Chapter 7
Creating Instagram Stories
IN THIS CHAPTER
Finding stories to view and interact with
Planning your stories
Understanding the basics of creating an Instagram story
Using camera effects
Saving your stories and finding them in your archives
In this chapter, we explain the history of Instagram stories, where to watch them, how to watch them, and their specifications for images and videos. We also go into more detail about how you can plan out the stories you share (if you intend on planning); deciding what to share; and exactly how to upload photos, videos, and images to your stories. We also discuss camera effects and how to save and access your stories after you’ve archived them.
Finding Stories to Watch
Stories are meant to be quick little windows into your day. They can be original photos or videos or can be posts or Reels shared from another user’s account. Stories expire within 24 hours, so most users don’t put hours of time designing them or creating the perfect video for them.
Instagram stories are located in a bar at the top of your newsfeed and are represented by a multicolored ring around the profile picture of the story’s creator, as shown in Figure 7-1. Tap the profile picture, and the story opens full-screen for you to watch.
FIGURE 7-1: View stories by tapping a profile picture at the top of your newsfeed.
New stories (personalized for you based on who you follow) are shown first. By scrolling to the left, you can see all stories that the people you follow have published in the last 24 hours. The story vanishes 24 hours after it was posted.
When you view a person’s story, they can see that you’ve watched it, as shown in Figure 7-2. There is currently no way to block this feature. So, be aware if you’re looking at a story from an ex–significant other. They know!
FIGURE 7-2: You can see who saw your story by tapping on the Activity link at the bottom left of the screen or swiping up on your story.
Instagram stories are also accessible from the top left of a person’s profile page. If the person has an active story, their profile picture has a multicolored ring around it, as shown in Figure 7-3. You don’t need to be following the person to see their stories, as long as the account isn’t private. Tap the profile picture, and the story opens full-screen for you to watch. After that person’s stories have finished, the stories page closes and you’re returned to their profile page.
FIGURE 7-3: View stories from a person’s profile page by tapping their profile picture.
If you want to watch a continuing sequence of stories from people you follow, you must access the stories from the top of your Home feed. Instagram always takes you to the content you haven’t seen in that person’s story. For instance, if you’d watched two out of five stories by someone, Instagram would play the third story in the sequence when you came back within the 24-hour window of the post. Each person’s story has white dashes at the top that indicate the number of stories for that person that day. Stories continue to play through each person’s entire sequence and then go directly to the next person you’re following who has a current story until you tap the X to exit (iPhone, as shown in Figure 7-4) or swipe down (Android) from Instagram stories.
FIGURE 7-4: On iPhone, tap the X at the top right of a story to exit. On Android, swipe down.
Interacting with Stories You Watch
The next few sections describe how to interact with the stories you watch. You can find out how to skip the stories you’re not interested in, how to rewatch things you want to see again, how to pause a story, and how to react to a story.
Forwarding through the things you don’t like
To forward through one story within a person’s full story sequence, simply tap on the right side of the screen. You’ll skip to that person’s next story, unless it’s their last or only story; in that case, you’ll be taken to the next person’s story.
To forward through a person’s entire sequence of stories, swipe left from the right side of the screen. You’ll skip that person’s full set of stories and move on to the next person’s stories.
When you’re finished watching, tap the X at the top right of the screen or swipe down to be returned to your Home screen.
Going back to the things you want to see again
To go back to the last story in the sequence you just watched, tap the left side of the screen to jump back to the previous post. Keep tapping if you want to keep going back.
To go back to a different person’s sequence of stories, swipe right from the left side of the screen until you get back to that person’s stories.
Similar to forwarding, if you’re seeking a certain person’s story, it’s easier to go directly to their profile to watch or scroll through the circles at the top of your Home screen to find that person.
When you’re finished watching, tap the X at the top right of the screen or swipe down to be returned to your Home screen.
Pausing a story to see more
Stories tend to whip by pretty fast, and sometimes people add lots of text or talk really fast to squeeze a lot of info in. Lucky for you, there is a way to pause a story so you can take it all in. To pause a story, just tap and hold anywhere on the screen, and the story remains frozen until you let go.
Reacting to a story
Reactions to stories now include likes, reactions, or direct messages.
To like a story, simply tap the heart on the bottom right of the screen. The story creator will be notified.
To send a direct message in response to a story, follow these steps:
Tap the Send Message area at the bottom of the screen.
Quick Reactions (emojis) and a keyboard appear, as shown in Figure 7-5.
- Type a message, select a GIF, or use one of the Quick Reaction emojis above the keyboard.
- When your message is complete, tap Send to send your message.
FIGURE 7-5: Send a message by tapping in the Send Message box, typing a message, and tapping Send.
Understanding story limitations
If you’ve watched a few Instagram Stories, you’ve probably noticed that they’re all in vertical or portrait mode, and videos are in short sequences. Videos and photos in stories work best if they are in the following formats:
- Image ratio: 4:5 (vertical only) or 9:16 for photos
- Image size minimum: 600-x-1,067 pixels
- Image size maximum: 1,080-x-1,920 pixels
- File type: PNG or JPG for photos/graphics; MP4 or MOV for videos
- File size max: 30MB for photos; 4GB for videos
Accessing the Story Camera
Accessing the story camera is easy but not always obvious. There are a few methods for accessing the camera:
- From the Home page, swipe right.
- From the Home page, tap the + sign at the top right of the screen; then tap Story.
- If you do not have any stories running currently, tap your profile picture on the Home page or your personal profile. If there is a blue plus (+) sign next to your profile picture, you’ll be able to access the camera to create a new story.
When you’re on the story creation page, the camera is available for taking photos or videos via the white button. Tap for photos; hold for videos for up to one minute. We provide details on what to share and how to add bells and whistles to your photos or videos in the next sections. Note: If you record a video longer than 15 seconds (up to one minute), it will be cut into individual video segments of 15 seconds when you upload it.
Planning a Story from Start to Finish
If you’re using Instagram stories strictly for personal use, you may prefer to publish things on the fly as they happen rather than planning them. However, many businesses, brands, and influencers use stories in a much more strategic way to truly, well, tell a story.
If you want your followers to stand up and take notice of your stories, here are some planning tips to make them “next level”:
- Use a planning tool such as Later or Planoly to “lay out” and schedule your stories so you can view them as you would a storyboard. You can find these tools in the app store for your device or find them online on your desktop if you like to load graphics and videos from your computer.
- Use consistent colors and fonts throughout the story so your story looks cohesive.
- Use a template to make your stories easily identifiable as coming from you.
- Think about which mentions or locations you want to add to your story.
Deciding What to Share
Instagram stories were designed to be a looser, less perfect part of Instagram. Many Instagrammers agonize over choosing the right photo or caption for their profile page so their aesthetic is flawless. Instagram stories allow those users to offer a less polished version of themselves and a glimpse into their everyday lives that automatically goes away in 24 hours. In this section, we detail some of the common ways people use Instagram stories.
Sharing your less-than-perfect stuff
You may want to share
- Behind the scenes photos and videos: Because many Instagrammers are involved in launches, events, conferences, podcasts, and other exciting activities, behind-the-scenes stories are a great way to let your audience in on how the magic really happens. Whether it’s showing the types of equipment used hanging decorations for an exclusive party, or interviewing speakers backstage before a conference starts, followers love to get to know more about you through behind-the-scenes stories.
- Travel photos: You may have that one gorgeous, meticulously edited shot of your trip for your profile page, but you have so many more that you’re dying to share right away! Stories are the perfect opportunity to load lots of photos that may not make the cut on your profile (like that funny one of your cousin wiping out on a boogie board).
Showcasing your personality and lifestyle
To showcase who you really are, you consider trying the following:
- Talking to the camera: The popularity of video has surged in the last several years, so what better way to grab your followers’ attention than by talking to them via Instagram stories (see Figure 7-6)? Talking directly to your followers gives them a familiarity with you that can’t be matched through still images.
- Candid shots or videos: Kids doing something silly around the house? Dog looking adorable (see Figure 7-7)? These are perfect moments to share with your followers in a story to show the day-to-day happenings around you.
FIGURE 7-6: @wellness.homemade talks directly to her followers regularly using stories.
FIGURE 7-7: @vincequejada shares stories about his puppy.
- Before-and-after images and series: Before-and-after shots and photo series are an exceptional way to tell a story. Maybe you recently remodeled your kitchen and want to show the differences, or you want to show the progression of a project that took you weeks to complete. Stories are a unique way to display the results along with how far you’ve come (see Figure 7-8).
FIGURE 7-8: @egglestondesigns shows videos about home staging using before-and-after stories.
Adding a Story Photo
To get started creating a photo story, follow these steps:
From your newsfeed (home screen), swipe right or tap the + sign; then tap Story at the top right of the screen.
You can also tap your profile picture with the blue plus sign in the row of stories at the top of your screen.
Make sure the setting at the bottom of the screen is Story, as shown in Figure 7-9.
FIGURE 7-9: Tap the white circle in Story mode to take a basic photo with the stories camera.
Take a photo.
To take a photo, hold the phone vertically and tap the white circle.
If you want the phone in selfie mode (camera facing you versus away from you), tap the two arrows located to the bottom right of the white circle before you tap the white circle. You can also double tap anywhere on the screen to switch the camera back and forth between the front- and rear-facing cameras.
- To retake the photo or video, tap the X at the top left of the screen, and repeat Step 2.
- Share your Story by tapping Your Story at the bottom left of the screen; send it to Close Friends only by tapping Close Friends to the right of the Your Story button; or send it as a DM by tapping the arrow at the bottom right of the screen, selecting Message, selecting the recipients, and tapping Send.
A face filter is an app that applies a filter over your face using the camera, making you look, for example, like a dog, a rock star, or just bathed in a warm glow. Here’s how to take a photo with a face filter:
- Open Instagram stories by swiping right or using the + sign at the top of the newsfeed.
Put the camera in selfie mode by tapping the arrows to the bottom right of the white circle.
Some filters can be used in rear-facing mode to add a filter, color, or lighting element.
Scroll to the left or right of the white circle to see different filters.
If you scroll all the way to the left, you can search other filters. Instagram often adds new filters seasonally or when there are big events like the Super Bowl or the Grammys.
To apply a filter, scroll the filter you want to use over the white button and it will show you what you’ll look like using that filter as shown in Figure 7-10.
To change filters, simply scroll to the next one.
- Take a photo by tapping the white button or record a video by holding down the white button.
- To try again, tap the X at the top left of the screen and go back to Step 4. If you want to try the photo without a filter, simply scroll back so the button is white again.
- Share your story by tapping Your Story at the bottom left of the screen; send it to Close Friends only by tapping Close Friends; or send it as a DM by tapping the arrow, selecting Message, selecting the recipients, and tapping Send.
FIGURE 7-10: Face filters allow you to take on a whole new persona in your story!
You may prefer to upload a photo stored on your camera roll instead of capturing it in the Instagram app.
When you swipe up or tap the small photo icon to load a photo or video, you see photos from the last 24 hours first. If you keep scrolling up, you’ll see your entire camera roll, and you can load older items by tapping them.
Follow these steps to upload an existing photo to your story:
- Swipe right from the newsfeed or tap the + sign at the top right of the newsfeed, and tap Story to access your Instagram story.
Swipe up from the bottom of the screen or tap the box with a small photo thumbnail at the bottom left.
Thumbnails of all available photos and videos are displayed at the bottom of the screen, as shown in Figure 7-11.
Tap the photo you’d like to post, or tap Select to choose up to ten photos.
Be sure to select them in the order you’d like them to appear in your story.
- To add a photo filter (not a face filter) to your photo, swipe right until you reach the filter option you want.
- Share your story by tapping Your Story; send it to Close Friends only by tapping Close Friends; or send it as a DM by tapping the arrow, selecting Message, selecting the recipients, and tapping Send.
FIGURE 7-11: Swipe up from the bottom of the Instagram stories screen to see available photos to post.
Adding a Story Video
Video can definitely enhance your story, and it’s always fun to include. A standard story video is only 15 seconds long, but in this section, we show you how to film up to a minute in length.
Filming with the stories camera
Filming a video within stories is very similar to taking a photo within stories. The main difference is holding down the button for video versus tapping it for a photo. Here are complete instructions for filming a video within stories:
Swipe right from the newsfeed or tap the + sign at the top right of the newsfeed, and tap Story to access your Instagram story.
You can also tap your profile picture with the blue plus sign in the row of stories at the top of your screen.
Make sure the setting at the bottom of the screen is on Story, as shown earlier in this chapter (refer to Figure 7-9).
Take a video.
To take a video, hold the phone vertically and hold the white circle. On the iPhone, you see a red line form around the circle that lets you know how much time you have left within your available 60 seconds. On Android, you see a purple line that shifts to orange and yellow.
If you want the phone in selfie mode (with the camera facing you instead of away from you), tap the two arrows located to the bottom right of the white circle before you tap the white circle.
The camera saves the first 15 seconds in a thumbnail that shows directly above the white circle. It may allow you to film more than 1 minute, but it only allows you to post the four 15-second segments to total 1 minute.
When you’re done filming, release the white circle.
The video thumbnails move down to the lower left of the screen, as shown in Figure 7-12.
FIGURE 7-12: Each 15-second segment will move down to the bottom left of the screen.
To upload all segments of the video, tap the arrow at the bottom right of the screen.
You can then choose to share it to Your Story, share it with Close Friends, or DM someone.
- To retake the video, tap the X at the upper left of the screen, and repeat Step 2.
- Share your story by tapping Your Story; send it to Close Friends only by tapping Close Friends; or send it as a DM by tapping the arrow, selecting Message, selecting the recipients, and tapping Send.
You can also share videos from your camera roll to your story. Follow the instructions for uploading a photo from your camera roll detailed in the previous section.
Experimenting with all the camera options
Instagram stories pack a lot into their little piece of the Insta-world. Their camera has many added features to add fun and drama to your stories. In this section, we offer an overview of the different camera options.
Using Create
Create is already loaded automatically within stories and allows you to type a message in text or use some of the other fun features like those shown in Figure 7-13.
FIGURE 7-13: The Create feature has many settings to choose from.
Follow these steps to use Create for a story:
- Swipe right from the newsfeed or tap the + sign at the top right of the newsfeed, and tap Story to access your Instagram story. If your camera roll is showing, tap the camera to get to the stories screen.
- Tap the Aa on the left of the screen to reveal the Create features.
- Slide through the eight available features: Text, Shoutouts, Gifs, Templates, On This Day, Questions, Countdown, or Quiz.
- Follow the prompts for the features you choose.
- If you’re not satisfied with your Story and you want to try again, tap the back arrow at the upper left and tap Discard to start over.
- Share your story by tapping Your Story; send it to Close Friends only by tapping Close Friends; or send it as a DM by tapping the arrow, selecting Message, selecting the recipients, and tapping Send.
Tip: Refer to the next chapter to see more fun ways to add GIFs, stickers, and more to your story.
Using Boomerang for fun
Boomerang is a feature that takes a burst of photos and creates a looping backward and forward video clip from them. An action such as twirling a pencil or blowing a bubble becomes more exciting when played in a loop.
Follow these steps to use Boomerang:
- Swipe right from the newsfeed or tap the + sign at the top right of the newsfeed, and tap Story to access your Instagram story. If your camera roll is showing, tap the camera to get to the stories screen.
- Tap the Boomerang icon (infinity symbol) on the left side of the screen.
To switch from forward-facing video mode to selfie video mode and back, tap the arrows at the bottom right of the screen.
You can also use Boomerang with one of the face filters, as described in the earlier section “Adding a Story Photo.”
Tap the white circle with the Boomerang logo as shown in Figure 7-14.
You don’t need to hold down the white button as you would for video. The app is actually taking several pictures in a rapid burst.
- If you’re not satisfied with your Boomerang and you want to try again, tap the back arrow at the upper left and tap Discard, starting over at Step 4.
- Share the Boomerang story by tapping Your Story; send it to Close Friends only by tapping Close Friends; or send it as a DM by tapping the arrow, selecting Message, selecting the recipients, and tapping Send.
FIGURE 7-14: Tap the Boomerang symbol to let the app take rapid burst photos.
Using Layout to make a collage
The Layout feature lets you choose from several grid options to upload more than one photo for a story. Here’s how to create a Layout story:
- Swipe right from the newsfeed or tap the + sign at the top right of the newsfeed, and tap Story to access your Instagram story. If your camera roll is showing, tap the camera to get to the stories screen.
- Tap the Layout icon (square with a rectangle with two small squares inside) on the left side of the screen.
- Tap below the Layout icon to see other available layouts, and choose the one you like.
- Take a photo for each section of your layout to fill in the grid as shown in Figure 7-15.
FIGURE 7-15: Take photos to fill each section of your layout.
- If you’re not satisfied with your Layout and you want to try again, tap X at the upper left and repeat, starting at Step 4.
- Tap the check mark if you like the Layout and want to share it.
- Share your story by tapping Your Story; send it to Close Friends only by tapping Close Friends; or send it as a DM by tapping the arrow, selecting Message, selecting the recipients, and tapping Send.
Using Hands-Free to make life easier
To film a video without the hassle of holding down the button the entire time, use the Hands-Free setting (the circle icon with a square inside of it) located on the left side of your story screen. You may need to tap the arrow on the left side of the screen to reveal the icon if it’s not showing for you already. Once you tap the Hands-Free icon, you can record a video by tapping the white circle with the colorful circle inside. Tap the circle again to stop. If you don’t tap it again, Hands-Free will keep filming a longer video, but it will only allow four 15-second segments to post as a “stitched together” video.
Saving Your Story
Sometimes stories are so good, you can’t bear the thought of them disappearing forever. Well, you’re in luck. You can save them to enjoy later and to repost on other social media networks in the following three ways.
Saving before publishing
After you create or upload a photo or video, tap the three dots at the top right of the screen (iPhone) bottom right of the screen (Android); then tap Save, and Instagram will save your photo or video to your camera roll (see Figure 7-16). You must do this before you tap Your Story or Close Friends.
FIGURE 7-16: Tap the three dots at the top of your screen (on iPhone) or bottom of screen (on Android) and then tap Save to save your story.
Saving after publishing
To save a story after you’ve published it but within its 24-hour window of being active, go to the newsfeed or your profile page and tap your profile picture. If you have an active story, it appears. Tap the right side of the screen until you see the story you want to save. Tap the three small dots at the lower right of the screen, and then tap Save (see Figure 7-17).
Automatically saving all your stories
Tap the gear icon (Settings) at the top right of the Add to my stories page. Tap Story, and then you can choose to Save to Camera Roll (saving all stories to your phone) or Save to Archive (saving all stories to an accessible archive on Instagram). You can also choose neither of these options (and your stories will not be saved anywhere), one or the other, or both! Sliding the slider to blue means that functionality is on. After you’ve made your selections, tap the arrow to exit the page, and then tap Done on the next page to get back to the story screen.
FIGURE 7-17: Tap the three dots at the top of your screen and then tap Save to save an active story.
Accessing your archives
In the preceding section, we explain how to save your stories to Instagram’s archives (saving precious space on your camera roll). Here, we show you how to access them.
From your Profile page, tap the three lines at the upper right of the screen and then tap Archive. All the stories that you’ve posted since enabling the archive are available for you to view or reshare (see Figure 7-18). Instagram also suggests memories of photos taken on that day in years past to view, and allows searching by date or location.
FIGURE 7-18: Old stories are available for you to view and reshare.