How to Share Photos on Instagram

Uploading a photo to Instagram might seem simple, but turning that simple upload into a post that builds your brand and connects with an audience involves more than just hitting 'share'. This guide walks you through every step of sharing photos effectively on Instagram, from a basic single-image post to crafting strategic carousels and engaging Stories. We'll cover the technical steps and the creative strategies that make your content stand out.

The Anatomy of an Instagram Post: Feed, Stories, and Carousels

Before you upload, it’s good to know where your photo can live. Instagram gives you a few primary options, each with its own purpose.

• Feed Posts: These are the permanent photos and videos that appear on your profile grid. They're your visual portfolio and the core of your content strategy. Feed posts are best for high-quality, polished content that represents your brand.
• Instagram Stories: These are temporary, full-screen photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours (unless you save them to a Highlight). Stories are perfect for more casual, behind-the-scenes, and interactive content.
• Carousel Posts: A carousel is a type of feed post that allows you to share up to 10 photos or videos in a single, swipeable post. They are fantastic for storytelling, tutorials, and showing off multiple aspects of a product or event.

Understanding which format to use is the first step toward building a smarter, more effective Instagram presence.

How to Post a Single Photo to Your Instagram Feed

Let’s start with the classic. Posting a single, eye-catching photo to your main feed is the foundation of any Instagram account. Follow these steps to get it right every time.

1. Tap the ‘+’ Icon: Open your Instagram app and tap the plus icon [ + ] at the bottom center of your screen. This will open your phone’s photo gallery.
2. Select Your Photo: Scroll through your gallery and tap on the photo you want to share. If you need to find a specific picture, you can switch between your phone's different albums using the "Recents" dropdown menu at the top.
3. Choose Your Aspect Ratio: By default, Instagram crops your photo into a square (1:1 aspect ratio). To post it in its original portrait or landscape orientation, tap the expand icon (it looks like two corners: <, >,) on the bottom left of the photo preview. For maximum impact on the feed, a portrait orientation (4:5) is often best because it takes up the most screen real estate.
4. Edit and Filter (Optional): Once you're happy with the crop, tap ‘Next.’ Here, you can apply one of Instagram’s preset filters or use its editing tools. Tap ‘Edit’ to manually adjust things like Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, and Sharpness. A little fine-tuning can make a big difference, but try to maintain a consistent look across all your posts.
5. Write Your Caption and Add Hashtags: This is your chance to tell a story, provide context, or ask a question. A good caption grabs attention and encourages engagement. We'll go deeper into caption writing later, but for now, type out your text and add a few relevant hashtags.
6. Tag People and Location: If your photo includes other people or brands, tap ‘Tag People’ to tag their Instagram accounts. This sends them a notification and connects your post to their profile. Tapping ‘Add Location’ lets you geo-tag your photo, which can help people in that area discover your content.
7. Share Your Post: Once everything looks good, tap the ‘Share’ button in the top right corner. Your photo is now live on your Instagram feed and profile grid!

Level Up with Carousel Posts

Why share one photo when you can share ten? Carousel posts are powerful engagement-drivers because they keep users on your post longer as they swipe through your slides. This tells the Instagram algorithm that people are interested in your content, which can improve your reach.

How to Create a Photo Carousel:

1. Tap the plus icon [ + ] to start a new post.
2. In your photo gallery, tap the ‘Select Multiple’ icon (it looks like a stack of squares) on the right side.
3. Now, you can select up to 10 photos and videos. A number will appear on each thumbnail, indicating its order in the carousel. You can tap a photo again to deselect it or change the order.
4. Tap ‘Next.’ On this screen, you can apply a filter to all the photos at once or tap on an individual photo to edit it separately.
5. From here, the process is the same as a single-image post: write your caption, add hashtags, tag accounts, add a location, and tap ‘Share.’

Creative Ideas for Carousels:

• Mini-Tutorials: Use each slide to walk your audience through a step-by-step process. Think "how-to" guides, recipes, or workout routines.
• Before and After: Showcase a transformation. This works great for renovations, fitness progress, design projects, or photo editing.
• Behind the Scenes: Give a glimpse into your creative process, your workspace, or a day in your life. It builds a stronger, more personal connection with your audience.
• Data Dumps: Turn interesting stats or key takeaways from a blog post into clean, text-based graphics for a highly shareable carousel.
• Product Showcases: Don't just show one angle of your product. Use a carousel to highlight different features, color options, or ways to use it.

Sharing Photos to Your Instagram Story

Instagram Stories are for content that feels more in-the-moment and less polished than a feed post. The full-screen, vertical format is perfect for quick updates, polls, and sharing everyday moments.

How to Post a Photo to Your Story:

1. From the Instagram home screen, swipe right, or tap the plus icon [ + ] and select ‘Story.’
2. This will open your camera, but you can access your gallery by tapping the square thumbnail in the bottom left corner.
3. Select the photo you want to share. It will automatically fill the screen. You can pinch to zoom in or out and reposition the photo as you like.
4. Get Creative with Stickers: This is where Stories get fun. Tap the sticker icon (the smiley square) at the top of the screen to access dozens of interactive elements.
   • Location & Mention: Tag a location or another user, just like in a feed post.
   • Hashtag: Add a clickable hashtag sticker to get your story seen by a broader audience.
   • Poll & Quiz: Ask your audience a question and let them vote or guess the right answer. It's an easy way to boost engagement.
   • "Add Yours": Start a public thread that others can add to, creating a viral chain of content.
   • Music: Add a soundtrack to your story by searching for a song from Instagram's massive music library.
5. Add Text and Doodles: You can also use the text and pen tools to write messages, highlight certain parts of your photo, or add some artistic flair.
6. Share Your Story: Once your Story looks great, tap ‘Your Story’ in the bottom left corner to post it for all your followers to see. You can also send it directly to specific people by choosing 'Close Friends.'

Beyond the "How": Crafting a Winning Photo Strategy

Getting your photo onto Instagram is only half the battle. Making sure people see it, engage with it, and remember it is where strategy comes in.

Write Captions That Hook Your Audience

Your caption should do more than just describe the photo. It’s an opportunity to build a connection.

• Start with a Strong Opening Line: The first one to two lines are what people see before they have to tap "...more." Make them count! Ask a question, state a bold opinion, or share a relatable feeling to get people to stop scrolling.
• Tell a Story: What's the story behind the photo? Who were you with? What were you thinking or feeling? People connect with stories, not just perfectly curated images.
• Include a Call to Action (CTA): Encourage your audience to do something. Ask them to "comment with your favorite emoji," "tag a friend who needs to see this," or "tap the link in our bio to learn more." A direct prompt greatly increases the chances of engagement.

Use Hashtags Strategically

Hashtags are like keywords for Instagram. They help the platform categorize your content and show it to people who might be interested but don't follow you yet. But dumping 30 random tags on your post isn't the best approach.

Instead, think in terms of a hashtag funnel:

• Broad Hashtags (e.g., #travelphotography): These have huge followings but are also very competitive. Use one or two of these for broad visibility.
• Niche Hashtags (e.g., #icelandroadtrip): These are more specific to your content and attract a more targeted audience. This is where you’ll find your community. Use a handful of these.
• Branded hashtags (e.g., #postbaseblogging): A unique hashtag for only you. Branded hashtags are designed around a brand name or brand campaign - that could be an actual brand like ours, or could be a fun theme on your feed - you call it!

Aim for a mix of 5-15 highly relevant hashtags. You can place them at the end of your caption.

Final Thoughts

Sharing photos on Instagram is a simple action with incredible potential. By moving beyond just the basics of uploading and thinking strategically about your formats, captions, and tags, you can transform your profile from a simple photo album into a powerful tool for connecting with others and building your brand.

Once you’ve mastered creating the perfect post, consistency becomes the key to growth. For our own content strategy, we rely on Postbase to see our entire schedule in one beautiful calendar, plan campaigns from photo posts, and get a birds eye view of our upcoming content. We schedule all of our platforms at once, making sure we have customized captions on each post and then let automation do the work, freeing us up to engage with our community instead of living in the app.