How to Upload Reels on Instagram from Gallery

So you've shot and edited the perfect video, and it's sitting right there in your phone's gallery, ready for its big debut as an Instagram Reel. Getting that pre-made content onto Instagram is the final step to connecting with your audience. This guide provides a complete walkthrough, showing you exactly how to upload your video from your gallery, polish it with Instagram’s native tools, and optimize it for maximum reach before hitting share.

Why Pre-Editing Your Reels is a Smart Move

While Instagram's built-in editor has improved, many creators and brands prefer to edit their videos outside the app first. Uploading from your gallery gives you greater creative control and unlocks a few key advantages:

• Higher Production Quality: Third-party apps like CapCut, InShot, or professional software like Adobe Premiere Rush offer more advanced transitions, color grading, sound design, and text options than Instagram’s native editor.
• Consistent Branding: You can add your own branded fonts, logos, and graphics to your video before uploading, ensuring every piece of content aligns perfectly with your visual identity.
• Efficient Workflow: Pre-editing allows you to batch-create content. You can shoot and edit a week's worth of Reels in one session, then simply upload them when you're ready to post, saving you time and stress.
• Fewer In-App Glitches: Let’s be honest - editing a complex video directly in the Instagram app can sometimes be buggy. A pre-edited file is cleaner and less likely to cause issues during the upload process.

Quick Checklist: Getting Your Video Reel-Ready

Before you upload, make sure your video file is optimized for the best viewing experience on Instagram. A little prep work goes a long way in avoiding weird cropping or quality loss.

Optimal Video Specs for Instagram Reels

• Aspect Ratio: 9:16. This is the standard vertical "phone screen" size (1080 pixels wide by 1920 pixels tall). Filming and editing in this format from the start prevents awkward zoom-ins or black bars around your video.
• Video Length: Up to 90 seconds. While you have a minute and a half to work with, remember that attention spans are short. Reels between 7 and 15 seconds often perform exceptionally well.
• File Type: MP4 is the most reliable format. For best quality, aim for an H.264 codec, AAC audio, and a frame rate of 30 frames per second (FPS). Most modern phones and editing apps handle this automatically, so you don't need to get too technical.

How to Upload Your Reel: A Simple Walkthrough

Alright, your video is polished and ready to go. Let’s get it from your gallery onto Instagram in a few simple steps. The interface looks slightly different depending on your device, but the core process is the same.

Step 1: Open the Reels Creator

There are a few ways to get to the Reels creation screen:

• From the Home Screen: Tap the plus icon [+] at the bottom center of the navigation bar, then select Reel.
• From Your Profile: Tap the plus icon [+] in the top right corner of your profile page and select Reel.
• The Shortcut: From the main feed, simply swipe right to open the camera, and make sure "Reel" is selected in the bottom menu.

Step 2: Access Your Phone's Gallery

Once you're in the Reels camera interface, look to the bottom-left corner of the screen. You'll see a small square preview of your most recent photo or video, often with a little blue plus symbol on it. Tap this square to open your phone's media gallery.

Pro Tip: Give Instagram permission to access all your photos if you haven't already. This will let you browse all your albums instead of just your recent files.

Step 3: Choose Your Video Clip(s)

Now, select the pre-edited video you want to upload. If your Reel is made up of multiple smaller clips you've saved, you can select them all here. Tap the icon in the top right of the gallery view to select multiple files. They will be added to your timeline in the order you tap them, but don't worry - you can easily rearrange them in the next step.

Step 4: Trim and Arrange Your Clips

After selecting your video, you’ll be taken to a trim screen. Here, you can drag the sliders at the bottom to shorten the beginning or end of your clip. If you uploaded multiple clips, tap "Edit clips" on the bottom left to enter a timeline view where you can reorder clips by dragging them, trim each one individually, or delete any you don't need.

Once you’re happy with the timing and sequence of your video, tap "Next" in the top-right corner to move to the main creative editor.

Adding the Final Touches: Mastering the Instagram Reel Editor

Your video is now loaded into Instagram’s editor. This is where you can add trending audio, interactive stickers, and other on-platform elements that can significantly boost your Reel's engagement and discoverability.

Choose an Audio Track (or Stick with Your Original)

Sound is the soul of a Reel. At the top of the editor, tap the music note icon to access the audio library.

• Trending Audio: Look for songs or sounds with an upward-pointing arrow next to them - this indicates they are trending, and using them can help your Reel get shown to more people.
• Your Original Audio: If your video already has narration or a unique sound, you have a powerful tool at your disposal. This creates an "Original Audio" track that others can use, crediting you with a link back to your Reel. This is a fantastic organic growth strategy.
• Mix Your Audio: Tap "Controls" or the mixer icon to adjust the volume. You can lower the music volume so your original voiceover can be heard clearly, or vice versa.

Engage with Text, Stickers, and Effects

The icons on the right side of the editor are your creative sandbox. Use them strategically to make your Reel more compelling.

• Text (Aa): Always add on-screen text or captions. Many people watch videos without sound, so subtitles make your content more accessible. You can also time your text to appear and disappear in sync with your video for a dynamic effect.
• Stickers: Interactive stickers are engagement magnets. Use the Poll, Quiz, or Emoji Slider stickers to prompt viewers to interact directly. The "Add Yours" sticker is perfect for starting trends and encouraging user-generated content.
• Filters & Effects: Tap the sparkles icon to browse through different filters and augmented reality (AR) effects. While your pre-edited video may already be color-graded, a subtle filter can help it blend in aesthetically with other Reels on the platform.

Before You Hit 'Share': Your Final Optimization Checklist

You’re so close to being done! The final screen is where you set your Reel up for success with a strategic caption, a powerful cover photo, and the right tags.

Write a Caption that Hooks

Your caption should add value and encourage action. Think of it as a three-part structure:

1. The Hook: Your first sentence needs to stop the scroll. Make it bold, ask a question, or state a surprising fact related to your video.
2. The Content: Briefly explain what the Reel is about or provide additional tips that couldn’t fit in the video itself.
3. The Call to Action (CTA): Explicitly tell your audience what you want them to do next. Examples include "Save this for your next trip!", "Comment your favorite tip below," or "Click the link in my bio to learn more."

Select Your Hashtags Wisely

Skip the giant block of 30 hashtags. Instead, use a focused mix of 5-8 highly relevant hashtags that describe your video's content, your niche, and your target audience. Use a blend of popular hashtags (1M+ posts) to ride trends and niche-specific hashtags (<,100k posts) to connect with a more dedicated community.

Choose an Eye-Catching Cover Photo

Your Reel's cover photo is what people see when browsing your profile grid or the Reels feed. A clean, intriguing cover can dramatically increase clicks.

After writing your caption, tap "Edit cover" over the video preview. You can either drag along the timeline to select the most visually appealing frame from your video or tap "Add from camera roll" to upload a custom-designed cover image from your gallery. This is great for maintaining a consistent, branded look on your profile grid.

Tag People, a Location, and Your Products

Don't skip the metadata! Tag any other accounts featured in your Reel (or collaborators). Add a geographical location, for a hyper-local business, this is a must for discoverability. If you have products featured, use Instagram Shopping to tag them directly in the Reel.

Adjust Your 'Advanced Settings'

Before you publish, tap on "Advanced settings." Here are some important toggles:

• Accessibility: Make sure "Show captions" is turned ON. This automatically generates subtitles for your video, making it accessible to a wider audience.
• Recommend on Facebook: For most creators and brands, leaving this ON is a great way to expand your content's reach beyond Instagram's audience.

Final Thoughts

Uploading a Reel from your gallery is a straightforward process once you know the steps. It combines the creative freedom of high-quality, pre-edited videos with the powerful, engagement-driving tools native to Instagram, like trending audio and interactive stickers. By following this guide, you have a blueprint for not only publishing your content but also optimizing it to capture attention and grow your community.

Creating and optimizing outstanding Reels is one part of a successful strategy, the other is publishing them consistently to your audience. We know firsthand how much work it takes to get all the details of each post perfect, which is where a good organizing tool becomes essential. As former brand managers, we knew we had to solve these hassles. We developed Postbase, a tool featuring a visual calendar that allows you to schedule all of your content across all your platforms. Because our tool was built with video in mind, you can have confidence that all your Reels will be published perfectly as planned.