This post contains affiliate links*
Lately I’ve been getting the same question over and over:
How do you get your photos or graphics from your computer to your phone to upload them on Instagram?
So today I wanted to share this Instagram tip with you. There are a lot of ways to get your photo from your computer to Instagram! Don’t email it to yourself since you will lose some resolution and your photo could end up looking grainy.
At this time, nothing will magically zap a photo to your Instagram directly. Many apps claiming to “post to Instagram for you” require you to go in and push a button to get it onto Instagram at the time you want to post it due to Instagram’s policies. These options do require a couple of steps:
So how can you get your photos from your computer to Instagram?
1. Dropbox. This is great because you upload the photo to dropbox, then it’s always backed up, and if you have the Dropbox app on your phone it will automatically just be waiting there for you to share on Instagram.
2. Text it/airdrop for mac users. I have a Mac, so sometimes I will just drag and drop a photo to my iMessage and send it to myself or use the airdrop feature. It’s quick and easy and doesn’t require you to download another app on your phone.
3. Viraltag*. The other week I boasted all about Viraltag being my new favorite social media management tool and this is another reason why: I can edit and save photos from my computer or phone to it. I write the caption on my laptop, and share it to Instagram after getting a nice reminder to post at the “scheduled” time and copies the caption for me. Personally, I hate trying to type the caption on my phone for Instagram. This is a nice triple threat in that I can easily get the image to my phone, I can type the caption on my computer, and I can schedule it!
*I fell so in love with Viraltag, that I became an affiliate for it! Using these links YOU will receive a $15 credit!
There are LOADS of other ways to go about getting a photo from your computer to your phone. Some include, Gramblr, Instapic, Later, Canva, and many more!
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What is your favorite way to transfer photos without losing resolution?
Kristin Cook
June 1, 2016 at 12:56 pmThus far, the easiest way I’ve found is to send the photo to myself in Facebook messenger, save it to my phone from there and then post to instagram.
Rachel Ritlop
June 1, 2016 at 8:32 pmInteresting! I haven’t heard that one before! It’s a good idea!
Alexis
June 1, 2016 at 3:41 pmI don’t think I could live without dropbox! It makes my life so much easier!! All these are great too, such good time savers!
Rachel Ritlop
June 1, 2016 at 8:32 pmSame here!
Susannah Kellogg
June 1, 2016 at 6:21 pmI use Hootsuite to "schedule" my instagram. Sure I have to go to my phone and confirm it but I can do all the editing/writing on my computer! <3
Rachel Ritlop
June 1, 2016 at 8:32 pmYeah that’s a big thing for me! I hate typing long stuff in Instagram!
Summer Konicki
June 1, 2016 at 8:23 pmDropbox is my savior when it comes to transferring photos to my phone from my laptop!
Rachel Ritlop
June 1, 2016 at 8:31 pmHaha yes! Dropbox has also saved me from computer disasters! I love that it keeps everything backed up for you by default.
Jenny B.
June 1, 2016 at 11:12 pmI love the air drop feature – it definitely comes in handy.
Rachel Ritlop
June 2, 2016 at 12:51 pmSeriously! Part of the reason I love my apple products is how easy it is to get switch tasks between devices!
Sockwun Phng
June 2, 2016 at 12:35 amI very recently found out how to do this, but your method’s not something I’ve heard of before even though it’s so much simpler! Thanks for sharing.
Sockwun | ExtraExtravagant.com
Laura Malone
June 2, 2016 at 2:42 amI usually use Canva! That way I can check that the images are a good size and edit then pick them up later
great post!
xxox
Laura @ http://www.cookwineandthinker.com
Rachel Ritlop
June 2, 2016 at 12:51 pmI love Canva! But found it had some limitations if you aren’t on an Ipad or computer.
Lora Green
June 2, 2016 at 2:56 amDidn’t know that about ViralTag! Thanks for the tips 🙂
Rachel Ritlop
June 2, 2016 at 12:51 pmYou’re welcome Lora!
Jordyn Sifferman
June 2, 2016 at 4:37 amI always just email photos to myself and then save the photo to my phone. Dropbox is a great suggestion though!
Rachel Ritlop
June 2, 2016 at 12:52 pmI used to do that, but found that graphics I made in Canva would come out grainy that way. I liked emailing them to myself also so I had them backed up, which made Dropbox a nice solution. Hope you enjoy!
Shann Eva
June 2, 2016 at 5:14 amAwesome tips! I’ve used Latergram, but I think I’m going to transfer all my photos and save them in Dropbox. That way I won’t have to worry when I’m on a different device.
Rachel Ritlop
June 2, 2016 at 12:53 pmAwesome!
Michelle Mink
June 2, 2016 at 5:36 amI normally just email the pictures to my phone but now I’m wondering if that’s affecting how my pictures look. i have a dropbox account so i might just start using that.
Rachel Ritlop
June 2, 2016 at 12:54 pmIt probably does for some and not for others. I’ve had some that still look pristine after emailing and uploading, and others look a little wonky. When you send photos via email it compresses them so they loose some resolution. Hope dropbox helps!
Amanda Kushner
June 2, 2016 at 6:33 amI use a combination of Dropbox AND iCloud Photo Stream to migrate my pictures. I find that texting it to myself usually loses a lot of quality, so I try to stick to migrating through the cloud whenever possible.
XO Amanda | http://www.glitterandspice.com
Rachel Ritlop
June 2, 2016 at 12:54 pmLove that!
Bree Hogan
June 2, 2016 at 9:45 amThank you! I’m stuck in the ’email it to myself’ mode when there are much more efficient things to be doing. Love these ideas!
Rachel Ritlop
June 2, 2016 at 12:55 pmHaha you’re welcome!
Latonya Mo
June 2, 2016 at 12:03 pmThanks for these tips! I had no idea, but it’s been something I’ve been thinking about. I finally considered using Dropbox yesterday so this is more of an incentive to use it.
Rachel Ritlop
June 2, 2016 at 12:55 pmDO IT! Seriously, it’s so helpful on SO many levels of your blog or business!
Maria Lianos-Carbone
June 2, 2016 at 12:31 pmSometimes I’ll save the photo and text in my email drafts and copy and paste from there.
Rachel Ritlop
June 2, 2016 at 12:55 pmHaha I’ve so been there!
Morgan Flinchum
June 2, 2016 at 1:09 pmI just got a Mac recently and airdrop is saving my Instagram life! haha .. great suggestions!
-Morgan
How 2 Wear It [] http://how2wearit.com
Rachel Ritlop
June 3, 2016 at 12:32 amHaha yes! Airdrop is a game changer! Thanks for reading Morgan!
Aishwarya Shenolikar
June 2, 2016 at 5:05 pmDropbox is really useful for this. I use Google Drive sometimes. Does the work! 🙂
Rachel Ritlop
June 3, 2016 at 12:33 amOh smart! Google drive is such a life saver for me too!
Kristin Thompson
June 3, 2016 at 3:42 amLove these tips! I typically email the pictures to myself from my computer, but I recently started using Airdrop too!
Kristin
<a href="http://www.theblushblonde.com/2016/06/sephora-buys-for-under-20.html">The Blush Blonde</a>
Rachel Ritlop
June 6, 2016 at 8:56 pmAirdrop is such a life saver!
Happy Curious Life
June 3, 2016 at 9:52 pmI have never thought about any of these ways to transfer photos. I usually use google drive though.
Rachel Ritlop
June 6, 2016 at 8:56 pmLove Google Drive!
thesophiadiaries
May 19, 2017 at 12:07 pmOh thanks for sharing these tips!! I’m just so old fashioned and use my gmail xD
http://thesophiadiaries.com/personalstyle/casual-coral
Sharon Mau
November 2, 2017 at 8:49 pmAloha Rachel . . thank you! :))