How to make a vertical picture fit on instagram


How To Post Portrait or Vertical Photos on Instagram Without Cropping

When Instagram was launched, it only allowed users to upload square photos. This meant that a substantial portion of your photos had to be cropped.

Instagram’s square photo dimensions became a major drawback to photographers and Instagram users as the image quality, content, and resolution of images were often be sacrificed.

Fortunately, Instagram has seen the need to resolve this major issue. Instagram has given its users more freedom to be creative with their images. Now, pictures can be uploaded in landscape or portrait orientation.

Understanding Instagram Images

So how can you post portrait photos on Instagram without cropping?

The vast majority of Instagram images are squared off. That’s fine for the most part, but it does tend to impact the composition of a photo — especially if it’s a portrait or landscape subject.

When you upload an image or load it into Instagram, the image is automatically cropped to 4:5. No one wants to put a lot of time and effort into capturing the perfect photo only for Instagram to ruin it by cropping the image.

Instagram did add different orientations not long ago, but images still take a little tweaking to get right. Now, you can post images at a maximum size of 600 x 600 for square images, 1080 × 607 for landscapes, and 480 × 600 for portraits. The actual stored size differs slightly, but when you measure images within Instagram, these are what typically come up.

So, if you’re one of the many Instagram users that’s tired of having their photos cropped, let’s take a look at how you can post portrait or vertical photos on Instagram without cropping.

How to Post Portrait Photos on Instagram

Depending on the size of your image, you may now be able to post a portrait image on Instagram without having to crop it.

Here’s how you can check:

Step 1

Open Instagram and create a new post.

Step 2

Select the image you want to upload from your photo gallery.

Step 3

Select the small crop icon in the bottom left of the main image screen.

Step 4

Adjust the image within the grid until it’s to your liking.

Using the crop icon shifts the shape from the usual square to its vertical or portrait orientation. This way, you won’t need to shave off the edges of your photos.

How to Post Landscape Images on Instagram

What if you want to post a landscape picture without cropping?

Well, fortunately, the same process above works in landscape orientation too. Since the two sizes were added to Instagram, it will pick up the shape and size of the image and let you post the most suitable size.

The same instructions apply for portrait and landscape photos, so you can simply refer to the above steps and select a landscape image that you want to upload.

Manually Cropping Instagram Images

Sometimes, the image just doesn’t look right with the new setup on Instagram and you need to do a little bit of manual editing first.

The new orientation feature is good but also has a few glitches, and if it won’t show your image off at its best. It may be better to manually edit the image and upload it as a square — even if it means sacrificing the composition.

There are a lot of photo editing apps that can help you edit your images first before uploading them to Instagram.

Just follow these simple steps to get started:

  1. Download the image to your computer and load it into your image editor.
  2. Crop your image to 5:4 using the image editor, and edit the photo so the subject is front and center.
  3. Upload the image to Instagram.

If that doesn’t quite work or leaves the image subject hanging out to dry, you can add a white border to either side of the image to create the 5:4 ratio.

This can often make the image look better. It has the advantage of leaving your image in its original form, but it will be slightly smaller than usual.

This method works great if you aren’t happy with the way your image looks when you upload it straight to Instagram without editing.

Third-Party Image Editors for Instagram

There are a number of third-party apps that can help prepare images for Instagram and help you resize an image with or without cropping. Even though you can now post portrait and landscape, these apps still make life a little easier when preparing something for publishing.

Two of the photo editing apps we can recommend are No Crop & Square for Instagram for Android and Whitagram for iPhone. Although, there are a lot more photo editing apps for you to explore.

Both of the apps mentioned above achieve the same goal as the manual editing method and will resize your images for Instagram. If you want to keep everything on your phone and not download it to your computer, these and other apps like it are well worth a try.

Final Thoughts

Most photographers find squaring off an image takes something away from the effect. Instagram users have been stuck on using the square dimension for years, but thanks to the app’s recent updates, there is now more flexibility in uploading photos.

Adding portrait and landscape orientation gives the professional photographers and those enthusiastic amateurs more options when composing their shots.

Want to find more apps to help you create eye-catching Instagram posts?

Check out our article on the Most Popular Instagram Apps.

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

How to post vertical photos on Instagram without cropping

Recently, Instagram announced support for both landscape and portrait formats, but only when you post multiple images and videos in one post. It soon became allowed for individual downloads as well. While welcomed, this move is still limiting as I can't post vertical photos to Instagram unless they have a specific aspect ratio.

I've put together a few methods for adjusting your photos to the correct aspect ratio. These are multi-platform applications and tools that will allow you to upload Instagram vertical images in a few clicks. Let's start.

Read: Make a photo square without cropping - online tool

Vertical photos on Instagram

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There are two options for cropping images for Instagram:

  • Portrait: 4:5
  • Landscape: 1.91:1

While Instagram isn't perfect, there are ways to fix this problem. Some tools and applications allow you to post vertical photos with a few clicks. Let's see how.

1. No Crop & Square (Android)

A strange and curious name, but a very popular app for those who want to upload vertical images to Instagram without cropping them. No Crop and Square won't let you post vertical photos like the one you see below.

The process is quite simple. You open the app and select the image you want to share on Instagram. There are a number of filters and effects to choose from. You can apply whatever you like. There are also emoji, stickers, emoji, and 3D emoji if that's what you're looking for.

You can create a collage in no time. Just add all the images you want to add with the collage tile button. The ability to add text with different fonts, patterns, resize and rotate images makes No Crop and Square a complete Instagram app.

The app is free to use, but with ads that can be removed with a $0.99 upgrade. In my experience, the ads were unobtrusive, with the exception of full-screen pop-ups.

Download No Crop and Square (Freemium)

2. Whitagram (iOS)

Whitegram does for iOS devices what No Crop does for Android. It allows you to post full size images and photos to Instagram without having to crop or resize them. Simply select the image you want to upload in vertical mode and the app will automatically crop it to perfection against a white background.

You see the beauty of this. By adding a white background, it misleads Instagram into thinking the image is square. There are other apps in the App Store that will give you the results you want.

Tip: Always choose the highest resolution when working with a vertical image.

Download Whiteagram (Free)

Pixlr (online)

Here is the easiest trick from the book. Instagram has a hidden option that will let you upload vertical images if you know how to crop images to the right size. You can do this on any platform because it is an online tool. Pixlr is a free and powerful image editor.

You start by selecting an image and cropping it to a 4:5 aspect ratio. Pretty easy, right? Now, in order to upload an image to Instagram using your PC's browser, you will have to fake it. Follow this guide. It will tell you how to make Instagram think that you are posting from your mobile phone, when in fact you are using your computer.

This is what your screen should like when you faked your browser. You should see the familiar "+" icon at the bottom to add a new image.

Read: 8 (+1 new) ways to post to Instagram from your computer

When you click the plus icon and add an image, you should see an expand button that looks like an arrow from either end.

Clicking this button will place your image in its original portrait mode with a 4:5 aspect ratio. You will also notice that there are no borders on a white or black background. No more square images that can be annoying as hell when they're crisp, portrait should be the obvious choice.

Note that the developer mode trick mentioned in the tutorial above will also work on Mac OS using the Safari browser. In fact, it works in all browsers on all platforms.

Visit Pixlr (Free)

4.

Entry Staircase

I can't stress enough how annoying Instagram rules are. I agree that this gives a uniform look to the whole platform, but the tools that do this are not in the application. Instapadder is a web service that completely solves this problem. You can use it on your computer and Android devices to quickly adjust images to match Instagram without cropping content. iOS users cannot get a piece of this particular cake due to their own rules, but they can try the iOS specific method above.

To add padding around images, simply go to the website in your web browser, click the download button and select all files. It uploads images to a server and converts the images to an Instagram compatible format. The best part about this method is that you can upload and process images right away.

It accepts most image formats and outputs converted images fairly quickly. The only limitation I found with this service is the lack of a preview option before uploading augmented images, so you can't choose which images to upload. Otherwise, Instapadder is pretty good.

Visit Entrance Staircase

5. Polarr Photo Editor (Mac)

Polarr Photo Editor is available from the MacOS App Store and can be used as an integration with the iPhoto editor or as a standalone editing tool.

Once you have downloaded the Polarr Photo Editor (link below), just open it and import the photo you want to edit for Instagram.

Once you enter the editor application, click the settings tab on the right side of the screen. Scroll down and click "Border" '. Now select the aspect ratio and border color from the available custom menu. When you click on the Save button, the changes to the photo will be saved and the iPhoto library will be updated immediately. If you're using an iPhone, it's probably also in your iPhone Photo Library.

Download Polarr Photo Editor (Free, $24 per year)

6. Gramblr (Windows)

If you're using a Windows tablet with touchscreen support, Instagram has announced an app just for you. The app is available on the Windows Store, but what about other users? This is where Gramblr comes into play.

Gramblr didn't support vertical images before, but I think they made some changes to their API since the current version supports it. Here is a screenshot.

As you can see, Gramblr does its job. The application is free and works on all Windows computers, including 32-bit versions. You will need to create a free account, but there is no need to verify your email address. Just select, crop, add filters, add a caption and post it to your Instagram.

Download Grambler (Free)

Post vertical photos on Instagram

Instagram was originally designed to be used on mobile devices such as Android and iOS. But that doesn't mean you can't use it on your PC or Macbook. Whether you need an online tool or offline software, we take care of your Instagram needs.

Also read: How to turn off the last activity feature on Instagram

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the most inappropriate places are 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 photo appears entirely 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

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

How to post a photo to Instagram* without cropping

If the photo fits the proportions Instagram* needs, 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 photograph 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 resize 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.

Cropping by yourself from the computer

To fully display the picture on the network, 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

"No crop" or NoCrop

Another simple application that helps you upload a full photo to Instagram. 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: