How to post a continuous picture on instagram

How to Create a Seamless Instagram Carousel Post

Reels may be the hottest thing on Instagram right now. But Instagram carousels are still thriving on the platform. In fact, they could be the key to sustaining engagement because they get people to stop and swipe.

In this guide, we give you a breakdown of why posting an Instagram carousel is a great idea for your social media strategy. We’ll also give you plenty of tips, examples and ideas to help you get started. Let’s dive in.

What is an Instagram carousel?

An Instagram carousel is a post containing more than one photo or video, which users can view by swiping left on a post through the phone app. Desktop users can view a carousel post by clicking on the arrow button on the right of a post. Think of it as a slideshow of posts that users can control manually.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Everlane (@everlane)

Carousel posts are a great way to get people to pause and engage with your content, especially if the first slide is enticing enough. So it’s no surprise that Instagram carousels outperform both photo and video posts in terms of engagement.

Socialinsider.io found that carousel posts get higher engagement rates than photos and videos. Depending on follower size, carousels manage to hit engagement rates between 1.65% and 5.40%. This is higher than the average platform engagement rate, which stands at 1.22% according to the latest Instagram stats.

When to use Instagram carousels

The unique nature of Instagram carousels makes them a great option for strategic Instagram content. Some of the best ways to use an Instagram carousel post are:

Educational content
Data and infographics
Tutorials
Brand storytelling
Before-and-after reveals
Photo dumps
Product reveals
Product/brand updates
User-generated content
Event highlights
Behind-the-scenes looks

Instagram carousel size requirements

When creating a carousel post on Instagram, you’d want to make sure that it looks great on the platform. So it’s important to follow the size requirements and specifications. Design and optimize your posts with the three aspect ratio options in mind:

Square (1:1)
Horizontal (1.91:1)
Vertical (4:5)

For images, Instagram recommends a resolution of 1080 x 1080 pixels. Videos can have a minimum resolution of 600 x 600 pixels and a maximum resolution of 1080 x 1080 pixels.

How to create a carousel post on Instagram

Once you have the perfect images or videos lined up, you can start creating an Instagram carousel post using the steps below:

Step 1. Click on the “+” button from the navigation bar at the top of your screen.

Step 2. Select the option to create a new “Post.”

Step 3. Tap on the option to “Select multiple.”

Step 4. Choose the photos or videos you want to upload as a carousel post. You can select up to 10 photos or videos for your carousel. Then tap on “Next.”

Step 5. Just like creating a single-image post, you’ll get the option to edit your photos and videos by applying filters. To create a cohesive look throughout, you can choose to apply the same filter throughout all the images and videos. Once you’re done, tap on the “Next” button.

Step 6. Now add details to your carousel post. Make sure you include a suitable and enticing caption that could prompt engagement. You can even include popular and relevant Instagram hashtags to improve your post visibility. This is also the section where you can tag people, add a location or add a reminder similar to a regular post.

Step 7. Once you have everything sorted, tap on the “Share” button and that’s it. You’ve created and shared your Instagram carousel post.

How to schedule an Instagram carousel post

The manual publishing process may be straightforward, but it can be time-consuming. As a social media manager, one of your main goals is to do your job as efficiently as possible. That means scheduling content ahead of time so you can maintain a consistent publishing schedule.

And the same would hold true for your Instagram carousel posts. Fortunately, you have the option to schedule your Instagram posts using the Facebook Creator Studio. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1. Log into your Creator Studio account and select the Instagram button at the top.

Step 2. Click on the “Create Post” button from the left-hand panel and select the option to create a post for your “Instagram Feed.” This option is suitable for creating image carousel posts and sharing videos shorter than 60 seconds.

Step 3. Click on the “Add content” button under the caption window and choose the first image or video you want to upload. After selecting the first content, the “Add content” button will move to the top of the caption window. Click on this button to keep adding all the photos and/or videos you want to include in the post.

Step 4. Once you’re done creating the post and adding all the info you want to include, click on the drop-down arrow next to the “Publish” button. Select “Schedule” and choose the date and time you want the carousel post to go out and click on the “Schedule” button. And that’s it–your Instagram carousel post is now ready to go out.

While this is a useful tool to have, keep in mind that it’s only accessible on desktop. This may make it a bit challenging if you’re used to managing everything from your phone or if you want to schedule a carousel post while on the go.

If you’re using an all-in-one social media management tool like Sprout Social, you can directly publish and schedule Instagram carousel posts to your accounts. Sprout recently updated it’s capability to allow users to publish Instagram carousels directly from the desktop app rather than the Mobile Publishing Workflow.

How to Create an Instagram carousel post on Sprout:

Step 1. Open Compose in Sprout desktop or mobile app.

Step 2. Select your Instagram Business Profile from the Profile Picker.

Step 3. Add your content for the Instagram post.

Step 4. Select up to 10 images to include in your post. Note that images and videos cannot be combined in your Instagram carousel posts published through the Sprout app at this time.

Step 5. Personalize your post, whether it’s tags, hashtags, Instagram First Comment or even post links.

Step 6. Schedule when you want to publish your post.

Step 7. Click Submit or Send.

For more information on publishing and scheduling Instagram carousel posts within Sprout, visit our Help Center.

Instagram carousel examples to inspire you

Need some inspiration for creative ways to use carousel posts? Here are some Instagram carousel examples to inspire you:

1. Sprout Social: Answering burning questions

Sprout used Instagram carousels to share answers to pressing questions. This helped to inform the audience and show the platform’s social listening capabilities.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sprout Social (@sproutsocial)

2. Canva: Bite-sized visual guides

Canva made the most of carousels to share short and actionable visual guides for its users.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Canva (@canva)

3. ColourPop Cosmetics: Revealing a new collection/product line

ColourPop Cosmetics used a carousel post to reveal all the products in its new In the Limelight collection.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ColourPop Cosmetics (@colourpopcosmetics)

4. NotionHQ: Event highlights

NotionHQ shared a series of photos announcing a virtual conference.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Notion (@notionhq)

7. Frank Body: Spotlighting ingredients

The Australian skincare brand used carousels to put a spotlight on key native ingredients and their benefits.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by frank body (@frank_bod)

8.

Exist Green: Mini store tour

Exist Green shared photos of their redesigned eco-boutique section. This gave followers a mini-tour of its store to invite foot traffic.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Exist Green (@exist_green)

Creating Instagram carousel templates

One of the best practices to follow on Instagram is maintaining a consistent feed containing high-quality images. That means you should carefully pick the visuals for your carousel posts to make sure that your feed looks cohesive and on-brand. Instagram carousel templates can help with this.

Instagram carousel templates act as a framework for your carousel posts. They use a consistent style of color schemes, fonts and other design elements to make sure that each image comes together to form a unified look. Customize these templates with text, graphics and photos to create a new carousel post.

You can find plenty of stock templates on websites like Canva, PicMonkey and Adobe Stock. These templates are available to customize and download for free or for a small fee. Stock templates are a great option if you want to save time. They’re also perfect if you don’t have a knack for designing but still want professional-looking templates.

Image Source

Alternatively, you can also design your own Instagram carousel templates from scratch. This is a good choice if you have a strong brand visual identity that you want to showcase through your Instagram carousels. It gives you more flexibility to create a template that fits your exact needs.

Start getting those swipes

The data doesn’t lie–there’s no doubt that Instagram carousel posts are highly engaging. So if you’re not using them already, you’re missing out on the opportunity to engage your audience. Make the most of the tips, ideas and template resources above to design eye-catching carousels that get people to swipe left.

In fact, engaging your audience is the key to becoming “best in class” on social media, according to 46% of consumers. Download the Sprout Social Index Edition XVII: Accelerate to gain more insights into the social consumer.

How to make a seamless Instagram panorama

The VergeThe Verge logo.

The Verge homepage

The VergeThe Verge logo.

Tech/
Reviews/
How to

Make your Instagram feed stand out

By Vjeran Pavic

Feb 25, 2020, 7:48 PM UTC|

Share this story

Photo by Brennan King, animation by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Part of /

The Verge Guide to Instagram

It’s already been a few years since Instagram allowed you to post multiple photos simultaneously in a single post. This small change enabled a lot of creative options. One of my favorites is creating seamless panoramas by simply slicing your photo in two — like this one.

If you want to take advantage of this neat little hack, here’s a quick, simple tutorial on how you can pull it off.

Before you start, you’ll need two things: Adobe Photoshop (or another pixel-based photo editor that lets you work with layers) and an elementary understanding of Instagram’s requirements for sizing photos.

First, about the sizing: no matter which photo you upload, Instagram will automatically resize and compress your images. For example, square photos will always end up being 1080 x 1080 and vertical ones will always be 1080 (w) x 1350 (h). So if you want to create a panorama made out of two vertical photos, you’ll need to duplicate the pixels lengthwise, while the height stays the same: 1080 x 1350 becomes 2160 x 1350. Or if you want to create a panorama made out of three images, you’ll use 3240 x 1350. The same applies if you’re starting off with square images, which will fit into a panoramic space with twice the width (2160 x 1080).

Create your panorama

Okay, let’s boot up Photoshop and open up two documents.

The first one should be 2160 x 1350; it’s where you’ll “slice” your photos into two parts. Let’s name the first document “Full Image.”

In Photoshop, you can save document sizes as presets for future edits.

The second document should be 1080 x 1350; this one is where you’ll drop in your single images and get them ready for export. We can name this one “Slices.”
Open or drag your image into the first document (“Full Image”).
Go to “View” in your menu bar and select “New Guide Layout.”
Set two columns with zero width and zero gutter. If rows are selected, deselect them since you won’t need to cut horizontally, only vertically. This will create a turquoise line right down the middle of your photo.

Guides will help you split images in equal parts.

Before we move on to the next step, make sure your “Snap to Guide” is turned on. It’ll make your life just that much easier.
Select the marquee tool on your left hand side (or hit the shortcut “M” key) and drag your cursor over the first half of the photo. If Snap To Guide is turned on, your selection will automatically snap to the turquoise vertical line you created earlier.
Now that you have your selection, you can simply copy and paste it to a new layer on the “Slices” document.
Go back to the “Full Image” document and repeat for the other half of the image.

Now you’re ready for exporting. You can either export each layer at once using Photoshop’s “Layers to Files” option (under “File” > “Export”) or you can export each layer individually. I tend to add a few more layers to the same document, so I batch export those. In case you want to double-check your final export settings, you can use “Save for Web. ”

Here are all the layers I’ll batch export.

If you’re using a PC, it might be easiest to save your files to a cloud service, where you can easily access them with your phone. Or if you’re in the macOS / iOS ecosystem, simply Airdrop your exports.

Put your panorama on Instagram

Getting the photos to properly show up on Instagram should be easy enough, but let’s go through that quickly just in case, because there are some things you can easily skip by accident. On your mobile device:

Assuming your exports are indeed 1080 x 1350, make sure you’re about to post vertical photos by clicking on the arrows icon in the bottom left corner.

Don’t forget to enable vertical photos first. Also, you can tap and hold one photo to enable multiple selections.

In order to post multiple photos in one post, either long-press one of the photos or tap on “Select multiple” in the lower right corner of the first photo. You can then select the other photos, numbered in the order they will appear.
And lastly, make sure you selected the photos in the right order... because I have definitely made that mistake at least once. Don’t be like me.

Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.

Seamless carousel on Instagram – how to make it right

The longer an Instagram user* reads a post, the more loyal the social network algorithms are to its author. The task of bloggers is to keep readers' attention on their publications longer.

Not only videos, but also carousels can cope with this task. And if a series of photos is not just scrolled through, but flipped through several times - success!

Let's talk about seamless carousels in detail:

advantages of a seamless carousel; nine0010
ideas for seamless carousels;
how to make a seamless Instagram carousel*.

Let's show the process of creating a seamless carousel, which is divided into points:

create blanks using the finished image as an example;
we create blanks in Canva for a seamless carousel from scratch;
we cut the workpiece into slides on a smartphone;
we cut the workpiece into slides on the computer;
create an animated seamless carousel. nine0010

Benefits of a seamless carousel

A seamless carousel is when you scroll through your slides to get a single image.

Cut the photo in half and published sequentially

Why seamless carousels are good:

cause increased interest - they are rarely used, they look spectacular compared to ordinary pictures;
they convince you to scroll through the slides to the end - I wonder if the whole carousel is so unified and what they came up with next; nine0010
increase coverage - a post with a carousel is often displayed in the user's feed several times, first with the first image from the carousel, then with the second, so you will have more views;
increase engagement - anything unusual is valued more on Instagram*, so with a seamless carousel, the chance to get a lot of reactions to a post increases.

Let's get inspired by the examples of seamless carousels and start creating our own masterpiece!

Seamless carousel ideas

The main niche where seamless Instagram carousels are used* is ads that flash across your feed. But there are accounts that have made such carousels their feature.

When viewing each slide, a piece of the next photo is visible, which makes the user scroll through at least out of curiosity :–)

Of course, you can just put 3 photos in the carousel and not invent. But it's more interesting, more creative, the page has a common style.

The principle is also applied here, when part of the slide "climbs" onto another

This oblique/straight transition is a hallmark of the BMW Blog. An unusual way to show the product from different angles.

And here a woman combines two different photographs into a single picture

An interesting solution: first, when scrolling through the carousel, the eye clings to the woman, and then I want to scroll through the slides in the carousel to check if it is one woman :–)

Various photos and bright the background is forced to unconsciously scroll through a series of slides to the end

And in this video - a unique seamless video carousel! nine0003

Take a closer look: one of the animation fragments coincides with the next one Show examples of work in the form of a seamless carousel - arouse double interest in the product This is how creatively the guys showed the results of work for the month their creative When there is a cool photo, but not in Instagram format at all*, showing it as a seamless carousel is a great idea A woman made an unusual cut from a photo, and instead of boring green landscapes, an unusual seamless carousel turned out Illustration for the popular issue of readers Seamless poll Advertising in the form of a seamless carousel from the video Advertising of the goods at 5 + Advertising of the storitelling style using Seanless Carousel 900 Creative message about product discounts When you need to post a photo, but the TV is too big :–)

How to make a seamless carousel in Canva

The idea is simple – in order to get a single image when scrolling through the photo in the gallery, a carousel on Instagram* should be made from one image (panorama, blank), divided into separate photos in 1:1 or 4:5 format.

adidasrussia actively uses this technique

What is better to use: 1:1 or 4:5? Compare:

The square format is suitable for regular posting, the elongated format is suitable for advertising carousels to capture the reader's full attention on the screen

For everything to work out, the blank for dividing by slides in the carousel should be with the following proportions:

If the pictures in the carousel are square: height - 1080 pixels, length - 1080 number of slides in the carousel. If there are 4 of them, the length will be 4320 pixels.
For 4:5 aspect ratio, the image length will be calculated as for square images. Height can be calculated, as in algebra.

Proportion:

1080 pixels - 4 parts
X pixels - 5 parts
X = 1080 * 5/4 = 1350 pixels.

To recap: for a 4-square-picture carousel, the original photo should be 4320 x 1080. For a 4-picture 4:5 carousel, the original image would be 4320 x 1350. *. Your pictures may well be smaller, but you already know how to calculate the rest of the sizes. The maximum number of slides in a carousel is 10.

Consider creating a seamless carousel for Instagram* in Canva:

on the example of the finished image;
on the example of an illustration created from scratch;
with a simple animation example.

Algorithm:

Let's make a blank for a seamless carousel in Canva.
Cut into slides using another suitable program.
Upload images to Instagram* in the form of a photo carousel using a standard application or the SMMplanner service.

Creating blanks on the example of the finished image

Take Canva.

If you've never used this popular service, learn all about it in our Canva Service Overview article.

Go to the main page and select the size of the future design. Set image options and click Create Design.

Before you is a single lane of the future carousel. First, mark the borders of the slides. There are two ways to do this.

Method 1 : using a ruler. Go to "File" - "Show rulers". Hover over the vertical sidebar until you see back and forth arrows. Click and, without releasing, drag the line to the desired location. nine0003 Finding the right place is easy. The length of each slide is 1080 pixels. Therefore, you put the first border at 1080, the second - at 2160 (1080 + 1080) and so on

Method 2 : using a grid.

In the Elements section, open grids and find a grid with 4 images in a row. Drag the grid onto the workspace

For convenience, reduce the grid so that it remains only at the very bottom. Now you will see where the borders of future carousel slides go. nine0003 Upload your carousel image or use a photo from the Canva collection. Drag it to the workspace and expand it however you like.

We stretched the photo across the entire carousel image area, moving the image up and down to select the best part. If you are using a grid, send the photo to the background by right-clicking on it and the grid will be visible.

If you want to post your photo as a seamless carousel, consider this the last step. Save the image. Cut into 4 pieces, as shown in the "cutting the blank" section below in the article, and publish. nine0003

So, the main image for the seamless Instagram carousel* is ready. Write the text on the slides in the Instagram carousel*, add additional elements, frames. Then remove the grid from the image if it was used.

We've added gray borders, text, and found images of mittens in the Canva elements. Placed so that the mittens were on the border of the images.

Download the image to your computer by clicking on the appropriate button in the upper right corner

Remember - if you used paid elements in your design, you will have to buy them. nine0003

Creating blanks in Canvas for a seamless carousel from scratch

The principle of creating a blank for a carousel from scratch is the same as with a finished image, only the background or a combination of some elements is taken as a basis.

We took one of the free backgrounds, added some graphic elements

Cutting a workpiece into slides on a smartphone

There are enough applications that can cut a panoramic image into parts for a seamless carousel. Let's take PanoramaSplit as an example. nine0003

On the main page, click choose photo and add the created blank to the program. There are 2 main tools:

number of carousel slides - numbers at the bottom of the screen;
adjusting the size of the picture for the slides - the slider above the numbers.

The meaning is as follows: select the number of slides, the program will show the corresponding frames on the workpiece. By moving the slider, adjust the image so that it takes up the entire space of the future carousel. Press split and on the next screen post to Instagram*. nine0003

Don't be afraid that the publication will start right now, no. Just the save button to the Smartphone Gallery is called that here.

After all the manipulations, your cut pictures will be waiting in the phone's Gallery in the appropriate folder

Before saving, the program will show the result - how the carousel will look like on Instagram*.

Another seamless carousel cutting app for Instagram* is PanoramaCrop. After opening the app, select New swipeable post, enter the number of slides, and click the checkmark in the top right corner. nine0003 The program will show the preliminary result. Click the checkmark again and the result will be saved in the phone's Gallery

Cutting a workpiece into slides on a computer

There are many options to make several images from one image on a computer. For lovers of online services - IMGonline.

The service is free and simple: select an image, specify the number of parts by width. The service will offer to download ready-made pictures in an archive or one at a time

For lovers of programs, there is Photoshop, in which you can not only cut into parts, but also create an image from scratch. nine0003

Use the Cutout tool, save the result for the Web

Pictures are ready - add a carousel to Instagram* and enjoy! If you accidentally add an extra picture, it doesn't matter, now Instagram* has a function to delete one of the carousel slides.

Creating an Animated Seamless Carousel

For starters, try making your first seamless animated carousel.

Action algorithm:

Create a blank panorama by inventing a layout in advance. Those parts that, according to the idea, should be animated, do not place on the workpiece.
Save the blank and cut it into the required number of slides in any convenient way.
Upload one slide from a template to Canva and animate: add text and set up animation for it, place movable elements from the extensive database of the service.
Save each slide separately.

That's what we got

In order not to waste time and effort on transferring files from your computer to your phone and generally save time, create animation and publish photos and videos immediately from your computer.

Go to SMMplanner and start creating a new Instagram post*. For those who are not familiar with the social network posting service, we advise you to read the article "Instructions for posting photos on Instagram * through SMMplanner" in our blog.

In the new post window, click the Photo/Video button and select images for the carousel

If you only need a slight correction of existing images, click on the pencil in the upper left corner of the image. Built-in photo editor SMMplanner at your service.

Fans of the same style will find it convenient to immediately go to Canva from the application by clicking on the corresponding button, create an image there, and it will immediately be added to the post creation window.

It’s impossible to make a seamless carousel on Instagram* in this way, but it’s quite possible to animate prepared images

When the images are ready, write the text of the post, add hashtags, tags, select the posting time. Now you don't have to look at your watch and set an alarm to post at a specific time! SMMplanner is a convenient way to publish carousels on Instagram* from your computer, as well as regular posts and stories.

What else to surprise readers - read the article "Live" photos: what is it and how to take them.

Use original features in your profile design and let your readers look forward to new publications! nine0003

How to post panoramas on Instagram*

November 12, 2017 Web services

A little trick will allow you to bypass the Instagram* limitation on photo width.

Uploading a panoramic photo to Instagram* is easy. You can create an Instagram post* with multiple photos blending into one another. It will look something like this.

Panoramic photos on Instagram* are no different from regular posts with multiple shots. They can be made manually or using mobile applications. Here's how it's done. nine0003

Preparing a panorama manually

Take a panoramic photo. Most modern smartphones and cameras can do this. Keep in mind that you may need a tripod to get really good panoramic photos.
Open the photo in any photo editor. You can use professional solutions such as Photoshop, Lightroom and their alternatives, or Lightroom Mobile, or any other image editor of your choice. The editor only needs the ability to cut out image fragments. nine0010
Use the photo cropping tool to crop your photo to the desired aspect ratio. If you want your panorama to be in three parts, the aspect ratio of the photo should be 3:1. For a six-part panorama, the aspect ratio should be 6:1, and so on. Please note that you cannot insert more than ten squares into one Instagram* panorama.
Cut the resulting image into several squares of the same size. You can do this both in your graphics editor, and using one of these services:

Griddrawingtool. com;
Imgonline.com.

You will get several images of the same aspect ratio. Now send them to your phone to upload them in the right order on Instagram*. Or you can upload photos directly from your computer through the mobile version of the site. To make a panorama, you need to place the photos from left to right so that the leftmost part of the photo is the first, and the rightmost is the last.

Load panorama automatically

Take a panoramic photo for Instagram* with apps like Swipeable for iOS and InSwipe for Android. They are free, and with them you do not have to bother fussing in graphic editors.

Swipeable

The iOS app lets you create panoramic and even 360° loop photos for Instagram*. Just select a panoramic photo, and the application will divide it into square segments and apply the necessary filters.

appbox fallback https://apps.apple.com/en/app/id1209