How to Post Long Vertical Photos on Instagram

Ever see a stunningly long vertical photo on Instagram and wonder how they did it? You're not alone. While Instagram loves vertical content, it has strict limits on just how vertical your photos can be, leaving many photographers and creators frustrated when their full image gets awkwardly cropped. This guide will show you exactly how to post your tall photos - like panoramas, cityscapes, or full-body portraits - without losing a single detail, using a simple technique called a seamless carousel.

Why Bother with Long Vertical Photos Anyway?

Before getting into the how-to, let's cover the "why." In a sea of content, your goal is to stop the scroll. Taller images naturally dominate the screen on mobile devices, grabbing more attention than a standard square or landscape photo. A traditional portrait post on Instagram fills a good portion of the screen, but a long vertical photo, presented as a seamless carousel, creates an interactive and immersive experience.

• It's a Pattern Interrupt: A photo that continues as you swipe is unexpected and engaging. It makes people pause and interact with your content instead of just double-tapping and moving on.
• More Screen Real Estate: The more of the screen you command, the more focus you get. It’s that simple. Taller visuals literally push competitors off the screen for a moment.
• Enhanced Storytelling: A long vertical canvas is fantastic for showing off full-length outfits, tall architecture, epic landscapes, or even creative infographics. It allows you to guide the viewer’s eye on a visual journey from top to bottom.

Understanding Instagram's Aspect Ratio Rules

The core of the problem lies with Instagram’s aspect ratio limitations. An aspect ratio is simply the relationship between the width and height of an image. Here’s what Instagram officially allows for in-feed photo posts:

• Square: 1:1 aspect ratio (e.g., 1080 x 1080 pixels)
• Landscape: 1.91:1 aspect ratio (e.g., 1080 x 566 pixels)
• Portrait: 4:5 aspect ratio (e.g., 1080 x 1350 pixels)

The “Portrait” 4:5 ratio is the tallest you can go for a single image post. If you try to upload a photo that's taller - say, a 16:9 vertical panorama from a phone - Instagram will force you to crop it, cutting off either the top or bottom. This is where the seamless carousel method comes in.

The Fix: Splitting Your Photo into a Seamless Carousel

The secret to posting a long vertical photo is to not post it as one image. Instead, you cleverly slice your tall photo into two or more sections, each perfectly sized to the 4:5 aspect ratio, and then upload them as a multi-image carousel post. When someone swipes through, the images line up perfectly, creating the illusion of one continuous, long photo. It’s a powerful effect that is surprisingly easy to pull off once you know the steps.

Let's get practical. Here are three step-by-step methods using popular tools, from professional-grade software to easy-to-use mobile apps.

Method 1: Using Adobe Photoshop (For Precision Control)

Photoshop gives you the most control over the entire process, making it the preferred method for photographers and designers who want perfectly aligned slices. It's not as complex as it sounds.

Step 1: Determine Your Canvas Size

First, figure out the final dimensions of your full, long image. The width should always be 1080 pixels to maintain crisp quality on Instagram. The height will depend on how many carousel slides you want.

• For a 2-slide carousel: Your canvas should be 1080px wide by 2700px tall (1350px + 1350px). This gives you an aspect ratio of 4:10.
• For a 3-slide carousel: Your canvas should be 1080px wide by 4050px tall (1350px + 1350px + 1350px). This gives you an aspect ratio of 4:15.

Go to File >, New and set up your document with these dimensions.

Step 2: Place Your Image

Place your vertical photo onto the canvas and resize it to fit. Hold the Shift key while resizing to maintain its proportions. Adjust it until you’re happy with the composition inside the tall frame.

Step 3: Create Guides to Mark the Slices

Guides are non-printing lines that help you see exactly where to cut. We'll use them to mark where one carousel slide ends and the next begins.

1. Go to View >, Guides >, New Guide Layout...
2. In the window that appears, uncheck "Columns" and check "Rows".
3. Set the Number of rows to match the number of slices you need (e.g., 2 if your canvas is 2700px tall). Make sure the Gutter value is set to 0.
4. This will place a perfect horizontal guide marking the middle of your image, showing you exactly where the split will be. For a 3-slide image, it would create two guides, dividing it into three equal sections.

Step 4: Use the Slice Tool

The Slice Tool is designed for this exact purpose.

1. Find the Slice Tool in the toolbar. It's usually nested under the Crop Tool (right-click or long-press the Crop Tool to find it).
2. At the top of the window, you'll see a button that says "Slices from Guides". Click it.
3. Photoshop will automatically create numbered slices based on the guides you just made. You’ll see thin blue lines and a small numbered badge in the corner of each slice.

Step 5: Export Your Slices

Now you just need to save these slices as separate image files.

1. Go to File >, Export >, Save for Web (Legacy)...
2. Choose JPEG as the format and set the Quality to 80-100 for best results.
3. Double-check that the image dimensions for each slice are showing as 1080 x 1350.
4. Click Save... and in the dialog box, make sure the "Format" dropdown is set to "Images Only" and "Slices" is set to "All Slices".
5. Photoshop will export your slices into a new folder named "images" as separate, perfectly cropped files named after your original document with numbers (e.g., `MyImage-01.jpg`, `MyImage-02.jpg`).

Transfer these files to your phone, and you're ready to post! Just select them in the correct order when creating your Instagram carousel.

Method 2: Using Canva (A Great Free Alternative)

If you don't have Photoshop, Canva is an excellent and free way to accomplish a similar result. The process is a bit more manual, but still very straightforward.

Step 1: Create Your Multi-Page Canvas

Instead of making one giant canvas, we'll create multiple pages, each sized as a single Instagram post.

1. In Canva, click "Create a design" and choose "Custom size."
2. Enter the dimensions 1080 W x 1350 H pixels. This will be your first slide.
3. Below your first page, click "Add page" to create a second, identical blank page. Do this for as many slides as you need.

Step 2: Position Your Image Across the Pages

This is the part that requires a steady hand.

1. On the first page, upload your long vertical photo. Drag it onto your canvas.
2. Resize and position the photo so that the top part of your image fills the entire first page. Your goal is to have the very bottom of the image hang off the page. Pay attention to how the top alignment looks.
3. Go to your second page. Drag the same photo onto that page.
4. Now, meticulously drag the image upwards so that the top of it is gone and the bottom of your image fills the second page. Canva's smart guides (pink lines) are helpful here. You want the part of the image on the top of this second slide to be the exact spot where it was cut off at the bottom of the first slide.
5. Zoom in and switch back and forth between the pages to make sure the transition is seamless. You'll likely need to nudge the images up or down a few times to get it perfect.

Step 3: Download the Pages as Separate Files

1. Once you're happy with the alignment, click the "Share" button in the top right.
2. Select "Download".
3. Choose your file type (PNG or JPG is fine).
4. Underneath "Select pages", make sure "All pages" is checked and click "Download".

Canva will download a ZIP file containing each page as an individually numbered image, ready for you to upload to Instagram as a carousel.

Method 3: Using Mobile Apps (The Quickest Option)

If you do all your work on your phone, there are dedicated apps made just for this. A popular and effective app is Panorama Crop on Android or similar ones like Swipeable on iOS. The process is generally the same across all of them.

1. Import: Open the app and upload your long vertical photo from your camera roll.
2. Select Slices: The app will show you an overlay of how it will slice your image. You can usually choose how many pieces to divide it into (choose 2 or 3 for a vertical split).
3. Preview: You’ll get a preview of what the swiping experience will look like.
4. Export: The app will save the separate images, correctly numbered, directly to your phone's photo library.

These apps automate the measuring and slicing, making it incredibly fast. The tradeoff is you have a little less creative control than you would with Photoshop or Canva.

Best Practices for Creating Awesome Vertical Carousels

Just knowing how to create the effect is one thing, making it genuinely engaging is another. Here are a few quick tips:

• Add a "Swipe" Prompt: Since the first image looks like a regular standalone photo, some people might not think to swipe. Add a small text overlay or an arrow icon near the edge of the first slide to encourage the swipe.
• Mind a Strategic Cut Point: Try to slice your image at a point of interest that builds curiosity. For example, cut just below a person’s chin on the first slide, prompting a swipe to reveal their full expression. Or split a landscape just above the amazing reflection in the water.
• Maintain Visual Flow: Create compositions with a strong top-to-bottom flow. Leading lines, subject poses, and graphic elements can all help guide the viewer's eye downward from one frame to the next.
• Think Beyond Photos: This technique is amazing for more than just photography. Use it to present long infographics, step-by-step instructions, tall quotes, or even your restaurant's dinner menu. It's a fresh way to share text-based and graphic content too.

Final Thoughts

Posting long vertical photos on Instagram is a fantastic way to break the mold and make your content more interactive. By splitting your photo into a seamless carousel, you bypass the platform's cropping restrictions and create an immersive visual experience that stops the scroll and gets your audience to engage more deeply with your post.

Mastering new content formats is exciting, but scheduling and organizing these multi-image posts can clog up your workflow. That’s why we built Postbase to be visual from the ground up. Our content calendar makes it easy to schedule carousels, videos, and Stories across all your platforms in one place. You can drag and drop to reschedule everything, see exactly how posts will look ahead of time, and keep your content strategy organized without falling back on confusing spreadsheets.