How to Post a Live Photo on Instagram

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If you have ever tried posting a live photo on Instagram, you know that the app will automatically convert it into a static photo. If you don’t want to lose the motion aspect of the image, this tutorial shows how to upload live photos to Instagram to keep that aspect.

Good to know: want to spend less time on social media? Start by deleting or deactivating your Instagram account.

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How to Post a Live Photo to Instagram on iPhone

Live photos can act as very short videos on a loop and are available on certain phones, such as iPhones and Google Pixels (where they are called motion photos or shots). Basically, when shooting live photos, you can also capture a short video with motion. If you wish to retain the “live” nature of the images when posting to Instagram on an iPhone, follow the steps below.

Save Live Photos as Video

If you want to post a live photo as a regular post or story on Instagram, save the photo as a video on your device. This can be useful if you want to post the resulting video to other social media platforms.

After shooting the live photo, open the Photos app on your iPhone, and find it in your camera roll. Make sure it is actually a live photo and not a still image. It should have the “Live” tag in the upper-left corner of the display. Press the three dots in the upper-right corner, and select Save as Video.

Go back to the Photos app to view the mini clip in the gallery alongside the live photo. Head to Instagram, and post your converted live photo.

Tip: when creating content for Instagram, take Safe Zones into account.

Transform a Live Photo into a Boomerang

If you’re only looking to post a live photo on Instagram, you can transform it into a Boomerang video before posting. Boomerangs are short clips that loop back and forth in time. You can do this from the Instagram app itself on iPhone. This option is available if you’re looking to use your live photo to create a Story, but not if you want to post it on your Instagram feed.

Go to the Story creation screen on Instagram. You’ll be prompted to select a photo or video from your gallery. Live photos will have a little Boomerang icon in the upper-left corner that makes them stand out. Tap on the live photo you wish to use.

On the next screen, your live photo will appear as a static image. Change that by pressing on the Boomerang icon at the top. Instagram will now activate it.

Try the available Boomerang effects if you want to make your miniclip more appealing and fun, then press Done.

You’ll be returned to the preview screen and will see that the live photo is active and showing the image in motion. Finish by posting the video.

FYI: seeing the “Couldn’t Refresh feed” error while browsing on Instagram? Learn how to handle this error message.

How to Post a Motion Photo to Instagram on Android

On some Android models, you can create motion photos or shots, which are equivalent to live photos.

If you wish to post your motion photo as a Story on Instagram, follow the same instructions above for iPhone. Turn the motion photo into a Boomerang, which is possible from the app.

If you wish to post the motion photo as a regular post on your Instagram, convert it into video via Google Photos.

Open the motion photo in Google Photos. Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner of the display.

Swipe your finger to the right under the photo until you find the Export option.

Select either Video or GIF in the pop-up, then tap Export.

Go back to Google Photos to view the new video. (It will display a tiny play icon in the upper-right corner of the thumbnail.) Go back to Instagram. Create your post or Story using the newly created video.

Tip: curious to see who shared your Instagram posts? Learn how to find out.

If you wish to continue to explore additional Instagram features, read on to learn how to use Notes and change the background on your Instagram Story.

Image credit: Pixabay. All screenshots by Alexandra Arici.

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Alexandra Arici –
Staff Writer

Alexandra is passionate about mobile tech and can be often found fiddling with a smartphone from some obscure company. She kick-started her career in tech journalism in 2013, after working a few years as a middle-school teacher. Constantly driven by curiosity, Alexandra likes to know how things work and to share that knowledge with everyone.

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