Instagram Reels how-to
How to make an Instagram Reel with photos (and music)
Short answer
Tap + and choose Reel, then tap the camera roll and select several photos. Instagram turns each photo into a short clip in your reel. Tap Edit video to set how long each photo shows, add music from the audio library (lining photos up with the beat), add text, and share. Photos look best as 1080 × 1920 portrait images, because a reel can be between 1.91:1 and 9:16 and fills a phone screen at 9:16.
Checked against: Instagram app for iPhone and Android, October 2026.
Method 1: Photos to reel
Start a reel
Tap + at the bottom of the app and choose Reel.
Add photos from the camera roll
Tap the gallery preview and select the photos. Press and hold a photo to preview it larger before you add it.
Set the timing
Tap Edit video and drag the ends of each photo clip to make it show for longer or shorter.
Add music
Tap the music icon, search a song and pick the part you want; lining cuts up with the beat makes photo reels feel faster.
Post at full quality
Turn on Upload at highest quality (Profile > Menu > Media quality) before sharing.
Method 2: Use a template
Use template
On a reel made with a template, tap Use template; Instagram fills the template's clip slots and timing with the photos you choose.
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Photo sizes for a photo reel
| Photo | Size | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Portrait 9:16 | 1080 × 1920 | Fills the screen, no cropping |
| Portrait 4:5 | 1080 × 1350 | Shown with space above and below, or zoomed |
| Square 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 | Large bars or heavy zoom |
| Landscape | 1920 × 1080 | Small, with big bars; crop to 9:16 first |
If it doesn't work
| What you see | Fix |
|---|---|
| Photos look blurry in the reel | Use photos at least 1080 px wide and turn on Upload at highest quality. |
| Photos are cropped | Crop them to 9:16 before adding, or reposition each one in the editor. |
| Music isn't available | Some songs and the music library aren't available on every account (for example some business accounts) or region. |
| Can't select many photos | Tap Select (multiple) in the gallery before choosing. |
Questions people ask
How many photos can I put in a reel?
Enough to fill the reel's length; each photo becomes a short clip you can lengthen or shorten.
How long should each photo show?
About 0.5 to 1.5 seconds keeps a photo reel moving; use longer for photos with text.
Is a photo reel different from a carousel?
Yes. A reel is one video in the Reels feed; a carousel is a swipeable post of separate photos.
More Instagram Reels guides
Sources and how we checked
- Instagram Help: Add photos and clips from your camera roll to your reel (checked 2026-10-05)
- Instagram Help: Add music, effects and more to your reel (checked 2026-10-05)
- Instagram Help: Reel size and aspect ratios (checked 2026-10-05)
Instagram's help covers picking media from the camera roll, music and reel sizes; the per-photo timing and template steps follow the current app as described by several top-ranking guides.
Reviewed October 5, 2026 by the Koldflux team. Each step is compared with Instagram Reels's own documentation (linked above) and with the top search results for this task; where they disagree, the maker's documentation wins. Steps without a source link follow the menu names that several current guides agree on.