How to Split a Photo for an Instagram Grid or Carousel

Two popular ways to use one big image on Instagram: a seamless carousel that scrolls like a panorama, and a profile grid where several posts form one picture. Both come down to cutting the image into equal pieces.

Seamless carousel (panorama)

A carousel shows up to 20 images you swipe through. Cut a wide image into equal side-by-side pieces and it scrolls as one continuous picture.

1. Crop your image to the right shape first. For 3 portrait slides (1080 × 1350 each), the full image should be 3240 × 1350 (a 12:5 ratio). For 3 square slides, 3240 × 1080.
2. Open Split Image and upload it.
3. Choose 3 × 1 (3 columns, 1 row) and click the button.
4. Download the pieces: photo-1-1, photo-1-2, photo-1-3.
5. Create one carousel post and add them in order: 1-1, 1-2, 1-3.

Profile grid (puzzle feed)

Here each piece is a separate post, and together they form one picture on your profile.

1. Split the image into 3 columns and as many rows as you want (3 × 3 is classic).
2. Post the pieces in reverse order: the bottom-right piece (3-3) first and the top-left piece (1-1) last, because your newest post appears at the top left.

The 3:4 grid preview

Since early 2025, Instagram shows profile grid thumbnails as 3:4 rectangles instead of squares. That crops the left and right edges of square posts, so a square puzzle no longer lines up perfectly. For the cleanest result, make each piece a 4:5 portrait (1080 × 1350) and keep important details away from the side edges.

Get the size right first

• Resize for an Instagram portrait post (1080 × 1350)
• Resize for a square post (1080 × 1080)
• Instagram story size (1080 × 1920)

Tips

• Start with a large, high-resolution image. Every piece should be at least 1080 pixels wide.
• Avoid putting faces or text across the cut lines.
• Upload the pieces as JPG for photos; Instagram recompresses PNG anyway.