Instagram Compression & High Quality Uploads

“The Best Settings for Instagram” is a widely discussed topic. Everyone wants reassurance that they’re using the best settings for the highest quality uploads possible. When it comes to posting photos the conversation circulates around resolution and jpg compression quality.

 Unfortunately there are a lot of outdated articles, and huge amounts of misinformation that continue to be posted and reposted across websites, in tech articles, YouTube Videos and even on Tiktok. 

Rather than reposting someone else’s recommended settings I did a deep dive and tested 4 different combinations of settings, to get to the bottom of what the ACTUAL best settings are when exporting and uploading your photos to Instagram. In this video I explore 4 different export settings from Photoshop, Lightroom Classic and Lightroom mobile. Regardless of what application you’re using to export your photos, you can still apply the principles from each of the four methods tested:

• Just Send It: Full Resolution, 100% JPG Quality

• Krispy Kreme: 1080 x 1350px 100% JPG Quality

• Jenny Craig: 1080 x 1350px 1Mb max file size (set quality accordingly)

• Double-Double: 2160 x 2700px 100% JPG Quality

“I recommend: method 1 “Just Send It” leaving your image at full resolution and exporting at 100% JPG Quality”

 Watch the video for a breakdown and comparison of each method with the results from how Instagram handles each of these files. Recommendations are made throughout, but for those looking for a simple answer I recommend: method 1 “Just Send It” leaving your image at full resolution and exporting at 100% JPG Quality. If you prefer a more nuanced answer, make sure you watch to the end of the video: