How to make a monthly photo dump story with videos

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To make a photo dump story with videos, pick up to 6 of the month’s moments, put them in one grid and save it as one 9:16 video. Post that video as your story, and every clip plays at the same time.

Instagram’s Stories guide suggests Layout for photo dumps, but Layout takes photos only. Storyvids takes photos and videos in the same grid, in your browser, with no account and no watermark.

Steps

  1. 01

    Pick the month’s moments

    Scroll back through the month in your camera roll and mark the moments you want. One story holds up to 6, so start with the ones you would show a friend first.

  2. 02

    Pick a grid

    The 2 × 3 grid holds six moments and the 2 × 2 grid holds four. For one big moment and three small ones, use one big, three below.

  3. 03

    Mix photos and videos

    Tap a cell to add a photo or a video. A dump looks busy when every cell moves, so two or three still photos among the clips keep it calm.

  4. 04

    Frame each moment

    Drag inside a cell to move the photo or clip, and pinch or scroll to zoom. Each cell crops to fit, so keep the subject near the middle.

  5. 05

    Save and post

    Tap the check mark, pick 1080p and save the MP4. Post it to your story, then add a music sticker or a line of text there.

On iPhone and Android

iPhone, in Safari

  1. 01

    Open the 2 × 3 grid layout in Safari.

  2. 02

    Tap a cell and pick videos from your photo library. Select several at once and they fill the cells in order.

  3. 03

    Tap the check mark, then Download. When the video is ready, tap “Save to Photos or share” and pick “Save Video”.

  4. 04

    In Instagram, tap + at the top right or swipe right from your feed. Tap the gallery icon at the bottom left, pick the video and tap Your story.

Android, in Chrome

  1. 01

    Open the 2 × 3 grid layout in Chrome.

  2. 02

    Tap a cell and pick videos from your gallery or your files. Select several at once and they fill the cells in order.

  3. 03

    Tap the check mark, then Download. When the video is ready, tap “Save to phone” and find it in Gallery → Downloads, or tap “Share to Instagram or Facebook”.

  4. 04

    In Instagram, tap + at the top right or swipe right from your feed. Tap the gallery icon at the bottom left, pick the video and tap Your story.

What goes in a photo dump

A photo dump is a loose mix of small moments, not a best-of reel. A meal, a view, a friend laughing, a few seconds of the sea. Mix close-ups with wide shots so each cell reads at a glance.

Put the moments in order

The eye starts at the top left. Put the moment that sums up the month there, and the quieter ones lower down. In one big, three below, the big cell is the headline.

Keep clips short

The story runs as long as the longest clip, and shorter clips loop until it ends. Clips of 3 to 6 seconds keep the grid lively. Instagram plays a story clip for up to 60 seconds and splits a longer video into back-to-back clips.

More than six moments

One story holds up to 6 cells. With more, make two grids and post them as two stories, one after the other. For a feed post instead, an Instagram carousel takes up to 20 photos and videos, shown one at a time.

Add a song on Instagram

The sound from every clip is mixed into the saved video. To use a song instead, add a music sticker when you post: open the sticker tray, pick Music and choose the part of the song you want.

Keep every month on your profile

A story disappears after 24 hours. Save each month’s dump to a Highlight and it stays on your profile until you remove it. Make the grid on the last day of the month, use the same layout each time, and the months line up as a series.

Sources

Checked

Layouts for this

All Instagram Story layouts for videos

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