To stand out on Instagram and gain visibility, dare to use image grids and panoramic photos! Formats not provided as standard, but they are a sensation on the social network.
On Instagram, the aesthetics of the image is essential to stand out, as you know. It is not for nothing that the social network offers a multitude of filters and tools to retouch the framing, lights, and colors. And yet, the image format remains very classic.
At its inception, Instagram only offered a square format and it was not until 2015 that the application accepts landscape or portrait shots and allows its users to play a little on the dimensions. Despite this, the possibilities are still limited: for a landscape photo, the maximum dimensions are 1080 x 566 pixels. A size that is far from ideal for highlighting a subject or giving your subscribers a beautiful panorama! But you can get around this limitation by playing on the “grid” format of user profile pages by splitting a single image into several. It is this grid technique that is used on image grids on the profiles of brands or influencers.
You don’t need to be a Photoshop pro to do these cutouts, since there are now free applications that allow you to cut out images and adapt them to the Instagram format while maintaining the aesthetics via a slideshow-style presentation. This practical sheet explains how to do it on mobile.
Which app should I use to create an image grid or panoramic image for Instagram?
To publish image grids or panoramic photos on Instagram, you are spoilt for choice: there are dozens of apps on iOS as well as on Android. Some are paid, some are free. Some are easy to use and others much less so. Some are only for creating grids, some only for panoramic formats, and some are multi-functional.
We recommend you to use GridPost, which we use here. Very easy to use, this app available on Android and iOS allows you to make cutouts in the grid and panoramic formats, add text or stickers and even create other formats. Gridpost is completely free but displays advertising screens. Before you do anything else, download it from the Play Store (for Android mobiles) or the App Store (iOS version for iPhone and iPad).
Create and publish a panoramic image on Instagram
Gridpost has special features to easily create and publish a panoramic image on Instagram.
- Open the GridPost app on your smartphone.
- Tap the Panoramic Crop icon at the bottom left of the interface.
- First, select the image you want to use from your smartphone’s photo library or gallery.
- On the layout screen, choose the number of images for the slideshow by tapping a number at the bottom of the screen. You can create up to 10 cropped images. You can also crop the image by dragging it.
- When you are satisfied with the result, press OK.
- After a short ad, the final result will be displayed and the cropped images will be added to the photo library. Press Open Instagram to publish the images.
- The Instagram app opens directly to the first publishing page. From there, you have two options.
Publish a panoramic image in a single post on Instagram
- Tap Multi-Select.
- Choose the images in order and tap Next.
- Check the result and press Next again.
- On the final screen, press the Share button after adding the information you want (caption, ID, etc.).
Publish a panoramic image in several posts on Instagram
- Choose the first image of the panoramic (the one furthest to the right of the clipped images in the list) and press Next.
- ‘Follow the steps to create and tap Share on the final screen after adding the information.
- Repeat the same operation for all the remaining cut-out images.
- On your profile, the panorama will appear like a slideshow.
Create and publish a grid of cropped images for Instagram
Gridpost has special features to easily create and publish a grid of images on Instagram.
- Open the GridPost app on your mobile device.
- Tap the Photo Grids icon at the bottom right of the interface.
- Choose the image you want to use from your photo library.
- On the layout screen, select the number of images in the grid by tapping the format at the bottom of the screen (3 x 1, 3 x 2, 3 x 3, etc.). You can crop the image by dragging it. Then press Next.
- The next screen allows you to edit one or more images in the grid. If you want to edit an image, go below to see how to do it, otherwise press Next.
- You can then add filters, overlay effects, text, or stickers. All the tools are accessible from the icons at the bottom of the interface. Scroll through the options and try them out. Press OK when you’re done.
- You will finally reach the cut-out image. If the order seems to be reversed, don’t panic, it’s perfectly normal! Press on image number 1.
- The Instagram application will open on the first publication page. Press Next.
- Go through the different steps and press Share after possibly adding additional information.
- Once the image is shared, go back to GridPost and tap on image number 2 in the grid. Repeat the publishing process on Instagram.
- Repeat the same process until you have published the last image of the GridPost grid on Instagram.
- Once the last grid image is published, you can admire the result on your profile page!
Change a grid image
- It is quite possible to replace a grid image with another one with Gridpost.
- To do so, press the photo icon with a + at the bottom left to choose an image.
- Choose the image from the photo library.
- Press on one of the images in the grid to replace it with the new image.
- Press OK to confirm when you are done.
Delete an image in the Gridpost
Of course, you can also remove an image from the grid if you made a mistake when replacing it, for example.
- To do this, press the Layers icon – the pile of diamonds – at the bottom right of the screen.
- In the Layers screen, press the red icon with a – sign to the left of the added image. This will automatically remove it from the grid.