Instagram crops and compresses what you upload, so photos that are the wrong shape end up with parts cut off. If you resize to the right shape first, you choose what stays in the frame.
The sizes to use
- Square post: 1080 × 1080 pixels (1:1).
- Portrait post: 1080 × 1350 pixels (4:5). This takes the most space in the feed.
- Stories and Reels: 1080 × 1920 pixels (9:16).
- Landscape post: 1080 × 566 pixels is roughly 1.91:1, the widest shape the feed shows.
Why shape matters more than size
Instagram shows feed photos at about 1080 pixels wide, so a bigger picture is scaled down anyway. What changes your result is the shape. A tall 9:16 photo posted to the feed is cropped, and a wide photo posted as a Story gets bars or a crop.
Platforms change their rules from time to time, so check Instagram Help if you need the very latest numbers.
How to do it
- Open the tool and add your photo.
- Pick the Instagram preset you need. The canvas is set to the exact size.
- Drag and zoom the photo until the important part is framed. Use Fill to cover the whole canvas or Fit to keep the entire photo and add a background color.
- Save as JPG at around 85 to 90 percent quality for the best balance of sharpness and file size.
Tips
- Keep faces and text away from the top and bottom edges of Stories, where Instagram places its own buttons.
- Export from the original, not from a screenshot, to keep the picture sharp.
- If your picture is smaller than the target, enlarging will not add detail. Start from the biggest version you have.
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