Lesson 310 lessons

Social Media Formats and Aspect Ratios

Common platform aspect ratios

Instagram feed: 1:1 or 4:5. Instagram/TikTok Stories/Reels: 9:16. Twitter/X and LinkedIn: 16:9 or 1.91:1. Set the correct --ar at generation time rather than cropping afterward, which can cut off important elements.

Composing for the crop, not just the frame

Even with the right aspect ratio, leave breathing room around key subjects since platforms sometimes crop thumbnails or previews differently than the full post view.

Generating once, adapting for multiple platforms

Generate a square (1:1) master version with the subject centered, then use outpainting (from the AI Image Generation path) to extend it into 9:16 or 16:9 versions without regenerating from scratch.

Key Takeaways

  • Set the correct `--ar` at generation time to match each platform's needs.
  • Leave breathing room around subjects since crops vary by placement.
  • Use outpainting to adapt one master image into multiple aspect ratios.
  • This avoids regenerating from scratch for every platform format.

Adapt one image to 3 aspect ratios

Generate a 1:1 master image, then use outpainting to create 9:16 and 16:9 versions for Stories and LinkedIn.