How to make a seamless
Instagram carousel.
A seamless carousel is one picture spread across several slides, so each swipe carries on where the last slide ended. Here’s how to make one in Seamless, in Canva or in Photoshop.
How to make a seamless
One photo across three portrait slides, with a headline that starts on the first.
The quick way, in Seamless
1. Start a project
Pick the slide shape (portrait 4:5 is the usual choice) and how many slides. You can change both later without starting over.
2. Drop in photos and drag one across a seam
A photo dragged over the line between two slides carries on into the next one, and Span all runs it across every slide. Edges snap to the seams, so nothing is lost or doubled.
3. Add text that runs across
Choose from 200+ Google Fonts. A headline can start on one slide and finish on the next, which gives people a reason to swipe.
4. Preview the swipe, then export
Swipe through it exactly as your followers will. Export saves every slide, numbered, at the size Instagram shows.
5. Post the slides in order
In Instagram, select the slides from 1 to the last. If the previews show as squares, tap the crop button to switch back to their own shape.
In Canva
- Create a design at a custom size: 1080 px times your slide count by 1350 px. Three portrait slides is 3240 × 1350. Every size is in the carousel size guide.
- In the File menu, use Add guides to add one column per slide with no gap, so you can see where the cuts fall.
- Lay your photo and text across the whole canvas. Keep faces and words off the guides.
- Download it as one PNG.
- Canva doesn’t cut it into slides, so drop the PNG into the panorama splitter and choose the same slide count.
In Photoshop
- File › New at the full canvas size, e.g. 3240 × 1350 px.
- View › Guides › New Guide Layout: columns equal to your slide count, gutter 0.
- Design across the canvas.
- Pick the Slice tool and choose Slices From Guides.
- File › Export › Save for Web (Legacy), and save all user slices as JPEG.
Tips for a better swipe
Make slide 1 work alone
It’s the only one people see in the feed. Give them a reason to swipe.
Let something cross every seam
A horizon, a road or a line of text that continues tells people there’s more.
Keep faces off the cut
A face split across two slides is never seen whole.
Go tall
Portrait 4:5 or 3:4 slides fill more of the screen than square ones.
Questions
Is there a free seamless carousel maker?
Yes. Seamless is free to start, and the panorama splitter needs no account at all.
Why is there a thin line between my slides?
The canvas wasn’t an exact multiple of the slide width, so a cut fell between pixels. Seamless always cuts on whole pixels.
Can I make one on my phone?
Yes. Seamless runs in your phone’s browser and shares the slides straight to Instagram.
How many slides should I use?
Three to five works for most panoramas. Instagram allows up to 20.