Carousel photo resizer: make every photo the same shape
Turn photos of different shapes into carousel slides of one shape: whole on a blurred or plain ground, or cropped to fit. Free; nothing is uploaded.
By Mellow · UpdatedMake every photo the same shape
The tallest shape Instagram’s app and its API both take: the most room in the feed.
Nothing is cut off; what a photo does not cover is filled.
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How do you stop Instagram cropping the photos in a carousel?
Make every photo the same shape before you post. Instagram applies one orientation to every item in a carousel, so a sideways photo in an upright carousel is cropped to match, and the other way round. Put each photo into a slide of one shape — 1080 × 1350 at 4:5 takes the most room in the feed — either whole, with the rest of the slide filled, or cropped on purpose where you can see it. A carousel holds up to 20 photos from the app, 10 through Instagram’s API. The resizer makes the slides and numbers them in the order you set.
The shapes a carousel can be
| Shape | Slide size | From the app | Through the API |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 | Yes | Yes |
| 3:4 | 1080 × 1440 | Yes | No: the API stops at 4:5 |
| 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 | Yes | Yes |
Instagram keeps a photo 1080 pixels wide when its shape is between 1.91:1 and 3:4. Sources: Instagram Help Center: Share a post with multiple photos or videos, Instagram Help Center: Image resolution of photos you share on Instagram and Meta for Developers: Instagram Graph API, IG User media (updated 28 September 2026), read on 1 October 2026.
Putting the set in order
- Lead with the photo that works alone. The first slide is the one shown in the feed before anyone swipes, and on your profile grid.
- Fit the photos that matter whole. A group portrait or a product shot loses what is at its edges when it is cropped.
- Fill when the subject is in the middle. Nothing that matters is at the edges to lose, and the slide is all photo.
- Keep one ground for the set. The same blur or the same colour on every fitted slide makes the carousel read as one piece.
One wide picture to cut into slides instead? Use the carousel splitter.
Questions
Why does Instagram crop some photos in my carousel?
Instagram applies one orientation to every item in a carousel. If the photos are of different shapes, the ones that do not match are cropped to it. Making every photo the same shape before you post means nothing is cropped by surprise.
Which shape should a carousel be?
4:5 (1080 × 1350) is the tallest shape both the Instagram app and its API take, so it gives each photo the most room and works with schedulers. 3:4 (1080 × 1440) is taller and works from the app only. 1:1 suits a set that is mostly square already.
Fit or fill?
Fit keeps the whole photo and fills the rest of the slide with a blur of the photo or a plain colour. Fill crops the photo from its middle to the slide’s shape, so the slide is all photo and the edges are lost. The resizer says how many photos a fill would crop.
How many photos can go in one carousel?
Up to 20 photos and videos when you post from the Instagram app. Instagram’s API, which scheduling tools use, takes 10.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. The photos stay in this page and the slides are drawn in your browser; the ZIP is made on your own device.
Post the carousel without choosing the files again
Mellow Hub takes the slides from here, in the order you set, into one post and sends it to Instagram, TikTok and the other networks you connect, now or at a time you choose. It checks each network’s rules before anything is sent, such as Instagram’s 10 items per post through its API and no shape taller than 4:5. One photo to fit into a post? Use the no-crop resizer.
Post to Instagram and TikTok at onceHow to make a carousel on Instagram, step by step
This tool is free and needs no account. Mellow Hub publishes your first 3 posts free, with no card; after that it is paid, with a 7-day free trial. It publishes only what you, or an assistant you have authorised, send or schedule.
Choosing a scheduler? Mellow Hub next to Buffer, Metricool and Postiz, from each one’s own pricing page, including where another is cheaper.
Answers that go with this tool
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