Instagram hacks for photo and video sharing

19. Make your captions more readable with line breaks

If you favor the long-form caption a la National Geographic, this hack will make your posts more readable.

How to do it:

1. Edit your photo and proceed to the caption screen
2. Write your caption
3. To access the Return key, tap the 123 key on your device’s keyboard
4. Use Return to add breaks to your caption

Note: The breaks will start a new line, but not create the white space that you would see between two paragraphs. If you want a paragraph break, write out your caption in a note app and copy it to Instagram. To break up lines further, consider using punctuation, such as bullet points or dashes, to hold the place of an empty line.

20. Schedule Instagram posts

Too busy to post at a time when your audience is active on Instagram? Use Hootsuite to schedule photos direct to Instagram.

How to do it:

Note: Check out our guide to scheduling posts on Instagram to learn how to do this from a personal account.

21. Use individual photos to make a larger one

Get creative and have fun with Instagram’s grid format.

How to do it:

1. To share a #triplegram, simple share three related images consecutively so that they take up an entire line with a single unified look
2. To share a grid post series, try cropping a single image into nine (apps like these can make the process easy) and share them in quick succession

For a closer look at how brands have made good use of the grid layout, check out 7 Lessons Brands Can Learn from the Most Creative Accounts on Instagram.

22. Adjust the intensity of filters

For those who want something close to—but not quite—the #nofilter look.

How to do it:

1. After uploading or taking a photo, tap the filter you’d like to use
2. Tap the filter again to open edit options
3. Use the sliding scale to adjust the intensity of the filter
4. Tap Done to add the filter to your post and continue your edits

23. Upload or capture a post with multiple scenes

It’s an Instagram Story that never disappears!

How to upload a post with multiple photos and video clips:

1. Tap the + icon in the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen
2. Tap SELECT MULTIPLE on the Library tab
3. Choose the photos and videos from your camera roll that you want to include in your Story
4. Choose and edit your filters (you can choose a different filter for each photo or video or make it consistent across the entire post)
5. Once you’ve selected your videos, you can tap to trim them or press and hold to reorder
6. To delete a clip, drag it to the centre of the screen
7. Finish your edits as usual and share your masterpiece

How to record a video with multiple clips:

1. Tap the + icon at the bottom of the screen
2. Tap Video
3. Tap the circle icon to begin recording
4. To take multiple clips, lift your finger off the circle icon to pause, then press and hold it when you want to begin recording again
5. To delete a previous clip in your video, tap Delete, then tap again to confirm

24. Share videos without sound

If the audio is bad and/or doesn’t add to the viewing experience, you may as well remove so it’s not a distraction.

How to do it:

1. Tap the + icon at the bottom of the screen to select the video you’d like to upload
2. Tap Next
3. Tap the volume control icon at the top of the screen to mute the video’s sound

Note: This can also be done in Instagram Stories. After recording a video, simply tap the volume control icon at the top of the screen to mute.

25. Save drafts for later

You’ve snapped the perfect shot and edited it to perfection, but the perfect caption eludes you. Save the post as a draft—with all your edits intact—and come back to it later.

How to do it:

1. Tap the + icon at the bottom of the screen to shoot or upload a photo or video
2. Edit the post as you like, adding filters, captions, tags, or a location
3. Hit the < icon in the upper left-hand corner of the screen to go back to the editing screen
4. Hit the < icon again
5. A pop-up menu will appear, select Save Draft
6. When you’re ready to continue with your edits and share your post, tap the + icon, then select Library
7. A new DRAFTS section will now appear above CAMERA ROLL
8. Tap your desired post, or select Manage to view all of your saved drafts
9. Select a post, edit, and share as usual

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Note: To delete a post from your saved posts, select Manage to go to Drafts, then tap Edit. Select the posts you’d like to get rid of and tap Discard Posts at the bottom of the screen, then tap again to confirm.

26. Blur the background on a portrait photo

How to do it:

1. Open the camera and select Focus among the options under the record button
2. Take a selfie or switch to the rear-facing camera to snap a photo of someone else
3. The subject will stay in focus while the background blurs

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Note: this feature is only available on select Android devices, iPhone SE, 6S, 6S+, 7, 7+, 8, 8+, and X.

27. Request to join another user’s Live video (or encourage followers to join yours)

Brands can use this feature when partnering with other businesses or influencers for announcements, Instagram takeovers, and the like. Or, encourage your followers to join a live Q&A you’re hosting.

How to request to join a live video:

1. When watching a live video, tap Request in the comments section
2. You’ll see a confirmation when the user accepts and you’ll have a moment to prepare
3. Once you’re live, the screen will split in half
4. You can leave the live video at any time

How to accept a request from a follower to join your live video:

1. When hosting your own live video, you’ll see a notification for each request in the comments section
2. Tap View and then choose to add the requestor or cancel the request
3. The icon with two smiley faces will have a red number showing how many requests you have
4. Tap the icon, and you’ll see both requests and current viewers
5. You can either accept a request or invite any viewer to join you. You can remove a guest and add someone else at any time

28. Save your live video

How to do it:

1. After your live broadcast ends, tap Save in the upper right corner
2. After saving, tap Done and your live video will be saved to your camera roll but will no longer be available in the app