Many seasoned Instagram users and influencers use external editing software to export videos and images. This ensures that you can upload the highest quality content to Instagram possible. So, what are the best export settings for Instagram in 2023?
The Instagram export settings are 1080px by 1350px for landscapes, 1080px by 566px for selfies, and 1080px by 1080px for square images. Make sure to crop selfies to 4:5 so it is tall and slender to highlight your face. Videos should be 1080px by 1920px with sRGB color space settings so the colors stand out and complement the video or image.
Avoid setting the compression and video quality to 100% as Instagram will likely alter it when you upload. Follow along as we highlight the best export settings for Instagram in 2023.
Best Instagram Export Settings
Image Size
Image size is the first thing to consider when it comes to export settings on Instagram. When you post a photo, you must consider how it will appear on someone’s phone, tablet, or PC. The image size you choose ultimately determines the shape of the image when it appears onscreen.
There are three image shapes that coincide with size: landscape, portrait, and square. A landscape image measures 1080px by 566px, and it’s great for showing a sprawling vista. Portrait format photos are 1080px by 1350px, and that is the ideal selfie layout.
Finally, a standard square image is 1080px by 1080px. It’s important to choose the right image size to support the type of photo you want to upload. For example, you should never upload a 1080px by 566px selfie, or it will look strange onscreen.
Crop Format
While image size has a lot to do with the shape of a picture, you can also change the crop settings. Cropping a photo changes how it will appear on a phone or computer screen. However, it’s important to crop a photo to suit the image size and content of the image instead of changing it altogether.
The perfect square crop is 1:1 and 1080px by 1080px. If you want to crop a landscape picture, make sure to set it to 1.9:1 to make it as wide as possible. Otherwise, the image will look compressed and won’t produce the grand landscape effect you are going for.
The best crop setting for a selfie is 4:5. This produces a tall and slender image that is best suited to frame a face making it perfect for selfies.
Video Format
Reels are just as popular as pictures on Instagram, so video format is quite important. The ideal video setting for Instagram reels is 1080px by 1920px. This provides the perfect dimensions for phones, tablets, and computers alike.
Generally, 30 frames per second is the classic framerate for Instagram reels. You can set your reels to play at 60 frames per second and they will look great. However, it’s not necessary to set your videos to 60 frames per second in most cases because not everyone has modern phones and PCs that can accommodate such polished videos.
Color Space Setting
Color space is an often overlooked aspect of what makes images and videos stand out on Instagram. In 1996, Microsoft and HP created a color space known as sRGB. This color space emphasizes standard red, green, and blue to make images and videos pop onscreen.
Many photo and video editors, such as Fotor and Adobe let you alter the color space of an image before you export it to Instagram.
Set the color space to sRGB before you export the photo or else it will have a strange color scheme. That is of course unless you want the image to be offputting and stand out amongst the other photos on Instagram.
Compression Level
Compression affects how an image will appear to your followers on Instagram. Luckily, you can alter the image compression when you export a JPG. Compression is necessary so you don’t upload a massive image file because Instagram will automatically compress it for you.
Set the compression to 75% for the best results because setting it to 100% is overkill. If you set it to 100%, Instagram will likely alter it anyway and your hard editing work will go to waste.
Do Videos Lose Quality When Uploaded to Instagram?
Videos can decline in quality when you upload them to Instagram in some cases. That is because Instagram optimizes uploads to fit their server capabilities and bandwidth. In other words, your video may decline in quality when you upload if the quality is too high because Instagram cannot support it in some cases.
So, What are the Best Export Settings for Instagram in 2023?
The best export setting for Instagram is 1080px by 1350px for selfies and 1080px by 1080px for square images. When you export a landscape image, you should set the resolution for 1080px by 1350px. The ideal video resolution on Instagram is 1080px by 1920px.
David Miller is a seasoned tech aficionado with a profound expertise in NGINX and Ubuntu. With a career spanning over a decade, David has honed his skills in optimizing web servers and enhancing server performance to perfection. His deep-rooted passion for open-source technologies has led him to become a go-to resource in the field. Whether it’s crafting intricate NGINX configurations or troubleshooting complex Ubuntu server issues, David’s problem-solving prowess shines through.