Samsung Instagram Photography: Sizes, Settings and Edits

Instagram will resize your photos to be 1080 pixels wide (the usual reason they look less sharp than in Gallery) and crop photos that don’t fit into its accepted aspect ratios. If you don’t shoot using those aspect ratios, then you’ll lose some of your photo.

The advice you’ll see floating around on the internet is outdated in many cases, because Instagram updated its tallest feed aspect ratio and its profile grid aspect ratio in 2025.

Instagram sizes for Galaxy photos

According to Instagram’s help centre, images that are between 320 pixels and 1080 pixels wide and have an aspect ratio somewhere between the aspect ratio of the widest feed format and the aspect ratio of the tallest feed format (see table below) are not resized, and are uploaded in their original resolution. All other images are cropped to fit one of Instagram’s feed formats.

The square and portrait aspect ratios offered by the Galaxy’s camera match Instagram’s feed formats perfectly, and there’s even a camera aspect ratio to match Stories’ aspect ratio (Samsung notes that available aspect ratios vary by device).

Older Instagram guides recommend a 4:5 aspect ratio because it was the tallest ratio that doesn’t get cropped in feeds. Instagram’s own help page currently lists the slightly taller 3:4 ratio, which is also one of the Galaxy camera’s aspect ratios.

Thumbnails on Instagram profile pages used to be squares, but in January 2025 Instagram changed them to be taller vertical rectangles to better represent the majority of photos people post on Instagram, according to The Verge.

Camera settings that suit Instagram

Image ratio is what will determine how much of your image Instagram will crop out (if at all), so decide this first. Set your aspect ratio to portrait in the Camera app, as this will take up the most space on Instagram without losing any of the image to cropping. Save full height for images that you’re planning on using for Stories only.

As for image resolution, Instagram reduces the size of all photos to 1080 pixels wide, so there’s not much point shooting on anything higher than 12MP (e.g. 50MP or 200MP modes) as it’ll just increase file size with no visible difference in quality. If you do end up cropping substantially, these can still come in handy. Our guide to 12MP, 50MP and 200MP goes over the pros and cons.

Scene Optimizer is a feature that increases saturation and contrast which can make colours pop on small screens, but can be difficult to correct later on if you want to do your own editing. As explained in the Scene Optimizer guide, this should be left on except when shooting for a consistent edited look, in which case it should be turned off.

Samsung camera or Instagram camera

Samsung said that, with the Galaxy S24, Instagram’s camera will support Samsung’s video stabilization, Super HDR and Nightography. According to The Verge, the Galaxy S24 is also the first phone that allows you to upload HDR images on Instagram (Meta said it’s working on rolling that out on more Android and iOS devices).

Samsung’s camera app also offers Pro mode and a more extensive list of ratios and resolutions to choose from. Use Instagram’s camera for quick Instagram Stories and Samsung’s for everything else, especially photos you plan on posting to your feed or editing later (Engadget noted that Galaxy AI image editing tools are only available in Samsung’s own apps). The HDR guide covers Samsung's HDR settings in more detail.

Edit for a consistent feed

Crop, contrast and white balance all play their part in making photos on your feed look harmonious. The fastest way to ensure consistency is to edit one image, then apply the same edits to the others. Lightroom will save your edits as a preset, and Snapseed’s Play listing says it can import LUTs and XMP presets, so you can apply the same edits there too. Samsung's camera filters can do the same job while you shoot, and you can make one from a photo you like.

1. 1

   Pick a reference photo

   Select a picture that isn’t your most dramatic picture, but one that is fairly typical of the lighting you’ll be posting on your feed. That way you’ll know that your edits will work on regular pictures.

2. 2

   Edit light, then colour

   Start with brightness and contrast before tackling white balance. Be conservative with saturation so that the correction you apply will look relatively natural for other shots that include sky and skin tones.

3. 3

   Save the edit

   In Lightroom you can save it as a preset and in Snapseed as a Look. Either way, save it with a name you will remember.

4. 4

   Apply and adjust

   Work your way through the rest of the images applying the same settings and then adjust exposure as necessary. Remember, presets don’t know that one image was shot in the shade!

Sticking with Samsung’s apps? The Gallery app’s photo editor also offers some basic photo editing options. Our photo editor guide walks you through how to do that. The Lightroom vs Snapseed comparison covers which of the two fits a preset workflow better.

Export and upload without extra loss

Instagram resizes images that are larger than 1080 pixels wide, so make sure you’re exporting at full quality and 1080 pixels wide (or larger) to avoid double-compression. Make sure you’re exporting in the aspect ratio you selected and at the highest quality setting your video/photo editing app allows. For best results, Instagram recommends using the latest version of the app.

• Once you’ve posted the photo, make sure to check it in the app. If the edges look soft, then re-export at exactly 1080 pixels wide and check again.
• Downsizing to 1080 pixels wide will sharpen the edges of your photo, so take care not to sharpen too much or you may see halos around edges.
• Crop images to 3:4 or 1:1 before uploading them to Instagram so that Instagram doesn’t crop them for you. Use your image editing software to do this.

Upload quality settings in the Instagram app

Instagram has a setting called Data Saver that can potentially override the export settings we just discussed. Instagram’s help centre says Data Saver limits the amount of mobile data the app uses, and you can find it under Data usage and media quality. If Instagram is set to Data Saver, turn it off before uploading from that device.

Under the same settings you can also enable high-quality uploads. Digital Camera World discovered this setting in 2023 by typing data into Instagram’s settings search bar and found that it’s switched off by default and requires a stable connection in order to use it.

1. 1

   Open Instagram's settings

   Navigate to your profile and then hit the menu (settings) icon in the top right corner.

2. 2

   Search for data

   Enter data into the search field in settings. According to Digital Camera World, the setting can’t be located by typing in terms such as media or quality.

3. 3

   Turn off Data Saver

   Instagram’s own help centre describes it as a feature for conserving mobile data, so if picture quality is important to you, leave it switched off.

4. 4

   Turn on high-quality uploads

   Turn on the feature and try to connect to Wi-Fi as much as possible because this feature requires a stable internet connection.

Turning it on won’t magically make your photos stand out, as noted by Digital Camera World’s writer, especially since photos will be limited to 1080 pixels either way. It makes more of a difference for videos, where Instagram’s help centre has a separate section on the quality of video uploads for Reels. HDR video and the trade-offs of filming inside Instagram's own camera are covered in our Instagram video quality guide.

Carousel posts and Stories

A carousel post can include up to 20 images and videos, and according to Instagram’s help article, whichever aspect ratio you select will be applied to all photos/videos in that post. So plan on shooting for one aspect ratio (preferably the portrait option) from the get-go to save yourself the trouble of having to crop everything later. Combine a wide establishing shot with shots of details. Our street photography guide offers suggestions for shooting a set.

The Stories format takes up the entire screen, which is also an aspect ratio that your Galaxy camera takes pics in. Meta suggests avoiding placing any important information or text within the upper 14% of your Story image and the lower 35% of your Story image because of the placement of icons and profile pictures. That’s specifically for advertisers, but it’s probably a good rule of thumb for your Stories, too.