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How to post high quality reels on instagram


6 Things You MUST Do For High-Quality Instagram Reels

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You can make the best Instagram reel that looks aesthetic has a piece of trendy music paired with and still not get good results if they are not high-quality Instagram reels.

After a recent update, now you can post 90-second reels on Instagram.

Although I feel the longer a reel gets, the harder it is to retain a viewer. Shorter reels have always worked better for me.

And if you spend time scrolling through reels on the explore tab, you might have come across the theory that a 7-second Instagram reel is more likely to go viral.

This worked for me a couple of times, give it a try!

High-quality Instagram reels stand out instantly and are bound to get more views compared to a less-sharper Instagram reel.

The tips that I’ll be sharing with you today for ensuring that you post high-quality Instagram reels are for users who shoot & edit the videos on their phones.

Instagram compresses the video when it gets posted, but there are some things you can do to make sure the sharpest version of your Instagram reel is published.

It is quite frustrating to have a high-quality video and then end up with a less-than-awesome reel in the end.

Table Of Contents

5 Ways to post high-quality Instagram reels for more views

Avoid color grading using random video editing apps

Don’t use the filters available on video editing apps. They generally compromise the quality of the video.

Use only the recommended video editing apps like InShot, VN, Capcut.

Instead of applying a given filter in the app, alter the colors by making adjustments in the highlights, shadows, and split toning.

InShot has the option of split toning in its free version as well.

For adding a cinematic look and feel to your video, I’d recommend adding yellow to your highlights and a tad bit of green to your shadows.

Here’s how it is done:

Adding color to shadowsAdding color to highlights

I did the same in this Instagram reel I posted on my account @garimashares-

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Garima • Product Photographer (@garimashares)

Also Read: Viral travel reels ideas you should save right away

Is your lens clean enough?

It might seem simple but it can happen quite often. Before shooting video from your phone, double-check that your camera lens is spotless.

Blow on it and clean it with a soft cotton cloth.

Don’t use the filters in-built into your phone’s camera. Record videos from your phone as is, in the highest quality possible.

Go to camera settings and see if the maximum possible resolution and fps are enabled.

On OnePlus Nord: The resolution is displayed on the top of the camera screen. Here it’s 4k and 30fps. 60fps is generally supported with 1080p videos.

Also, remember to keep the aspect ratio of the video as 9:16.

Edit the reel video on Instagram itself

I can’t guarantee you this 100% but I and some of my friends have experienced this.

Reels that were edited and compiled on Instagram itself performed better and were high-quality Instagram reels.

What do I mean by edited on Instagram itself?

Open the music you want to use, add your clips one by one, trim them if needed, and compile all of the clips on the app.

Also Read: Video editing tools available on Google Photos App

No shaky and blurry videos

If your hands aren’t that stable while recording a video, you need a bit of help.

For shooting a sit-down video of yourself where you’re talking about a topic, a mobile tripod will come in handy.

This Digitek tripod comes with a strong ring light which will make sure your face is evenly lit in videos.

The Zhiyun Smooth Q3 is the perfect choice for an advanced phone gimbal. It will give you super stable phone videos, especially if you’re a travel content creator.

Also Read: What Is SEO On Instagram? Let Me Break It Down For You In 5 Minutes

Enable high-quality uploads

Did you know there’s a setting in Instagram using which you can enable high-quality uploads?.

Go to settings > account > cellular data use > high resolution media and enable it for both cellular + WiFi.

How to transfer the video to your phone

If the video clips you want to use in your reel are on your desktop/laptop, transfer them to your phone without losing their original quality.

Don’t send them over Whatsapp.

Here’s how to share media files such as photos and videos as documents on Whatsapp so that they don’t lose their quality-

Press on the attach icon and click on documentSelect images/videos to be sent

If you own an iPhone and Mac, I recommend using AirDrop. And if you’re an Android user, either send them over Whatsapp as documents or use free tools like WeTranser, Google Drive, Gmail, etc.

Upload HQ Videos using iPhone and Android App

The Instagram app on your iPhone or Android smartphone device is set to save data when uploading videos, for that reason, Instagram lowers the quality. The way to avoid this is by activating the high-quality upload option.

In order to do this, go to the settings menu, then to account, data usage, and there activate the option of High-quality uploads. It may take a little longer to upload your videos, but it will be worth it.

On iPhone

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Upload High-Quality Reels, Videos, Photos on Instagram Without Losing Quality

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Instagram has quickly become the favorite platform for content creators. One can post reels, videos, and photos on Instagram. But while uploading any kind of content Instagram compresses the quality of photos and videos. Such situations upset creators especially after clicking pictures or making videos of high quality. No one will ever want the quality to be reduced and the best content reaches out to the audience.

If you are a creator and worried about how can you post pictures or reels on Instagram without losing quality, don’t worry as there are some methods that allow to upload and post high-quality photos and videos with little to zero compression.

Why Instagram Compresses Pictures and Videos

Instagram compresses high-resolution files during upload to make users feel faster while using the app. If it uploads high-quality files from each and every user from its one billion user base, the load on the servers will be tremendous. Hence, users will face slow loading of feed and scrolling won’t be smooth as it is now. To tackle all such problems, Instagram compresses the quality of the pictures or videos that you upload.

But there are some methods, by which you can bypass the compression and upload high-quality content on the Meta-owned platform. Let us check out the working methods by which you can upload high-quality reels, pictures, and videos on Instagram.

Methods To Upload High Quality Pictures, Reels and Videos on Instagram

1. Changing The Instagram Settings Data Usage Option

Most Instagram users are unaware of the fact that the high-quality uploads option is disabled by default. If you are using only mobile data, then the option will be turned off. You can enable it through the app settings. Let us check out the steps for the same.

  1. Open the Instagram app on your phone and go to your profile page.
  2. On the top right, you will find a hamburger menu. Click on the menu and then tap on Settings.
  3. Under the Settings, tap on Account (below Ads).
  4. In the Account section, click on “Cellular Data Usage”.
  5. Turn on Data Saver(which is disabled by default), which will enable the option of High Resolution Media.
  6. Now you can select the option upload High Resolution Media using WiFi Only or Cellular+WiFi.

2. Resize the Image (Resolution and Aspect Ratio)

Instagram will crop the image if it does not matches the required aspect ratio. For example, when the photo has a width between 320 and 1,080 pixels, the app keeps that photo at its original resolution. The only condition here is the aspect ratio must be between 1.91:1 and 4:5. Here is what you can do to upload a high-quality picture.

  • Download/Update to the latest version of Instagram app.
  • The aspect ratio of the photo must be in between 1.91:1 and 4:5.

To compress the images or resize them, you can use various tools available on both PC and smartphones. Here are some of them which you can try out.

  • Android – Photo & Picture Resizer ,Image Compressor, Canva.
  • iOS- Image Size , Image Compress and Resize
  • PC- Paint, Canva website, Adobe Photoshop.

3. Recommended Video and Reels Aspect Ratio and Resolution

You can upload videos in the story, in-feed as well as on IGTV. To maintain the highest resolution of the video, you need to frame the video according to the recommended settings. By following this, you can upload a high-resolution video.

In-Feed Video Posts
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.91:1(Landscape), 1:1 (Square), 4:5 (Vertical).
  • Minimum resolution: 600x315p (1.91:1 landscape)/ 600x600p (1:1 square)/ 600x750p (4:5 vertical)
  • File Size: Maximum of 4GB
  • Video Duration and FPS: 60s video shot at 30FPS.
Story Videos
  • Aspect ratio: 9:16 (Vertical/portrait)
  • Minimum resolution: 720p (720 x1280)
  • Recommended size: 1080 X 1920p.
  • FPS: 30FPS
IGTV Videos
  • Aspect Ratio: 9:16
  • Minimum resolution: 600x1067p
  • Recommended resolution: 1080x1920p
  • Maximum Size(Short videos- 10 minutes or less): 650MB
  • Maximum Size (Videos up to) 60 minutes: 3.6GB
Reels
  • Aspect Ratio: 9:16
  • Recommended Resolution: 1080x1920p
  • FPS: 30 FPS

Also Read: Instagram Reels: 3 best Apps to download Reels on Android

4.

Ensure Lossless Transfer of Files (Photos, Videos)

When you are transferring a video or photo between devices (from PC to phone)/(phone to phone) make sure the transfer is lossless. Let’s assume you have taken a good picture on some phone, now you want to transfer the picture to your phone. Now if you use WhatsApp for transferring the picture, there will be a loss of data hence reducing the quality of a good image.

The solution? Well, you can use Google Drive or Gmail for transferring the files both videos and pictures, or use other cloud platforms to upload and then download the files. You can check out some free cloud platforms from here. If you want to transfer through WhatsApp, make sure you send them as Documents. While Apple users can use Airdrop for seamless transfers between Mac and iPhone.

5. Use an iPhone or Flagship Android Phone to Upload Posts, Reels

There are a multiple phones currently offering good camera features. Check out the smartphones which can shoot videos at 4K 30FPS because that will ensure shooting at the highest resolution but at the recommended FPS. If you have good camera sensors but the stock camera is unable to click good pictures, you can use GCam. Check out the link below to download the latest GCam.

Also Read: Google Camera 8.3 APK From Pixel 6 Series: Download And Install on Any Android Phone

We recommend you to use an iPhone or a premium flagship phone such as Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Mi 11 Ultra, OnePlus 9 Pro, or such phones. These phones upload pictures on Instagram without losing any quality.

Best Ways To Upload High Quality Videos, Photos on Instagram Without Losing Quality

These were the working ways by which you can upload high-quality videos, photos on Instagram without compromising quality. As a creator, you want to deliver the best content to your followers but the content also matters. If you make some good content and deliver it regularly, then you will definitely grow on the platform. Do let us know in the comments section if there is a change after following the methods.

Also Read: How to Grow Rapidly on Instagram?

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How to set the optimal video size for Instagram on a computer

If you shoot Instagram videos with a digital camera instead of a smartphone, you will most likely need to edit them on your computer before posting. And if you need to save the same file in several formats - for example, for the feed and for stories - cropping can take a lot of time.

To make it easier, we've prepared detailed instructions on what Instagram video sizes are considered optimal, how different aspect ratios look in the feed, and how to quickly save an Instagram video in the correct size and format.

We use VSDC as the editing program. It is a free video editor for Windows that is suitable for both simple operations such as trimming and adding audio, as well as for more complex tasks such as creating a picture-in-picture effect, color correction, and working with sound.

Looking for a convenient and free video editor for PC?

Download VSDC

VSDC has special video export profiles for Instagram and other social networks in the required size. This means that you can automatically apply the optimal settings for each social platform, and adjust them if necessary.

We will show how this works in detail below. But first, let's talk about the optimal video size for Instagram.

How big should a video be to post on Instagram?

The answer to this question depends on what type of post you are planning. Currently, you can post on Instagram:

  • Video post in the feed (minimum 3 seconds; maximum 1 minute)
  • Stories (minimum 1 second; maximum 15 seconds)
  • IGTV (minimum 15 seconds; maximum 10 minutes)

The general requirements for any video on Instagram are as follows: MP4 format, H.264 codec, 30 frames per second - maximum frequency, resolution - 1080 pixels wide. Lower quality videos - 600 pixels wide - are allowed, however, you should understand that on a visual platform like Instagram, you should always strive for maximum image quality.

Let's move on to the aspect ratio of the video for Instagram. Here you have several options.

If your video for is a regular post in feed , you can choose any aspect ratio between 1.91:1 (horizontal video) and 4:5 (portrait/vertical mode). Naturally, if your goal is to draw attention to the publication as much as possible, we advise you to choose the second option, because it takes up much more space on the smartphone screen. The recommended settings for vertical video on Instagram are 1080 x 1350 and 864 x 1080 pixels. However, if you shot the original video in a non-portrait mode, it will be difficult to apply the optimal aspect ratio. In such cases, it is worth using square videos with a standard 1:1 ratio. The optimal resolution here would be 1080 x 1080 pixels.

The best video resolution for Instagram Stories is 1080 x 1920 pixels. And, of course, for maximum organicity, shoot video initially in portrait mode.

Finally, if you're editing a video for IGTV , you can save both a 9:16 vertical video and a 16:9 horizontal video. It is worth remembering that when an IGTV video is viewed in the feed, it is loaded in portrait mode, so it is again recommended to shoot vertically for optimal results.

How to save the video in the optimal size for Instagram

After you have finished editing, you can save the video in the desired format and size as follows:

  1. Go to the "Export project" tab.
  2. In the top menu on the left, select "Internet" and "For Instagram".
  3. Go to profile settings at the bottom. Using the dropdown menu, specify the width of the video: 600px, 1080px, or 1080px (Full HD).
  4. Then select the video orientation from the menu to the right: square, vertical or landscape.
  5. In the upper left corner of the preview window, select the "Fit video to the selected resolution" option, if necessary.
  6. Finally, use the Export Video button to save the video to your computer.

To change any of the video parameters - width, height or frame rate - use the "Change profile" option, this button is located below the preview window. If you need to create and save your own video export profile, see this guide.

How to quickly split a video for sharing on Instagram

If your video is longer than allowed, you can quickly split it into parts and post sequentially to the carousel or stories. The easiest way to do this is with cropping markers:

  1. Still in the same "Video Export" tab, go to the upper right corner and use the "Set Markers" button.
  2. In the new window, use the cursor and the "Add Marker" button to mark the video split points.
  3. Click on the "Apply changes" button in the lower right corner.
  4. Now open the "Advanced Options" tab in the menu under the export profile settings.
  5. Uncheck the "Combine scenes into one" option and select the "Split file by markers" option.
  6. Export the project. The video will be saved to your computer as multiple files - as indicated by the markers.

General guidelines for posting videos on Instagram

Saving videos in the optimal size for Instagram is not difficult if you use a program with preset export options. Maintaining maximum quality, however, can be more difficult. We recommend that you try the following tips:

  • Make sure the video is saved in MP4 format. If necessary, you can change the format using a video converter.
  • Remember that Instagram can compress images, so it is very important to shoot in the highest quality initially. This includes correct camera settings, saving the video in maximum resolution, and transferring the file from your computer to your phone without losing quality (for these purposes, it is best to use file storages such as Dropbox).
  • Use subtitles where appropriate. Most people browse their Instagram feed without sound. So if your message doesn't make sense without audio, don't forget to prepare the text and add it to the video.
  • Finally, we recommend using social media content management applications such as Buffer or Hootsuite. They will allow you not only to save time on publishing, but also to download content directly from the desktop.

Questions about video size settings for Instagram? Write to us on the Facebook page or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Download Free
Video Editor

You can learn more about the program on the product description page Free Video Editor

malfunctions. One of these is the deterioration in the clarity of the “picture”. Such an anomaly is not only unpleasant for the author, but also unlikely to please the readers of the page. However, this is quite possible to avoid by following the rules.

Below we will figure out how to upload a video to Instagram without losing quality. Stay with us and check out useful tips on how to easily share your favorite video with your friends.

Technical requirements Instagram for uploading videos

The first thing you should pay attention to before uploading a video to a common feed is the technical characteristics of the file. Ideally, they should fully comply with those set by the social network service. Namely:

  1. Video file format MP4 (found on Windows or Android) or MOV (common on Apple products).
  2. Clip size up to 128 megabytes.
  3. Ribbon aspect ratio is square. These are proportions: 4:5 or 1:1. For stories or Insta TV, a vertical rectangle in the proportion of 9:16 is suitable.
  4. Codec - H.264 (the most common). Bitrate - 3000 kbps and above.

Movie playback time is important:

  • for tape - up to 60 seconds;
  • for stories - 15 seconds;
  • for IGTV - up to 60 minutes.

The social network system will most likely not let you download the video:

  • avi format;
  • with other codecs.

Good to know. You can attach widescreen clips with a 16:9 aspect ratio to the post, but then white frames will appear on top and bottom of the film, and the video itself will be reduced.

Why does Instagram ruin video quality

So why does Instagram ruin video quality? The reason for this may be several things:

  1. The technical parameters of the file do not match those specified by the system. Accordingly, the social network simply compresses or crops the “picture”.
  2. The quality of the Internet connection is poor.
  3. Application error.
  4. Outdated version of Instagram.

It is from this that the “picture” of the clip can deteriorate. What to do in this situation? It's simple:

  1. View the properties of the published material and correct the format or resolution in special editors.
  2. Connect to a Wi-Fi hotspot or find a place with a strong network signal.
  3. Reboot the device or log into Insta from a PC or tablet. If this does not help, then write to the support service through the "Settings - Help" section.
  4. Go to the game store on your smartphone (AppStore, Windows Store or Google Market) and update the version of the program to the latest one.

How to keep good quality when uploading videos from your phone

So, how to keep good quality video files when uploading to Instagram? Follow the standard algorithm of actions. And since it will be slightly different for iPhone and Android owners, we will consider them separately.

On Android

To publish a video clip with the best resolution on a smartphone with the Android operating system, you will need:

  1. Unlock the screen of your gadget and launch the social network Instagram.
  2. Log in to your account using your login (nickname/email/phone number) and password.
  3. Tap on the plus sign, which is located in the bottom menu.
  4. Select a suitable material from the device library or remove a new one. To record a new movie, you need to click on the "Video" tab and hold down the round button.
  5. Edit the file: apply a filter, change the color balance, add saturation, etc.
  6. Make a signature, add hashtags and geolocation as desired.
  7. Click on "Share" and put the post in the feed.

If the Instagram video is still uploading in poor quality, then install the auxiliary utility FilmoraGo on your smartphone. With it, you can:

  • change the aspect ratio for the social network;
  • reduce file length;
  • overlay text, music or thematic effects;
  • adjust playback speed.

Note. FilmoraGo is a free Android app.

On the iPhone

For Apple owners, the step-by-step instructions are almost the same. Only the location of icons and options in the application can differ. All you need is:

  1. Make sure that the material is suitable for Instagram.
  2. Sign in to your account.
  3. Click on the "plus" in the menu.
  4. Capture a new clip or attach one from the gallery.
  5. Filter it and publish it.

If the resolution deteriorates, then you need to upload such a video with pre-processing. To do this, install the InShot editor on your phone. It will help:

  • apply text, music, filters and stickers;
  • adjust color, tint, shadows and brightness;
  • speed up or slow down playback;
  • cut or split a file into fragments;
  • Adjust the aspect ratio to a specific social network (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or YouTube).

Note. To improve the quality, install only official and user-tested programs from the Market. Utilities from unknown sites in the browser can be malicious.

The universal way is to convert video via Convertio

Another way to avoid poor quality video on Instagram is to convert it. After all, an incorrect file format can lead to the fact that the clip will either not be added to the post, or it will “compress” greatly.

To improve the quality or restore the sharp "picture" of the movie, follow the step-by-step instructions below:

  1. Open a browser and go to the Convertio service.
  2. Scroll down the page and switch it to Russian, if it didn't happen automatically.
  3. Click on the "folder" icon and select the material to be converted from the device's library.
  4. Click on "to..(GIF)" and tap on the "Video" tab in the menu that appears.
  5. Click on the MP4 and start the process with the "Convert" button.
  6. Please wait a few minutes while the site processes the video.
  7. Download it back to your PC or smartphone.

Done.

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