How to Post Multiple Photos on Instagram: A Step-by-Step Guide

Posting multiple photos in one Instagram post, known as a carousel, lets you share up to 20 images or videos that people swipe through. This guide explains how to post multiple photos on Instagram, covering the basic steps, mixing different photo sizes, fixing common upload limits, and what to do once your carousel is live.

How to Post Multiple Photos on Instagram

Posting multiple photos on Instagram takes just a few taps. Open the app and tap the plus icon to start a new post. Choose “Post” from the menu, then tap the icon that looks like overlapping squares to select multiple photos.

Pick up to 20 photos or videos from your gallery. The order you tap them in is the order they will appear, though you can press and hold any thumbnail afterwards to drag it into a new position. Once you are happy with the order, tap Next.

From here, you can apply filters to each photo individually or to the whole set at once. Add your caption, tag people, and include a location if relevant. Tap Share, and your carousel goes live. This is the core method most people use when they want to post multiple photos on Instagram without extra tools or apps.

Posting Photos With Different Sizes Together

For a long time, Instagram forced every photo in a carousel to match the aspect ratio of the first image. That changed with a resize update that added a “Mixed” option. When you tap the resize icon in the bottom-left corner of the preview screen, you get three choices: Mixed, Portrait, and Square.

Selecting Mixed keeps each photo’s original shape, so a vertical photo and a horizontal photo can sit side by side in the same carousel without being cropped to match. Portrait crops everything to a 4:5 ratio, and Square forces a 1:1 crop.

There are still limits. Any photo taller than 4:5 (like a phone screenshot) or wider than 1.91:1 (like a panorama) gets cropped regardless of which option you pick. If you want to avoid this, you can add a plain-colour border to the photo before uploading so it fits within Instagram’s supported sizes. This is a common trick among photographers and brands who want to keep their original framing intact while they post multiple photos on Instagram.

Splitting a Wide Photo Across Multiple Slides

If you have a wide panoramic shot, posting it as a single image often makes it look small and hard to see in the feed. A better option is to split the photo into two or more slides so it reads as one continuous image when someone swipes through.

To do this, decide on your slide ratio first. A 4:5 portrait split across two slides works out to a canvas of roughly 2160 by 1350 pixels. After resizing your original photo to that canvas, crop the left half for your first slide and the right half for your second slide, keeping both at 4:5. When uploaded in order, the two slides will appear as one wide image broken at the swipe point.

This technique takes a bit more setup than a standard carousel, but it works well for landscape photography, group shots, or any image where the full width matters.

File Limits and Specs Worth Knowing

A few technical limits affect how your carousel looks and whether it uploads smoothly. Each image can be up to 30MB, and each video slide can run up to 60 seconds with a file size cap of 4GB. Captions can run up to 2,200 characters, with room for up to 30 hashtags, though using that many is rarely necessary.

For sizing, 1080 by 1350 pixels (a 4:5 ratio) remains the most reliable choice for both the feed and your profile grid. Square images at 1080 by 1080 also work well if you want consistency across platforms. Keep in mind that your cover slide gets cropped further when shown on your profile grid, so avoid placing important details near the very top or bottom of your first image.

What to Do If You Can’t Post More Than 10 Photos

Instagram raised its carousel limit from 10 to 20 slides in 2023, but not everyone sees this option right away. If you are stuck at 10, a few things can help.

First, check that your app is updated to the latest version through the App Store or Google Play. An outdated app is the most common reason the 20-photo option does not appear. If you are already updated, try clearing the app’s cache. On Android, this is under Settings, then Apps, then Instagram, then Storage. On iPhone, deleting and reinstalling the app has the same effect.

If the option still does not show up, the feature may not have reached your account yet. Instagram rolls out updates gradually by region and account type, so business accounts sometimes get new features before personal ones, or vice versa. In this case, waiting a few days and trying again is usually the simplest fix. Posting through Instagram’s website is also worth trying, since some features appear on the web before the app catches up.

If you use a scheduling tool, keep in mind that third-party platforms allow a maximum of 10 images or videos in a scheduled carousel, even though Instagram’s own app supports up to 20. To use the full 20-slide limit, you currently need to post directly through Instagram rather than through a scheduler. Kapwing

A Few Practical Limits to Know

Once a carousel is posted, you cannot add new photos to it or change the order. If you need to fix the sequence, your only option is to delete the post and upload it again with the correct order. It is worth double-checking your slide order in the preview screen before tapping Share.

It also helps to preview how your post will look to people who are not logged in or who do not follow you, especially if you run a business or creator account. Tools like HideViewer let you check a public Instagram profile’s posts and grid layout without logging in, which can be a useful way to confirm your carousel displays correctly before you tell people to check it out. As with any external tool, it works only with publicly available profile information.

If you want to learn more about how your profile appears to others, see our guide on Instagram Grid Reorder and how it changes the way your carousels show up on your profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many photos can I post in one Instagram carousel?

You can post up to 20 photos or videos in a single carousel post. This limit was raised from 10 in 2023.

Can I mix photos and videos in the same carousel?

Yes. A carousel can include any combination of photos and videos, up to 20 items total. Each video can run up to 60 seconds.

Can I rearrange the photos after posting?

No. Once a carousel is live, the slide order cannot be changed. You would need to delete the post and upload it again in the correct order.

Why does Instagram crop my photos in a carousel?

By default, Instagram crops every photo to match the aspect ratio of the first one. Selecting the “Mixed” resize option lets each photo keep its original shape, within Instagram’s supported size range.

Can I schedule a 20-photo carousel using a third-party app?

Not currently. Most scheduling tools cap carousels at 10 images or videos, so posting directly through the Instagram app is the only way to use all 20 slots. Kapwing

Do carousels get more engagement than single photos?

Single-image posts have declined while carousel and Reels formats have grown, suggesting carousels are a strong format for ongoing engagement, though results vary by account and content. Carousel Post

Final Thoughts

Now that you know how to post multiple photos on Instagram, a few details make the real difference. Using the Mixed resize option keeps your photos looking the way you intended; splitting wide images across slides can add visual impact, and knowing the file limits ahead of time avoids upload issues.

If the 20-photo option is not available yet, updating your app and clearing the cache solves the problem for most people. Beyond that, take a moment to review your slide order before posting, since there is no way to edit it afterwards.