Sharing photos on Instagram is crucial for building your brand and engaging your audience. Whether you’re sharing your own captivating visuals or reposting inspiring content from others, this guide provides a step-by-step walkthrough on how to share photos on Instagram, covering everything from feed posts to Stories.
Sharing Your Own Photos on Your Instagram Feed
The core of Instagram revolves around sharing your own photos and videos. Here’s how:
- Tap the Plus Icon: In the top right corner of your home screen, tap the “+” icon.
- Choose Your Photo: Select a photo or video from your phone’s gallery or take a new one directly within the app. Instagram allows you to upload multiple photos for a carousel post.
- Edit Your Photo: Enhance your photo with Instagram’s built-in editing tools, applying filters, adjusting brightness, and more. You can even use third-party editing apps for advanced adjustments.
Editing a photo on Instagram
- Craft Your Caption: Write a compelling caption to accompany your photo. Use relevant hashtags to increase discoverability.
- Tag Location and People: Add a location tag to let people know where the photo was taken. Tag relevant users as well.
- Share Your Post: Tap “Share” to publish your photo to your feed.
Sharing to Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories offer a more ephemeral way to share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours.
- Access Your Story: Tap your profile picture in the top left corner of the home screen labeled “Your Story,” or tap the “+” icon and select “Story” from the bottom menu.
- Create or Upload: Capture new content or upload photos and videos from your camera roll.
- Add Creative Elements: Enhance your Story with text, stickers, GIFs, music, and interactive elements like polls and question boxes.
- Share Your Story: Tap “Your Story” to share with all your followers, or select “Close Friends” to share with a pre-selected group.
Reposting Content on Instagram: Sharing Other Users’ Photos
While Instagram doesn’t have a direct “share” button for feed posts, you can still share other users’ content using a few methods:
Reposting Apps
Third-party apps like Repost allow you to share other users’ photos to your feed while giving proper credit to the original creator. These apps usually copy the original caption and automatically tag the user.
Screenshot Method
You can take a screenshot of another user’s post and share it to your feed. However, always ask for permission from the original creator before using this method and give them proper credit in your caption.
Giving Credit to original creator
Sharing Etiquette: Best Practices for Reposting
- Always Ask for Permission: Before reposting someone else’s content, reach out to them and ask for their permission. This is crucial for respecting copyright and building positive relationships within the Instagram community.
- Give Proper Credit: When reposting, clearly credit the original creator by tagging their username in the photo and mentioning them in the caption.
- Respect Privacy: Avoid sharing content from private accounts.
Sharing Posts from Your Feed to Your Story
Easily share your existing feed posts to your Story:
- Find Your Post: Locate the feed post you want to share.
- Tap the Paper Airplane Icon: Tap the paper airplane icon below the post (to the right of the heart and comment icons).
- Add to Your Story: Select “Add post to your story.” This will create a sticker of your post that you can customize before sharing to your Story.
By mastering these sharing techniques and adhering to proper etiquette, you can leverage the power of visual storytelling to connect with your audience and build a thriving Instagram presence. Remember, engaging content and respectful sharing practices are key to success on the platform.
