Photoshop: How To Split Images For Instagram’s Multi-Post Seamless Panoramas [Free PSD]
In this Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to make Instagram Seamless Panoramas.
Instagram recently added the capability of combining multiple photos in a single post. You can hack this feature to include multiple images of the same photo to create a seamless pano.
All you need to do is split your panorama into multiple images and upload them to Instagram as a single post to get a swipeable panorama.
By swiping left and right, you can view the whole image. The resulting image looks like this:
It’s a really neat effect, and it’s much more impressive than the squares of a single image.
This tutorial is all about how to split images for Instagram’s multi-post seamless panoramas.
Table of contents
Making The Template
To save yourself time in the future, it is a good idea to create a Photoshop template file and re-use it any time that you want to post a seamless panorama on Instagram.
You can follow along to see how I created the template, or you can scroll down and download a free Photoshop template to slice photos for Instagram.
There are multiple ways you can split up a panorama into square tiles, but the best method is to use the Slices feature in Photoshop.
Slices allow you to break up an image into multiple pieces and easily save them as separate files.
Setting Up Your Photoshop Document
Go to File > New.
Enter a width of 1,080 pixels and a height of 1,080 pixels.
Instagram works best with square images, and the maximum image size that you can use is 1080 by 1080. Also use the sRGB color profile, which is the color profile that Instagram will use.
This action creates a square canvas which will is the basis for the Photoshop template we’re making.
Now you have to think about how many images you want to use for your seamless pano. The maximum number of images that you can upload to a single post on Instagram is ten, but for this tutorial, we will use only four.
Go into Image > Canvas Size, then click on the center arrow pointing to the left. This will extend the canvas to the right side.
Now you have to think about how wide you want to make the canvas.
You don’t have to do any math, because you can change the Pixels dropdown to Percent, and then type in the percentage that you want.
To have a four image panorama, type 400% in the width box because you want the canvas four times as large to fit the four slices.
Divide The Template Using Guides
Then go into View > New Guide Layout, and under Columns, type 4.
Make sure that nothing else is selected, except for “Clear existing guides,” which will remove any guides that you already have on your canvas.
After you create your guides, your canvas should look something like this:
Slice The Document
Now you’re going to use a tool that you probably have not used before. Nested under the Crop Tool, select the Slice Tool.
The Slice Tool is used heavily in web design, and it allows you to cut up an image so that you could save multiple documents out of a single image.
You can click-and-drag, and follow the guides to create a slice out of the first box. Each of the pieces that you cut up with the slice tool will become a new document.
Keep following the guides and make slices along with the four columns.
When you have sliced the four boxes, you should see four blue labels on the top left of each box. The labels are numbered from 1 to 4.
With the Slice tool active, you can double-click on each slice to bring up the Slice Options. In this dialog box, you can name your slice. It’s a good idea to name your slices because the name of the slice will also be the name of the file when you export.
You can call your first slice “Instagram Seamless Pano 01,” and then change the number with the other slices.
Place Your Photo Into Your Template
Place your image in your working document. There are several ways of doing this, but one easy method is to go to File > Place Embedded.
If you need to transform your document press Ctrl T (Mac: Command T) to fit your panorama in the template.
Once you fit the image in your template, you can export your images.
Export Slices as Individual Files
When you’re ready to save, go to File > Export > Save for Web.
Make sure you have JPEG selected, and select maximum for the quality. Then click on Save.
The Save Optimize As dialog box will come up; make sure that under Slices, you have All slices selected, and then click on Save.
This will save the four slices as separate files, that you can then upload to Instagram.
Upload the Individual Files To Instagram
Once the four images are saved onto your computer, all that you need to do is upload them to your phone so that you can create your Instagram seamless panoramas.
I like using Dropbox to get my photos onto my phone, but you can use any method that you like.
Follow and Leave a Comment on This Instagram Post!
FREE Template
If you don’t want to spend time making a template, you can use mine for free! Download it below!
Don’t forget to watch the video to see how it works!
Instagram Multi-Post Pano Template (64133 downloads )
![Open MULTIPLE Images as Layers In Photoshop [Quick & Easy]](https://photoshoptrainingchannel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/oen-multiple-images-as-layers-768x401.jpg)
Thank you for this post. Its very inspiring.
You’re welcome!
Jesus, your dedication to educate photographers is so selfless. I am grateful for your expertise and even more that you share it! Thanks for all you create!
Thank you, Shawnie!
download of free template doesn’t work 🙁
You need to rename the file name remove the letter T from the extension
This was a three-for-one. 1) The instagram stitching ended up being a little easier than I thought. I didn’t even think of using the slice tool. 2) Never used the content aware scale before. I tried it on a panorama of mine, with mixed results. I’ll mess around with it more to see it i can get it to work better. 3) I never knew you could save a file as a template and it opens as an untitled file, so you can’t save over it! And that concept works across all the Adobe Creative apps. Then, I looked and found out Microsoft Office has a similar template setting across their apps (Word, PowerPoint, etc)! I feel so informed now!!! Thank you!
You’re welcome, I’m glad it was helpful Brian!
Thank you very much for this helpful tutorial! I am finding that still after I am exporting them, there is still a seem. Am I doing something wrong?
Haley, have you tried posting? The preview before the actual post will show the seam.
Great tutorial. Thank you!
Wow this was such an amazing tutorial, it was super easy to understand and to follow!
I just actually just tried out your bokeh tutorial and this split seamless-panorama tutorial. I split my bokeh image and once I’ve put it on instagram, I can see a vertical line which is slightly different in contrast in the seamless panorama image. I was wondering if you know what error was the line?
Thank you so much for doing these photoshop tutorials, I feel like I’ve learnt a lot in this short time!
Jesús, another excellent tutorial from you! Kudos to you for your time to educate us on the CC apps.
Thank you!
That’s Great! Thank you very much. Now how we can rejoin this split photos in one again?
I’m a beginner at photoshop.
Great video, Helped a lot
Thank you for your care
Absolutely amazing! Thank you!
Jesus,
I find that when following the directions for export the slices get saved at the same time, but only one slice is saved in JPG format, while the remaining slices are saved in GIF format. How do I make it so that all slices are saved in JPG format at the same time?
I know this is an old post, but I’m hoping you can help me. I build a template and downloaded yours as well. However, when using either one I get an unknown error when I try to export the slices using export for web. Any ideas of how to fix this?
Jesús,Your are a great Teacher.Thanks You So Much For Providing This Template.Keep Teaching.
Seriously the best post! Have been searching this type of info for a couple years. Finally explained!
Thanks. really helped me in learning photoshop
I am always post Instagram. Really very informative and effective photoshop tutorial,Thanks for sharing the post with us.
I have used this method before, just a pity that the new version of Photoshop have an error with the Export to Web function. Would love to have a work-around for this, just please not…. save all presents and go back to the previous version… Why then an upgrade if they take functionality away?
Hey Jesús,
I never comment on these things. But I just came across your tutorials by chance and I’m speechless. Just checked out a bunch of them, including the new 2021 features. Keep up the good work mate. You’re one in a billion.
Thank you, Darragh!
Hi there, thank you so much for this, it really does work. I ended with 3 images though. I sliced it into 2 images but when i exported, i got three, with a 1x1080px image along with the actual two. What might have i done wrong? Is that how it works? Thanks!
Thanks mate for your help, its so usefull this template.
You’re welcome!
You ROCK
Hey Jesus,
what a brilliant explanation – thank you so much !
Best to you
Daniel
Thanks, Daniel!
Thank you for concise and clear instructions. I hate how Instagram make the pic quality worse. Any ideas on that?
Thank you, but unfortunately it didn’t work for me. In the final step, going to File -> Export, Export was grayed out. This is exactly why I prefer YT video tutorials – I can watch and go back; especially useful for parts that are not clear. Like in this article, I was ready to give up in the Setting Up Your Photoshop Document section as I couldn’t find the Image -> Canvas Size. Took a bit to realize you had moved on and clicked Create at the bottom. Some of us are quite literal, so if it doesn’t say to click something, it’s best not to, no?
Once again, thank you for the effort, but it didn’t work for me. I’ll keep searching.