The first thing that you need to recognize is that Instagram forces you to upload your images in a square format, sized at 650px by 650px. The second point that you should comprehend is that you need to export the pictures at the correct dimension and also resolution if you wish to maintain the photos looking sharp and also of premium quality. That implies that they must be exported at 650px on the long side.
For my workflow, I use Lightroom, Photoshop, DropBox, and Instagram to take care of every one of the prep work and also uploading. I've tried a couple of other means to upload my images on Instagram, but the complying with operations has actually provided me the best as well as most regular outcomes.
If you don't intend to undergo the process that I comply with below, as well as just want to post images without IG cropping your pictures, there are apps that you could install on your mobile phone like Squaready and InstaSize. I don't utilize either of those apps myself.
Resize Instagram Pictures
Tip One - Lightroom
The first thing that I do is procedure my pictures usually, and prepare them for exactly how I publish them, or post them to my website. You could evaluate that procedure in previous blog posts in this exact same post-processing area. I will not repeat all of that right here.
Once you have do with all of your post-processing of the pictures, then you can begin choosing the photos that you intend to get ready for posting to Instagram.
In the Library component, pick every one of the pictures that you wish to publish to Instagram, and develop a new collection of them. You could call it anything that you like, but I recommend that you make use of "IG" in the name, either at the beginning or the end, to ensure that you remember exactly what it is for.
Once you have chosen them, and have produced a brand-new collection, you need to experience as well as see if you can crop any one of them to a 1-to-1 proportion. You can use the crop device for that, as well as select 1 × 1 as the proportion.
The ones that can be exported as 1 × 1 in proportion, can be refined only in Lightroom, and also can use your routine watermark (I used mine on the example listed below). These will be exported at 650px x 650px.
The ones that have the ability to be resized as squares are simple, which is all you have to provide for them in resizing. For all of these, you could jump down to Step Three-- DropBox, and also miss Action 2-- PhotoShop.
For the photos that do not look excellent in a 1-to-1 ratio, you will wind up exporting these at 650px on the lengthy side, however with no watermark on them. See the setups listed below. I recommend that you export these right into a dedicated folder. Once they are exported, you will certainly proceed to Tip 2-- PhotoShop.
Tip Two-- Photoshop
The entire point of this action is to position your picture on a 650px by 650px history, and to add your watermark to the bottom of the square. Doing it by hand is a laborious process if you try to do it manually, so I suggest that you execute a batch process and utilize an action to automate the procedure, which will make it simple to repeat over and over.
If you do not know ways to produce Actions in PhotoShop, you will need to evaluate that initially. Once you recognize the process after that the following guidelines will make good sense to you.
Your activity will certainly have to do the following points in this order:
- Open your photo from your import folder and tons it to a layer. By default, it is loaded as a history. I replicate the background to a brand-new layer, and also name it "vehicle", leaving the opacity at 100%.
- Then it needs to open up Image > Canvas Size as well as set the height to 650px.
- Create a new layer, as well as tag it "black".
- Fill the "black" layer with the black shade utilizing the paint pail tool.
- Use File > Open to open your watermark logo that you intend to position at the end of the image. Put it on a new layer as well as name it "logo".
- Relocate the "logo" layer below the cars and truck layer.
- Move the "black" layer listed below the "logo" layer.
- Close the watermark that you previously opened.
- Conserve the completed 650px by 650px picture to a new folder somewhere on your hard disk drive (you will should have currently produced this folder before creating the activity).
- Shut the documents in Photoshop.
Once you have the action, you could open up PhotoShop at anytime, as well as run the Documents > Automate > Batch Process command, and also pick the folder where you have saved the pictures that were not currently at a 1-to-1 proportion.
Step 3-- DropBox
Once you have actually exported every one of your photos, you have to get them up to Instagram There are programs that enable you to publish from your PC to Instagram, but I discovered that I had problems obtaining the hashtags to work correctly when I utilized them, and also I had to begin a brand-new account to deal with the hashtag concern. The solution was to simply continuously use my mobile phone and also utilize the Instagram app to publish the pictures, yet to do that I had to have the images where my phone can access them. The most convenient way was to utilize DropBox to obtain the images where my Instagram application might access them.
Most likely to DropBox.com and also sign up for it. Download the app to your phone and also login to it. Use the DropBox.com site to publish your photos to your online storage. I suggest that you use folders to organize your pictures. In my instance, I have a "Photos" folder, and inside it, I have an "Instagram Photos" folder. Inside that folder, I create folders as I need them, in order to separate the images right into smaller, easier to watch, areas.
As soon as you have uploaded a collection of images right into DropBox, you are ready for the next action, and that is to order your smart device as well as open the Instagram application.
Tip 4-- Instagram
At this moment, you ought to already have the Instagram as well as DropBox applications on your mobile phone, and you prepare to upload among your photos on Instagram.
Open up the app, as well as click heaven button in the middle of the icons at the end of the screen. The take picture screen will certainly pack, and in the reduced left-hand edge, you will see a symbol that appears like a "landscape/mountain" symbol (simply to the left of the "take a photo" button). Click it, as well as it should trigger you to "Choose a Source" for your image, and also the DropBox symbol should be shown as one of the selectable resources. Click it and you will see your DropBox folders as well as files provided in a data browser. Navigate to the image that you published that you intend to post to Instagram and select it.
From there, you publish it to Instagram just like you would certainly other image that you simply took.
Step 5-- DropBox
This last step is not needed, however highly recommended. In order not to lose track of what you have published already, you need to return right into DropBox and also delete the image( s) that you have already posted. This will certainly make it less complicated over time to not publish the exact same images multiple times.
Verdict
That's it, my entire process to preparing my photos for Instagram. It's not made complex, but following these instructions will ensure that you are publishing images in the very best top quality that Instagram can sustain.