom in on the picture. For, to keep the quality unchanged, you can use special smartphone settings. What exactly? Let's talk further.

To enlarge an Instagram photo while browsing to start you need to connect a special option on your smartphone. For this go to the settings section and select "General". Next:

  1. In this section, tap an accessibility category.
  2. Select "zoom"
  3. Move the green slider from Off to On.

After, move to Instagram. Go to page to your subscriber. Holding a photo with two fingers you can easily zoom in and see in detail. So it will be easier for you to evaluate the picture, like him or share it with others followers on Insta .

To make your pictures stand out from the background the rest were in an enlarged format, but, at the same time, did not lose quality, the App Store prepared for you interesting application Photozoom. For a small cost, you you can buy it on your smartphone and make your photos are brighter and more colorful. Not only is there the ability to enlarge the picture, but also to choose a frame for it and upload it to Instagram directly from the program.

Learn more