Social Media Image Sizes: 1:1, 4:5, 16:9 Export Workflow

For feed posts, export images 1080 pixels wide: 1080×1080 for square (1:1), 1080×1350 for portrait (4:5), or 1080×1440 for Instagram's tallest supported feed ratio (3:4). For YouTube video thumbnails (16:9), YouTube's help now recommends 3840×2160 with a minimum width of 640 pixels. Design once, then export each crop as its own named file so the right one goes to each placement.

Official image sizes by platform

These figures come from each platform's own help pages, checked in October 2026. Platforms change their recommendations, so check the source links before a large campaign.

Two points from Instagram's help page are worth knowing. A photo between 320 and 1080 pixels wide keeps its resolution if its ratio is between 1.91:1 and 3:4; anything wider is sized down to 1080 pixels, and anything narrower than 320 is enlarged. A photo outside that ratio range is cropped to fit, so export at the ratio you want rather than letting the app decide.

How to set up the crops in Figma or Photoshop

Build one frame or artboard per ratio, all from the same source art, so a headline change only needs re-exporting, not redesigning.

In Figma

1. Create frames at the export sizes: 1080×1080, 1080×1350, 1080×1440 if you want 3:4, and 3840×2160 for a YouTube thumbnail.
2. Place the shared artwork as a component in each frame, so edits flow to every crop.
3. Name each frame with its ratio and size. A slash in the name becomes a folder on export, so social/launch/4x5-1080x1350 lands in social\launch\.
4. Add an export setting at 1x (PNG or JPG) to each frame and export them together. Social images are delivered at their pixel size, so the @2x habit from app work doesn't apply.

In Photoshop

Use one artboard per ratio, then File > Export > Export As to write every artboard at once.

Name the files so anyone can upload them

launch-hero_ig-feed_4x5_1080x1350.jpg
launch-hero_ig-feed_1x1_1080x1080.jpg
launch-hero_ig-story-ad_9x16_1440x2560.jpg
launch-hero_yt-thumb_16x9_3840x2160.jpg
launch-hero_li-ad_1-91x1_1200x628.jpg
captions.txt

With the placement, ratio and size in the name, whoever schedules the posts can pick the right file without opening the design. Marketplaces have their own rules; staging product photos for Shopify and Amazon covers Amazon's file-name matching. Keep captions, hashtags and tracking links in captions.txt so they're pasted as text, not retyped.

Safe zones and checks before you schedule

Platform interfaces cover parts of the image. Meta's Stories ad guide recommends leaving roughly 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% at each side free of text, logos and key elements. Add a safe-zone guide layer to your Stories and Reels frames and hide it before export.

Before uploading, check each file:

1. Pixel dimensions match the file name.
2. Faces, text and logos sit inside the safe zone.
3. The file is under the platform's size limit.
4. Colors were exported in sRGB.
5. The caption comes from captions.txt, not from a screenshot.

Where copying and pasting fits

Captions and links are text, so they're the part of a campaign that suits the clipboard: copy them from captions.txt, and pin them in Windows clipboard history (Win+V) if you'll paste them several times. Images should go up as the exported files. A snip of the design canvas taken with Win+Shift+S captures screen pixels at whatever zoom you were viewing, not the export size.

If you upload from several placements in one sitting, Edge Drop can hold a campaign's exported files as a stack of up to 10 at the edge of the screen and drag each one into the uploader as the original file.

Video covers and thumbnails often start as a frame from your edit; After Effects: Copy Frame to Clipboard vs Save Frame As covers getting a full-quality still on disk, and still frames between DaVinci Resolve, Slack and uploads covers the Resolve side. If you design in Canva, Canva desktop vs Canva web clipboard limits explains why downloading beats copying there too.

FAQ

Should I post at 4:5 or 3:4 on Instagram?

Both are within the range Instagram's help page lists for feed photos (1.91:1 to 3:4). 3:4 (1080×1440) is the tallest it keeps without cropping, and 4:5 (1080×1350) is slightly shorter but also inside the range. If you reuse the same portrait crop for LinkedIn ads, 4:5 matches LinkedIn's recommended vertical ratio.

Is 1280×720 still a valid YouTube thumbnail size?

It's above YouTube's 640-pixel minimum width, so it uploads, but YouTube's help page now recommends 3840×2160 for video thumbnails.

Why does Instagram make my photo look softer?

If the photo is wider than 1080 pixels, Instagram sizes it down to 1080. Export at exactly 1080 wide so you control the resize and sharpening yourself.

Related reading

• How to Export @1x and @2x Images in Figma and Photoshop
• Can't Paste Into Canva? Desktop vs Web Fixes on Windows
• After Effects: Copy Frame to Clipboard vs Save Frame As
• Why Slack and Teams Images Look Blurry (and How to Fix It)

Sources

• Image resolution of photos you share on Instagram (Instagram Help Center) — 1080 px width, 1.91:1 to 3:4 range, resizing and cropping rules.
• Image ad specs on Instagram Stories (Meta Ads Guide) — 9:16, 1440×2560, safe-zone percentages.
• Add custom thumbnails on YouTube (YouTube Help) — 3840×2160 recommendation, 640 px minimum, formats and size limits, Shorts thumbnails.
• Single image ads advertising specifications (LinkedIn Help) — recommended sizes, file types and 5 MB limit.
• Export static designs from Figma (Figma Help) — export settings and slash names as folders.
• Export files in different sizes (Adobe Photoshop) — Export As for layers and artboards.

Copy. Stack. Drop.

Transform your clipboard into an interactive edge shelf. Stack, pin, and drag assets into any app with zero friction.

Download for Windows Get from Microsoft Store

How to Install Guide · First 10 Minutes Guide · Drag & Drop Guide · Edge Drop vs Win+V · Support