Umaru Creative ·
Instagram Photos, Formats, and Why Your Website Still Matters
Instagram now supports 3:4 photos, Adam Mosseri announced. But small businesses should ask: do we still want social media to dictate format?
Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, recently announced that the platform now supports 3:4 aspect ratio photos — the default size on most phone cameras. In plain words: photos will finally appear as you shot them, without being cropped.
It sounds like progress, but it also makes you wonder: should social media really be the one deciding how your work looks?
Why this “update” feels odd
On your own website, you can upload any photo format. Wide, tall, panoramic — it simply displays as you intended. No hidden rules.
Instagram, on the other hand, has a habit of changing things in ways that make creators adjust:
- Early years: only square photos.
- Later: sudden changes to profile thumbnails.
- Entire grids thrown off by design tweaks.
For a coffee shop in Bergen or a bakery in Helsinki, that can mean hours of extra work. You plan carefully for a look, and then one redesign breaks it overnight.
Websites give freedom
A website is different. It doesn’t crop your story or shift the goalposts. It’s your own space where you can:
- Use any photo format you like.
- Keep your design stable over time.
- Show your products, space, or events exactly as you choose.
Social media is useful for reaching people, but it will never give you full control. A website, on the other hand, is where your work stays yours.
Takeaway
Platforms change, and they always will. Your website is steadier ground. If you want your photos — and your story — to appear just as you intend, your website is still the place that respects your choices.
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