Tech Reference

How to post panorama photos on Instagram in 2 different ways

Written by Steven John
instagram app
You can use a third-party app as an alternate method for posting panorama photos on Instagram. YaniSinla/Shutterstock
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When Instagram first hit smartphones, every image uploaded had to be shaped like a perfect square. 

This is all well and good for selfies and pictures of your kids, but for those majestic panorama shots of the Grand Canyon, Instagram's always struggled.

Nowadays, you can upload any sort of photo to Instagram. However, they don't always look so good.

Here's the best way to post panorama shots to Instagram on your iPhone or Android device, along with an app for iPhones that will help them look better.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

iPhone 11 (From $699.99 at Apple)

Samsung Galaxy S10 (From $699.99 at Walmart)

How to post panorama shots on Instagram

The simplest way to post panoramas is:

1. Open Instagram on your iPhone or Android and tap the plus icon at the bottom of the screen to upload a photo.

2. Once in your photo gallery, select the panorama shot you want to use.

3. Touch the image preview at the top with two fingers, then squeeze them together to zoom out. Zoom out until as much of the panorama as possible is visible.

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Much of your longer pano shots may be lost when you use Instagram to crop them.  Steven John/Business Insider

4. Add filters and post it as usual. 

The result here is a rectangular picture with large blank spaces on the top and bottom. This will do your photo some justice, but for full-sized panoramas, you likely still won't be able to fit the whole photo.

For the full effect, you'll need to use a program like Photoshop to cut the panorama into smaller, square images. If you have an iPhone, there's an app that will do this for you automatically: "Unsquared for Instagram."

Download the Unsquared app on the Apple App Store and give it the permissions it needs to access your photos. Then, follow these steps to cut up your photos.

1. Open the Unsquared app and tap the image of a stack of photos at bottom right.

2. Tap the pano image from your library that you want to use, then tap the blue check mark.

3. Your image will appear with the Unsquared watermark on it. Tap the blue icon that looks like a series of squares at the bottom of the screen, and you can pick how many photos you'd like the panorama shot to be split into — once you choose an option, the watermark will shrink.

how to post panorama instagram 3
Tap this icon to choose how many pictures you'd like to split your pano shot into.  Steven John/Business Insider

Note that the more pieces you cut it into, the more of the top and bottom of the shot that will be cut off. In general, if you want to include every part of the photo, try to pick "3 Pieces."

4. Once you're satisfied, tap "Done." The split-up photos will be saved to your phone, and you can post them to Instagram.

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You'll be able to post the split photos as a series to Instagram.  Steven John/Business Insider

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Headshot of Steven John
Steven John
Steven John has been a freelance writer for more than a dozen years and has been a regular contributor to Business Insider since 2017. His work includes a focus on the tech world, covering companies including Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and others. He also reviews restaurants, shares how-to cooking articles, and writes general interest pieces.Steven also writes for publications including Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, Forbes, and more. In the past, he also wrote for New York Magazine, Mashed, U.S. News & World Report and other outlets. He runs his own outdoor lifestyle site, Dad Gear Review, and co-hosts the Fact Trekkers podcast with his son. He has had two novels published, Three A.M. and Outrider. He graduated from Emerson College with a degree in communications focused on filmmaking.He is an avid outdoorsman and can be frequently found in a kayak or on a mountain trail, often with his family along for the adventure.Expertise:Tech industryTech hardwareOutdoorsCookingRestaurantsDIYPopular articles:Microsoft: A history of the software giant co-founded by Bill Gates, its products and services, jobs, layoffs, and moreYouTube is a major entertainment force. Here's the platform's history, plus how to create a channel and upload videos.Inside the life and career of Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, billionaire, and philanthropistTim Cook net worth: How the Apple leader earns and spends his moneyBecoming an Amazon seller is a simple process. Here's what's involved, plus how you make money and get paid.