How to make an Instagram Swipegram

Here’s now to make an Swipegram – aka Instagram Panorama, seamless multipost panorama, giant IG panorama, swipeable panorama…

What is a Swipegram?

First, let’s start with a carousel. A carousel is a multi-image post on Instagram that features up to 10 images and/or videos posts that you can swipe through.

Here’s an example carousel from my Instagram feed:

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A post shared by Six Foot Seven | Design (@six_foot_seven_design)

A Swipegram is a carousel post where the images appear as one seamless panorama. They are best viewed on devices with touch capabilities (e.g. your phone) where you can easily control the speed and fluidity of the swipe.

Here’s a great example of a great Swipegram from Nike’s Instagram page:

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A post shared by Nike (@nike)

Put simply, a Swipegram is two or more separate images stuck together to create a seamless transition.

How to create a Swipegram?

Here’s my 4 step process for creating a Swipegram using Adobe Photoshop. You will need:

A suitable image
Adobe Photoshop
One of my Swipegram templates – you can download both for free here
Instagram

Step 1. Find a suitable image

Find a suitable landscape/panoramic image (width greater than height). Some tips for selecting a good image:

Make sure the left hand photo looks great on its own – not everyone will realise it’s swipegram so the leftmost image has to capture their attention.
Ensure there are areas of interest all the way across the panorama to encourage the user to swipe, and continue swiping if you have more than 2 images.
The higher the resolution the better.

Here’s the image I’m going to use. This was taken at Werribee Zoo near Melbourne.

Step 2. Compose, crop and cut

Open photoshop and open one of my free Swipegram templates – download them here.

I’ve created the following templates:

Square (2160px x 1080px) – For Swipegrams built from 2 square images (1080px x 1080px / 1:1).
Portrait (2160px x 1350px) – For Swipegrams built from 2 portrait images (1080px x 1350px / 4:5). Great for occupying more screen real estate

Here’s what they look like – the guidelines indicate where the cut between the two images will occur.:

Add your image to the appropriate template and resize to fit. Make any final adjustments to your image.

Here’s my image placed in the Portrait template:

Open the slice tool, then click the Slices From Guides button. This will divide the Artboards into two equally sized images.

Step 3. Export

Head over to the File menu and select Export > Save for web (Legacy).

In the dialog, select ‘Fit in View’ in the zoom to view the entire Canvas.

Select JPEG, Maximum quality, and check Convert to sRGB.

In the Image size section, make sure the width and height are linked, and the height is set to 1080 px for the Square template and 1350px for the Portrait template. Your image size should be:

Square – 2160px x 1080px
Portrait – 2160px x 1350px

Click Save…, and ensure:

Format is set to Images Only,
Settings are Default, and
Slices are set to All Slices.

Save your images to your chosen folder.

Step 4. Post

Copy across the images to your phone (AirDrop, iCloud, Drive – however you want to).
Open up Instagram and click on the first (left) image in your Swipegram.

If you created portrait images, before you click on the carousel button, first click on the resize button in the bottom left hand corner to zoom out.

Now, click the carousel button. Your first photo should now have a number 1 next to it.

Select the remainder of the photos in your Swipegram in the order you want them to appear. In this case it’s just the second photo in our 2 image Swipegram.

Click Next to check your images and apply any filters (hopefully you’ve done all the editing you need in Photoshop and/or Lightroom).

Add your caption and post. 🙂

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Summary

Swipegrams are a fun and different way of posting panoramic photos and images on Instagram. Some key points to remember when creating a swipegram:

Swipegrams consist of 2-10 images seamlessly stitched together.
Your first image must look great on it’s own – not everyone will swipe.
Your subsequent images must also look good on their own.
Consider whether a swipegram is the best format for your post.
Your creativity (and 10 images) is the limit. Have fun and go create!

I hope you find our Swipegram templates useful. If you’ve enjoyed using them, why not give my Instagram mockup free download a try?