The first thing that you need to comprehend is that Instagram pressures you to upload your images in a square layout, sized at 650px by 650px. The 2nd thing that you should recognize is that you should export the images at the appropriate size as well as resolution if you wish to keep the photos looking sharp as well as of excellent quality. That indicates that they must be exported at 650px on the lengthy side.
For my process, I utilize Lightroom, Photoshop, DropBox, and also Instagram to handle every one of the prep work as well as posting. I have actually tried a few other ways to publish my images on Instagram, however the following workflow has actually provided me the very best as well as most consistent results.
If you don't want to experience the procedure that I comply with below, and simply want to publish images without IG cropping your photos, there are applications that you can install on your mobile phone like Squaready and also InstaSize. I do not make use of either of those apps myself.
Instagram Resize Photo
Tip One - Lightroom
The first thing that I do is process my pictures typically, and also prepare them for just how I publish them, or publish them to my site. You can evaluate that process in previous blog posts in this exact same post-processing section. I will not repeat all that right here.
As soon as you have actually finished with all of your post-processing of the photos, then you could start picking the photos that you wish to get ready for publishing to Instagram.
In the Collection component, pick all the photos that you want to publish to Instagram, and produce a brand-new collection of them. You could call it anything that you like, however I recommend that you make use of "IG" in the name, either at the beginning or completion, so that you remember exactly what it is for.
Once you have chosen them, as well as have developed a new collection, you should go through and see if you could crop any of them to a 1-to-1 proportion. You could use the crop tool for that, and pick 1 × 1 as the proportion.
The ones that can be exported as 1 × 1 in ratio, can be processed exclusively in Lightroom, and can use your regular watermark (I made use of mine on the example below). These will be exported at 650px x 650px.
The ones that are able to be resized as squares are very easy, and that is all you need to do for them in resizing. For all of these, you could leap down to Step 3-- DropBox, as well as miss Step 2-- PhotoShop.
For the images that do not look good in a 1-to-1 ratio, you will end up exporting these at 650px on the long edge, but with no watermark on them. See the settings below. I suggest that you export these into a committed folder. Once they are exported, you will proceed to Step 2-- PhotoShop.
Step Two-- Photoshop
The whole point of this step is to put your photo on a 650px by 650px background, and to add your watermark to the bottom of the square. Doing it manually is a laborious procedure if you attempt to do it manually, so I suggest that you carry out a set procedure as well as use an activity to automate the procedure, which will certainly make it basic to repeat over and over.
If you have no idea ways to produce Activities in PhotoShop, you will have to examine that initially. When you comprehend the procedure then the following instructions will make good sense to you.
Your activity will need to do the following points in this order:
- Open your image from your import folder as well as lots it to a layer. By default, it is packed as a history. I replicate the history to a new layer, and also name it "cars and truck", leaving the opacity at 100%.
- Then it needs to open up Image > Canvas Size and also set the elevation to 650px.
- Create a new layer, as well as label it "black".
- Fill the "black" layer with the black shade making use of the paint container device.
- Use File > Open to open your watermark logo that you want to position below the image. Position it on a new layer and also name it "logo".
- Move the "logo" layer listed below the cars and truck layer.
- Relocate the "black" layer below the "logo" layer.
- Shut the watermark that you previously opened.
- Conserve the completed 650px by 650px photo to a new folder someplace on your disk drive (you will have to have actually already developed this folder prior to producing the action).
- Close the documents in Photoshop.
As soon as you have the activity, you could open PhotoShop at anytime, as well as run the File > Automate > Batch Refine command, as well as select the folder where you have actually stored the pictures that were not currently at a 1-to-1 ratio.
Step Three-- DropBox
Once you have actually exported all your pictures, you need to get them up to Instagram There are programs that enable you to upload from your COMPUTER to Instagram, however I found that I had issues obtaining the hashtags to function correctly when I used them, as well as I had to begin a new account to fix the hashtag issue. The repair was to simply continuously use my smart device and also make use of the Instagram app to post the images, but to do that I needed to have the images where my phone might access them. The easiest way was to make use of DropBox to obtain the pictures where my Instagram application might access them.
Go to DropBox.com and sign up for it. Download and install the app to your phone and login to it. Use the DropBox.com site to submit your photos to your on-line storage. I suggest that you make use of folders to organize your images. In my case, I have a "Photos" folder, as well as inside it, I have an "Instagram Photos" folder. Inside that folder, I produce folders as I require them, in order to divide the photos into smaller sized, much easier to watch, areas.
As soon as you have actually published a set of pictures right into DropBox, you await the following step, and that is to grab your smartphone and also open the Instagram application.
Tip 4-- Instagram
At this point, you must already have the Instagram and DropBox applications on your mobile phone, as well as you prepare to upload among your images on Instagram.
Open the application, and also click the blue switch in the middle of the icons at the end of the display. The take photo screen will certainly pack, as well as in the lower left-hand corner, you will see an icon that looks like a "landscape/mountain" symbol (simply to the left of the "take a photo" switch). Click on it, and also it needs to motivate you to "Pick a Source" for your photo, and the DropBox symbol should be displayed as one of the selectable sources. Click it as well as you will see your DropBox folders as well as documents detailed in a documents internet browser. Browse to the picture that you posted that you want to publish to Instagram and choose it.
From there, you publish it to Instagram similar to you would certainly any other image that you just took.
Step 5-- DropBox
This last step is not needed, however very suggested. In order not to misplace what you have actually uploaded already, you should go back right into DropBox and remove the photo( s) that you have currently uploaded. This will certainly make it easier in the future to not upload the same images several times.
Verdict
That's it, my entire procedure to preparing my pictures for Instagram. It's not made complex, however following these directions will certainly ensure that you are posting photos in the best high quality that Instagram can support.