Make an Instagram reel from start to finish

A reel needs one idea. Instagram's Creators site says making a reel can be as simple as adding audio to a series of photos or video clips from your camera roll, so you do not need a studio or a script. Write the idea as one sentence, then write the first line you will say or show.

Instagram's creator FAQ says to make sure the first 3 seconds are engaging so that people do not move on. Our page on Instagram reel hooks has openers you can adapt.

Instagram's Help Center article on recording a reel, read on 15 October 2026, gives a path for each phone. On iPhone, tap Create at the bottom, tap REEL, then tap Camera at the top. On Android, tap your profile picture in the bottom right, tap Create new in the top right, tap Reel, then tap Camera at the top.

Other Help Center articles say you can also swipe right from Feed to reach Create, so use whichever your screen shows. The Help Center also says reels is not available to everyone: some accounts can see reels but cannot record them.

Tap and hold Record to film a clip, or tap it once to start and again to stop. To add footage you already have, tap your camera roll in the bottom left. A reel can be one take or several clips, and the progress bar at the top shows how much you have recorded.

The tool menu on the left, as Instagram's Help Center describes it, holds these:

• Music to search the music library and choose which part of a song plays.
• Effects for camera effects, and Add Yours to include an Add Yours sticker.
• Speed, which changes both the video and the audio of a clip.
• Layout to change the grid your clips sit in.
• Length to set how long a clip runs, with a countdown before it starts recording.
• Dual camera to film with the front and back cameras together.
• Align to show the end of your last clip as a transparent picture, so the next clip lines up with it.

Extra shots of your hands, your screen or your surroundings give you something to cut to. What b-roll is explains how to use them.

A template lets you make your own version of an existing reel, with the same music and timing and your clips in place of the originals. Instagram's Help Center says templates are only available for reels that include music and at least 3 clips.

Tap Create, tap Reel, then tap Templates and swipe through the choices. Tap one, tap Add media, then tap your photos or videos in the order you want them. Tap Next, and if a clip is wrong, tap it and then Replace media. You can also use a reel you are watching as a template by tapping Template by, then Use Template, though not every reel allows it.

Instagram's Help Center says you can record one or multiple clips that add up to 20 minutes (read 15 October 2026). To add more, tap Edit video in the bottom left, then Add clips. Reorder lets you tap and drag clips into a new order, then tap Done, and the trimmers on each clip change how long it plays.

A longer reel is not the same as a reel more people see. The same Help Center article notes that reels over 3 minutes will not be recommended to new audiences, and Instagram's creator FAQ says it recommends videos to people who do not follow you when they are 3 minutes or less. Instagram's reels page, meanwhile, describes multi-clip videos up to 3 minutes. The pages differ, so check what your app allows before you plan a long reel.

Instagram's Help Center page on reel size, read on 15 October 2026, says you can upload a reel with a shape anywhere from 1.91:1 to 9:16, a minimum frame rate of 30 frames a second and a minimum resolution of 720 pixels. Instagram's article on boosting a reel calls 9:16 the full-screen vertical format. At 1080 pixels wide that is 1080 by 1920, which is our arithmetic, because the Help Center gives no pixel size. Hold your phone upright when you film. Instagram post size lists the other sizes.

If a clip is wide or square, tap Edit video, select the clip, tap Crop at the bottom right, and pinch the screen to scale, resize or crop it, as Instagram's article on editing reel clips describes. Pinch and rotate your fingers to turn it. Instagram's ranking post of 31 May 2023 says it aims to make reels with borders less visible, so filling the frame is worth the effort.

For quality, go to your profile, tap Menu, tap Media quality below Your app and media, and turn on Upload at highest quality. Instagram warns that a higher quality upload may take longer.

On iPhone, tap Next in the bottom right, then Audio. You can search Instagram's music library, record with your own original audio, or use another creator's original audio. Instagram's Help Center on reel audio says you cannot use original audio from a feed video unless you remix the video.

Two rules are worth knowing. When you post a reel on a public account, anyone on Instagram, the Meta AI apps or Meta AI websites can record a reel using your original audio. To change the Meta AI part, go to your profile, tap Menu, tap Sharing and reuse, and switch the toggle next to Reels under the original audio setting. And licensed music can be muted later if Instagram's agreements change, though the reel can still be viewed.

Instagram's ranking post says it aims to make muted reels less visible, and its creator FAQ says trending audio can affect distribution, so give the reel a sound.

Tap Text and type, as the Help Center on reel text describes. At the top you can set alignment, color, highlighting and animation. Swipe up and down on the left to change the size, swipe left and right at the bottom to change the font, tap Done, then drag the text where you want it.

For captions that follow your voice, tap More options on the final screen and turn on Enable closed captions. Instagram's Help Center on closed captions says it uses speech recognition to write the speech as text at the bottom of the reel, and a second switch turns translations on or off.

Keep the words short. Instagram's ranking post says it aims to make reels that are mostly text less visible.

On the last screen, tap Edit cover to pick a frame or add a picture from your device, then write your caption and add a location. For options such as allowing your reel to be used as a template or downloaded, tap More options.

Instagram recommends a cover of 420 by 654 pixels, a ratio of 1:1.55. Its Help Center says that right now you cannot edit your cover photo after you have uploaded it. The Manage reels article describes Edit as the way to change things like the caption and location. Choose the cover before you share.

To save a draft, tap Next, then Next again, then Save draft at the bottom. Instagram's Help Center on reel drafts says drafts are saved on your device, you cannot open one from another device, and uninstalling the app loses them. There is no limit on how many you save. To edit one, go to your profile, tap Reels, then Drafts.

To schedule, you need a public account. Under More options, turn on Schedule this reel, then pick a date and time. Instagram's Help Center on scheduling says you can schedule up to 25 posts a day, up to 30 days ahead.

To test the idea on people who do not follow you first, tap Trial before you share. Instagram's Help Center on trial reels asks for a public account with at least 200 followers if it is professional, or 1,000 if it is personal. Trial reels explains the rest, and how to test Instagram reels turns it into a routine.

Then tap Share. Instagram's creator FAQ suggests replying to comments on the reel within the first 7 days.

Edits is Instagram's separate video app for Android and iPhone. Instagram launched it on 22 April 2025, says it is free to download, and asks you to sign in with your Instagram account. You do not need it to make a reel, because the editor in Instagram covers recording, trimming, audio and text.

In Edits, as Instagram's Help Center on recording in Edits describes, tap Camera at the bottom and Record, or open Projects and tap New project to start from your gallery. The tools at the bottom include Audio, Text, Voice, Captions, Filters, Effects, Overlay, Sound FX, Cutout and Sticker. When you are done, tap Next, then Instagram to share the video as a reel, or Download to save it to your camera roll. Instagram's Help Center on exporting, read on 15 October 2026, says a download is watermark free, and that Instagram's share screen is where you add a caption, tags and audience selections. Reels shared from Edits show an icon saying they were made with Edits.

One catch: licensed audio over 60 seconds is not included in a downloaded export.

Instagram gives no ideal length and no promise of reach. The Help Center states limits, not what performs. Instagram's pages give three figures for reel length: 20 minutes to record, 3 minutes as the most it recommends to new audiences, and 3 minutes in the reels page's wording for multi-clip videos.

We could not find a maximum length for an Edits project. The Help Center articles we read name none, so we give none. We also found no speed range for the Speed tool, so we left it out.

The steps come from Instagram's Help Center, read on 15 October 2026. We did not record a reel while writing this guide. Button names differ between iPhone and Android and change between versions. Trial reels depend on how many followers you have, and not every account can record reels.

Instagram publishes no safe margins for reels you post yourself. The advice on edges comes from Meta's guide for ads.

When the reel takes off and people comment, a keyword in your caption lets inDM send each commenter a DM while you get on with the next one.