lightroom to instragram workflow

[djmattyz]

i do social photos for various events , so im taking 5 or 6 days of photos each week, then uploading to about 5 different social media pages on facebook and instagram.

uploading to facebook is alright because you can just upload a whole album from a PC using the default aspect ratio of your photos

instagram on the other hand  im having to put the photos over into my google drive in groups of 10 ,then downloa them individually onto my phone and upload to insta... this is driving me bananas

can some of you recommend a decent workflow that enables me to export at the correct aspect ratio, from a PC in one step,  and recommend any software that handles the instagram side of it from a PC?

[john beardsworth]

Instagram doesn't allow desktop software to handle the uploading.

I've not found a perfect solution, though my current preference is to use Print and specify Print to JPEG in the Print Job panel. I've a template which sets the Custom File Dimensions to 2048 pixels in 3:2 ratio, since my posts are mostly of landscape orientation images and this would be OK for any portrait orientation images inclucded in the <10 post. I find this better than a square CDF, and have another 2:3 ratio template if I intend to upload only portrait orientations. 

In Image Settings, Zoom to Fill is unchecked. What this produces is <10 jpeg files, each image cropped at its correct aspect ratio but with white space.

I'll then use IG in a web browser to do the upload - they added a little plus button a year or so ago. This allows you to choose Original as the post format, so it picks up that 3:2, and also lets you sequence the images (I normally do that first with the quick collection).

Maybe this would work for you, but whatever you do, it's not going to be one step or automatic.

[john beardsworth]

Also see http://lightroomsolutions.com/lightroom-to-instagram-via-a-web-browser/

[richardplondon]

Good scheme using Print to make output to a common page size without re-cropping images or postprocessing.

Just to add:

I find it easier to set Resolution to 100ppi. That way it's an easier calculation to set your output JPG dimensions - since you can't enter pixels directly for Custom File Dimensions override or otherwise, for page sizing. This way, 22.46 inches > 2246 px.

Any page unprintable margin can't be removed, even though you are not constrained by any actual printer hardware with JPG output... except by switching output to "Printer", and selecting a borderless mode in the printer driver settings. Then switch output back to "JPEG File" and the page layout can now be borderless. So you can enlarge image cell right up to the edges, if that's what you want. Save this as a print layout preset for easy later re-use.

JPEG output from print will not produce individualised file naming / metadata taken from the images used. These are just printouts in electronic form, potentially each showing several images after all.

If you do need filename or metadata specificity, maybe consider Export instead, with a postprocessing action to impose the image onto a fixed-dimension larger canvas or else cropping it down to a fixed-dimension extract ... via LR/Mogrify for example.

[john beardsworth]

JPEG output from print will not produce individualised file naming / metadata taken from the images used. These are just printouts in electronic form, potentially each showing several images after all.

By @richardplondon

And that's good for IG, which strips metadata and doesn't pay much attention to filenames when ordering the images (I think it uses the order displayed the Select from Computer file dialog).

It's also why I usually put the images into the quick collection as it's a chance to re-order the files so the best is first, or whatever. Print's generic naming scheme therefore reflects my intended sequencing, and that's handy when I use the web browser to select the files for uploading to Instagram (the resulting post is here).

[richardplondon]

lovely photos, John - I do agree Instagram doesn't make use of metadata or filenames so those are no loss. But other usages might do. Personally I think there's enough utility in re-canvasing or adding a border or re-cropping aspect ratio on the fly, to justify having these available directly inside Export - so that different export presets can be each made to override the output in those ways besides  just varying Resize. Or more simply, imagine how powerful a new "zoom to fill / zoom to fit" selector and an "exactly" option could be, in the Resizing options. But failing that: postprocessing can be invoked to the same end. Then one won't need to "re-purpose" the Print module as a workaround.

[kimaldis]

I don't think there's ever going to be a direct to Instagram solution from Lightroom but in the meantime, uploading using a desktop web browser works pretty well for me. I think you can now upload multiple images from the desktop, which you couldn't originally do.

For me, the biggest pain in the a was dealing with varying image formats, mostly landscape and portrait. I got around this by padding images out to square with white. Lightroom won't do this but I have a custom export plugin that allows you to run scripts on the output picture and I use Imagemagik to pad the images. It works pretty well. Page, with download link here

[djmattyz]

i cannot get a plus button in instagram on a PC,  trying it in web browser and also downloaded the instagram app for desktop... just NO plus button no matter what i do.... its very frustrating

i just keep finding myself on a wild goose chase on google trying to get something that works...many pages simply say, that the plus button is there in the web browser, but it just isnt for me 

[john beardsworth]

This is what to look for, shown in Firefox on a PC:

Could an ad blocker be responsible?

[djmattyz]

no, because i dont have an add blocker on microsoft edge, and it also doesnt appear there either

paused it on chrome too, no use

i cannot see that bar at all on my instagram, i never have

[djmattyz]

 

oh wait, its over on the left on mine for some reason... yea it works actually . i dont know why everyone else on the internet seems to have it on the top except for me. and it is rather vaguely called "create" i guess i was expecting it to say "upload" or something

[thomas_bredenfeld]

... maybe this answers a part of your question: i can recommend to use a desktop app directly connecting to instagram.
i've been testing some and ended up with »grids« on my mac (https://gridsapp.net, also available for windows). i'm using it for several years now and i'm very happy especially when it comes to systematically tagging my posts and for creating always postings 3 pix in a row (mainly panoramic content) to keep a consistent look of my accounts (e.g. https://www.instagram.com/thomas_bredenfeld).
for this tiling a pano into an insta row i use a 3x1 squares PS template and the PS generator (replace underlying smart object. done.)
i gave it up to post directly from LR. with grids it's far better, more flexibel and convenient.