The basic steps to post a photo on Instagram

To add a picture on Instagram, open the app and tap the plus sign icon at the bottom of your screen. Select "Post" from the menu that appears. Choose a photo from your phone's camera roll, or take a new one using Instagram's built-in camera. Once you've selected your image, you can crop it, adjust filters, and add text or stickers before sharing it with your followers.

After you've finished editing, tap "Next" to add a caption, tag people, add location information, or turn on comments. Then tap "Share" to post the photo. The image will appear on your profile and in the feeds of people who follow you, unless you've changed your privacy settings to make your account private.

Key Takeaways

  • Open Instagram, tap the plus sign icon, and select "Post" to begin uploading a photo from your phone or camera.
  • Use Instagram's editing tools to crop, filter, and add text or stickers to your image before posting.
  • Add a caption, location tag, or people tags in the second screen before you tap "Share" to publish.
  • Your photo will be visible to all your followers unless your account is set to private, in which case only approved followers will see it.
  • You can delete or edit a photo after posting by tapping the three dots on the post and selecting "Delete" or "Edit."

Where to find the upload button

The plus sign icon sits at the bottom center of your Instagram home screen, between the heart icon (for likes and messages) and your profile picture. On some older versions of the app, this button may appear in a slightly different location, but it is always one of the main navigation icons at the bottom of the screen.

If you cannot see the plus sign, make sure you are on the home screen and not inside a message, story, or another section of the app. Swipe left or tap "Home" to return to the main feed, and the icon will appear.

Choosing and editing your photo

After you tap the plus sign and select "Post," Instagram shows you your phone's photo library. You can scroll through recent photos or tap "Select multiple" to choose more than one image at once. Once you pick a photo, the editing screen opens automatically.

On this screen, you can crop the image by dragging the corners, rotate it, or adjust the aspect ratio to fit different shapes. Instagram offers preset filters (like "Clarendon," "Juno," or "Lark") that change the color and tone of your photo. You can also tap "Edit" to manually adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and other settings. Tap "Aa" to add text, or the sticker icon to add emojis, location stickers, or date stamps.

None of these edits are permanent. You can undo changes by tapping the back arrow, and you can always edit the photo again after posting by returning to the post and tapping the three dots in the top right corner.

Adding captions, tags, and location information

After you tap "Next," you reach the sharing screen. Here you write a caption—the text that appears below your photo. Captions can be as short as a single word or as long as you want. You can use line breaks, emojis, and hashtags (words starting with #) to help people find your post when they search.

Below the caption field, you can tag people by tapping "Tag people" and selecting their names from your followers. You can also add a location by tapping "Add location" and typing the name of a place. If you tag someone, they receive a notification that you've tagged them, and the tag appears on your photo so other people can see who is in it.

You can turn comments on or off by toggling the "Turn off commenting" switch. If you turn comments off, people will not be able to leave messages on your post, though they can still like it and share it privately.

Understanding who will see your post

By default, your photo appears in the feeds of all your followers and on your profile. If your account is public, anyone on Instagram can find your post by searching for you or browsing hashtags you used. If your account is private, only people you have approved as followers can see your posts.

You can also share your post to Instagram Stories (a temporary photo that disappears after 24 hours) or send it as a direct message to specific people. These options appear on the sharing screen before you tap "Share." Sharing to Stories is a good way to get quick feedback from close followers, while direct messages let you share a photo with just one person or a small group.

Editing or deleting a photo after you post it

If you want to change your caption, add more tags, or turn comments on or off after posting, tap the three dots in the top right corner of your post and select "Edit." You can update the caption, tags, and location, but you cannot change the photo itself once it is live.

To delete a post entirely, tap the three dots and select "Delete." Instagram will ask you to confirm before removing the photo. Once deleted, the post disappears from your profile and your followers' feeds, though people may have already saved or screenshotted it.

Troubleshooting common upload problems

If Instagram will not let you upload a photo, check that you have a stable internet connection—Instagram requires either WiFi or mobile data to post. Make sure your app is up to date by checking your phone's app store for updates. If the app is outdated, it may not work correctly.

If a photo is too large or in an unusual format, Instagram may reject it. Most phones save photos in formats Instagram accepts (like JPG or PNG), but if you are using an older phone or a photo editing app, the file type may be incompatible. Try taking a new photo with your phone's built-in camera instead.

If you see an error message, try closing the app completely and reopening it. If the problem continues, uninstall and reinstall Instagram. This clears out temporary files that may be causing the issue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I upload multiple photos in one post?

Yes. When you tap the plus sign and select "Post," tap "Select multiple" before choosing your photos. You can add up to 10 images or videos in a single carousel post. People can swipe through them one at a time, and you add one caption that applies to all of them.

What happens if I post a photo by accident?

Tap the three dots on the post and select "Delete" to remove it when ready. Once deleted, it no longer appears on your profile or in your followers' feeds. However, people may have already seen it or taken a screenshot, so deletion does not erase it from their phones.

Can I change who sees a photo after I post it?

You cannot change the privacy level of a single post. If your account is public, the photo is public; if your account is private, the photo is private. You can only control visibility by changing your overall account settings or by deleting the post and reposting it with different account settings in place.

Why does my photo look different after I post it?

Instagram may compress your photo slightly to save storage space, which can make colors look slightly different or the image appear less sharp. This is normal and happens to all photos. The difference is usually small and only noticeable if you compare the original file to the posted version side by side.

Can I post a photo from my computer instead of my phone?

Instagram's web version does not have a built-in upload button like the mobile app does. You can view your profile and interact with posts on a computer, but to upload a new photo, you need to use the Instagram app on a phone or tablet. Some third-party tools claim to let you upload from a computer, but Instagram does not officially support this and may restrict your account if you use them.