How do I post a landscape photo as a 1080x1350 portrait on Instagram?
Type 1080 by 1350 or pick the 'Portrait' common size, then choose between two modes. 'Fill and crop' fills the tall frame and removes the sides of your photo; 'Fit inside' keeps the whole photo and adds large bands above and below. If the product sits in the middle of the shot, cropping usually makes the better post. The size itself is a common choice, not an official one, so check Instagram's current guidance.
The problem: opposite shapes
A landscape photo is wider than it is tall, and a 1080 by 1350 frame is taller than it is wide. There is no way to put one inside the other without giving something up: either part of the picture, or empty space around it. Stretching is not an option, because it pulls the product out of shape, and the tool warns you about it when the ratios differ.
What each mode does
A 1600 × 1200 photo with 'Fill and crop': a centered vertical slice of 960 × 1200 starting at pixel 320 from the left is kept and the rest is removed. That slice is then enlarged slightly to reach 1080 × 1350, so the tool shows an upscaling warning.
The same photo with 'Fit inside': it becomes 1080 × 810 and is placed 270 px from the top, with a 270 px band above and another below.
A 4032 × 3024 phone photo with 'Fill and crop': the kept slice is 2419 × 3024 starting at 806, and it is scaled down with no enlarging at all.
Compare the first and third cases. The small photo needs enlarging after the crop because the slice left over is shorter than 1350 px, while the full phone photo stays sharp. Use the original file from the camera, not a reduced copy that went through a chat app.
How to choose
- Product in the middle, only background at the edges: 'Fill and crop'. The post fills the screen and nothing important is lost.
- Things on both sides of the shot, such as a set of three pieces: 'Fit inside', with a background color from your brand so the space looks intentional.
- Product off to one side: a centered crop will cut it. Crop the part you want at 4:5 in the Image cropper first, then resize.
The steps
- Open the Image resizer and choose the original photo.
- Pick 'Portrait' from the common sizes, or untick the ratio lock and type 1080 and 1350.
- Try 'Fill and crop' and read the tool's note on which area of the original is used, then try 'Fit inside' and compare the two previews.
- Save as JPEG and download.
Common questions
Will Instagram publish the file exactly as I made it?
Platforms may recompress images or handle them their own way, and their guidance changes over time. Prepare the size you want and check the post after publishing.
Can I choose where the crop is taken in this tool?
No. 'Fill and crop' always keeps the centered area. To pick the position yourself, use the cropper first.