How to Make an Instagram Post Horizontal

Have a stunning horizontal photo you want to share on Instagram without the app awkwardly cropping out the best parts? You absolutely can. This guide breaks down exactly how to post horizontal photos and videos to your Instagram feed, Stories, and Reels without losing quality or compromising your vision.

Why Bother with Horizontal on a Vertical Platform?

Instagram is built around vertical, scroll-friendly content. So why go against the grain? Because sometimes, the story you want to tell can't be contained in a portrait box. Using a horizontal format can be a smart, strategic choice that helps your content stand out and serve specific goals.

• Epic Landscapes and Group Shots: Some images just need more horizontal space. Sweeping landscapes, detailed cityscapes, or a photo of your entire team simply won't have the same impact when cropped vertically.
• A Cinematic Vibe: The horizontal 16:9 aspect ratio is the standard for film and video. Using it on Instagram can give your feed posts a more cinematic, high-production feel that immediately sets them apart.
• Repurposing Content Seamlessly: If you're creating videos for YouTube or have banner images on your website, you're already working in a horizontal format. Correctly formatting this content for Instagram saves you time and maintains brand consistency across platforms.
• Breaking the Pattern: In a feed filled with similar-looking vertical posts, a well-executed horizontal post can act as a "pattern interrupt." It forces scrollers to pause for a moment because it looks different, potentially increasing engagement.

The Easiest Method: Using Instagram's Built-in Resizer for Feed Posts

For a quick and simple way to post a landscape photo or video, you don't even need to leave the Instagram app. They have a hidden-in-plain-sight feature that solves this problem in one tap, and it’s surprising how many people don't know it's there.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open the Instagram app and tap the plus icon [+] at the bottom to create a new post.
2. Select your horizontal photo or video from your camera roll. You'll immediately see Instagram try to crop it into a default square (1:1 aspect ratio).
3. Look for the format icon in the bottom-left corner of the image preview. It looks like two corners, almost like this: <, >,.
4. Tap that icon once. Your photo or video will instantly zoom out to fit its original horizontal orientation within the post frame.
5. That's it! Continue to the next screen to add your filters, caption, tags, and hit publish.

What To Know About This Method

When you use the built-in resizer, Instagram automatically adds borders to the top and bottom to fill the empty space. By default, these borders are white, but if you tap "Edit" at the bottom and then tap on your photo, you can often tap again to cycle to a black border. This method works perfectly for any aspect ratio between 1.91:1 (a wide landscape) and 4:5 (a tall portrait). The standard 16:9 ratio used by most cameras and video platforms fits beautifully using this feature.

For More Control: Pre-Formatting Your Post Before Uploading

The built-in tool is great for speed, but what if you want more creative control? Maybe you want your brand's colors in the background, text above the image, or a clean "letterbox" effect for a professional look. For this, you’ll want to prepare your post in a separate design app before you even think about opening Instagram. This is the method most professional creators and brands use to maintain a polished feed aesthetic.

Using a Free Mobile App (like Canva or InShot)

Apps like Canva, InShot, and CapCut make this incredibly easy. The idea is to create a properly sized Instagram canvas first, then place your horizontal media on top of it. This gives you full control over the background and any other elements you want to add.

Step-by-Step with Canva (A Popular Free Option):

1. Open the Canva app (or website) and search for an "Instagram Post (Square)" template. This will give you a perfect 1080x1080 pixel canvas. Pro tip: You can also choose the "Instagram Post (Portrait)" template (1080x1350 pixels) to take up more vertical space in the feed.
2. Upload your horizontal photo or video into Canva.
3. Drag it onto your square or portrait canvas. Resize and position it as you see fit - usually centered, leaving equal space above and below.
4. Now the fun part: customize the background! You can make it a solid brand color, use a subtle gradient, or even find a patterned background that fits your style.
5. This is your chance to add other elements. Place your logo tastefully, add a text headline, or other relevant graphics in the border areas.
6. When you're happy with it, export the final image or video to your phone. Now, when you upload it to Instagram, it’s already in a perfect square (or portrait) format, and no cropping will occur.

Creating the "Letterbox" Effect for a Cinematic Feel

If you've ever seen a photographer's feed with beautiful horizontal shots framed by clean black or white bars, that's called a letterbox effect. It's a classic technique that makes photos feel more like a still from a film. You can easily achieve this look using the same app pre-formatting method described above. Just set the canvas background to either pure black or pure white - no other embellishments are needed.

What About Horizontal Content in Stories and Reels?

This is where things get a bit more challenging. Stories and Reels are designed to be fully immersive, vertical (9:16 aspect ratio) experiences. If you upload a horizontal video, Instagram will aggressively zoom in and crop the sides to fill the screen, likely ruining your shot.

The Pinch-to-Zoom Method (Quick but Unpolished)

When you add your horizontal content to a Story or Reel, you can use two fingers to pinch and zoom out. This will reveal the entire horizontal frame. The downside? Instagram will fill the massive empty space above and below with an auto-generated gradient based on the colors in your media. It’s better than a weird crop, but it rarely looks professional.

The Best Method: Pre-Format It Vertically

Just like with feed posts, the professional solution is to do the formatting outside of Instagram. By placing your horizontal video onto a vertical canvas, you gain full control over the final look.

1. In an app like Canva, InShot, VN, or CapCut, create a new project using the "Instagram Story" or "Instagram Reel" template (this will be a 1080x1920 pixel, 9:16 canvas).
2. Import your horizontal video and place it in the middle of this tall, vertical canvas.

Now you have valuable real estate above and below your video. This is an incredible opportunity to add value and context. Here are a few ideas that social media managers use every day:

• A Catchy Headline: Add a bold title at the top to stop people from scrolling and tell them what your video is about.
• Burned-In Captions: Place auto-generated captions (a feature in apps like CapCut) in the space below the video so people can watch with the sound off.
• A Branded Background: Use your brand colors to make the Reel or Story instantly recognizable.
• A Call-to-Action (CTA): Add text like "New blog post live!" or "Link in bio to shop!"

This format is the go-to method for repurposing content from YouTube for Reels and Stories, and it performs incredibly well because it gives viewers context right away.

Taking it Further: The Seamless Panorama Carousel Post

Want to fully immerse your audience in a horizontal shot? Turn it into a swipeable carousel panorama. This technique involves slicing one wide, horizontal photo into two or more square posts. When users swipe through the carousel, the image segments line up perfectly, creating a single, unbroken panoramic view.

How to Create a Seamless Panorama Post

While you could try to crop a photo manually, it's difficult to get the cuts exactly right. It's much easier to use a dedicated app designed for this.

1. Start with a high-resolution horizontal photograph. An aspect ratio of 2:1 is perfect for a two-slide carousel, 3:1 for a three-slide, and so on. (e.g., An image that is 2160 pixels wide by 1080 pixels tall for a two-slide post).
2. Use a free app like PanoraSplit or Unsquared for Instagram. These apps do the work for you, letting you import your wide image and automatically slicing it into perfectly dimensioned squares.
3. Save the output. The app will save the "sliced" images to your camera roll in the correct sequence (e.g., "Image 1 of 2," "Image 2 of 2").
4. Back in Instagram, tap the plus icon [+] to create a new post, then tap the "Select Multiple" icon.
5. Choose the sliced images from your camera roll in the correct order.
6. Now, when you publish, your followers will see the first part of the photo and will be prompted to swipe, revealing the rest of the image in a deeply engaging, seamless flow.

Final Thoughts

Posting horizontal content on Instagram isn't about fighting the platform, it's about using the right tools to present your work beautifully. Whether you use the quick built-in resizer for a spontaneous shot or a design app to create a polished, branded frame for your video, you now have complete control to share your photos and videos just the way you intended.

Figuring out a consistent content plan involves juggling different formats - mixing horizontal feed posts, vertical Reels, and dynamic Stories. We deal with this exact challenge at Postbase, which is why we designed our platform to make it simple. Our visual calendar lets you see your entire cross-platform strategy at a glance, allowing you to drag and drop different content types to get the perfect mix. We built Postbase to streamline scheduling for modern formats like Reels and Shorts, so you can upload your content once, customize it for each platform, and get back to creating without any formatting headaches.