Introduction
If you’re an avid Instagram user, you probably know about the story feature of Instagram. It’s a popular feature that allows users to capture their moments and share them with their followers. Instagram has been continuously updating this feature by adding new filters, stickers, animation, and background options. In this article, we’ll be diving deep into the background feature, giving you a step-by-step guide on how to change your Instagram story’s background, along with some creative ideas, advanced background techniques, photo-editing apps, and user-generated content strategies.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Change Background on an Instagram Story
Changing the background of an Instagram story is not complicated, but it’s not that simple either. So, let’s dive into the process through this step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Open the Instagram app
To start, you need to open the Instagram app and log in to your account.
Step 2: Select the story feature
Tap on the camera icon located at the top left corner of the screen or swipe right from your home feed. This will take you to the Instagram story feature.
Step 3: Choose the photo or video to add to an Instagram story
Choose the photo or video you want to add to your Instagram story and click on the “Add Your Story” button at the bottom of the screen.
Step 4: Tap on the brush icon and swipe up to access background colors
To access the background options, click on the brush icon located at the top of the screen. Then, swipe up to reveal the background color and pattern options.
Step 5: Choose the desired color or pattern
You will find different color options, gradient patterns, and images to select from. Choose the background color or pattern that you want to apply to your Instagram story.
Step 6: Tap and hold the screen to apply the selected background
Once you’ve selected the background color or pattern you want to use, tap and hold the screen to apply it to your Instagram story. You can also adjust the intensity of the background color or erase any parts as per your preferences.
Now your Instagram story has a newly added background that will make your story stand out.
Video Tutorial
If you’re a visual learner, a video tutorial can be more effective than a step-by-step guide. Check out a short Instagram story tutorial video that explains the background changing process in a few seconds:
Creative Background Ideas for Instagram Stories
Changing the background color of an Instagram story is not enough if you want to make it eye-catching. Using creative backgrounds that align with your brand or aesthetics can make your Instagram story more engaging and memorable. Here are some creative ideas for Instagram story backgrounds:
1. Nature-inspired backgrounds
Nature-inspired background images like flowers, leaves, mountains, and water can be used to give your Instagram story a fresh and eco-friendly feel.
2. Geometric patterns
Geometric patterns like lines, dots, grids, triangles, and circles can be paired with bold, subtle, or monochromatic colors to create a modern and minimalist-looking Instagram story.
3. Vintage-inspired backgrounds
For a retro or vintage vibe, use aged paper textures, polaroids, typewriters, or old books as a background for your Instagram story.
4. Colorful backgrounds
Experiment with bright, bold, or pastel colors to create a colorful Instagram story. You can also use gradients, overlays, or shapes with different colors.
5. Animated backgrounds
Create eye-catching Instagram stories with animations like animated texts, GIFs, boomerangs, or videos that loop.
Use Photo Editing Apps for Instagram Story Transformations
If you’re looking for more sophisticated and customized options for your Instagram story backgrounds, photo editing apps can be a game-changer. Here are some of the best photo editing apps for Instagram stories:
1. Canva Story
Canva Story offers a vast library of templates, font styles, backgrounds, and shapes to create stunning designs for Instagram stories. You can use Canva’s pre-built story templates or customize your own unique background.
2. Unfold
Unfold is a simple yet powerful photo editor app for Instagram stories. It provides pre-built templates with various collage styles, fonts, borders, and backgrounds to create a cohesive Instagram story.
3. InShot
InShot is a video and photo editor app that lets you create custom backgrounds with its background eraser feature. You can remove the background from a photo and then add any color or pattern to create a colorful and unique Instagram story background.
4. Mextures
Mextures is an advanced photo editing app for professionals. It lets you add textures, light leaks, and color effects to an image to create unique and personalized backgrounds for Instagram stories.
Advanced Background Techniques
If you want to take your Instagram stories to the next level, various advanced background techniques can help you create more eye-catching and unique stories. Here are some advanced background techniques:
1. Layering backgrounds
Layering multiple backgrounds can add depth and dimension to your Instagram story. You can use images, patterns, or colors as your base, then layer effects, texts, or shapes to create a complex background.
2. Adding text overlays
Text overlays can be used to emphasize your message, along with a beautiful background. You can use different fonts, sizes, colors, and shadow effects to create an engaging text overlay.
3. Using gradients
Gradients can add a subtle or intense color transition effect to your Instagram story. You can use a two-color gradient or multiple gradients to create a gradient effect that aligns with your brand colors.
4. Creating a custom background
If you want to create a unique and personalized background, try creating it from scratch. You can use graphic design and photo editing tools like Adobe Photoshop, Figma, Sketch, or Procreate to create a custom background image or pattern for your Instagram story.
Create Your Own Backgrounds
If you’re a creative person who loves designing and editing photos, you can create your background images or patterns for Instagram stories. Here is a guide on graphic design and photo editing tools to create custom backgrounds:
1. Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a professional graphic design tool that lets you create custom background images or patterns from scratch. You can use various design tools and effects like layers, brushes, filters, and shapes to create a personalized background image or pattern.
2. Figma
Figma is a web-based graphic design tool that enables you to collaborate with other designers to create custom backgrounds. You can create vector graphics, prototypes, and animations, all while sharing your design with your clients or stakeholders.
3. Sketch
Sketch is a vector-based graphic design tool that lets you create custom backgrounds for Instagram stories. You can use the built-in templates, symbols, and plug-ins to speed up your design process and create professional-looking backgrounds.
4. Procreate
Procreate is a powerful and intuitive graphic design app for iPad users. You can create custom backgrounds for Instagram stories by using the app’s brushes, layers, and effects features.
User-Generated Content (UGC) – Favorite Background Strategies and Tips
Instagram users always come up with new and innovative ideas to create and share content. We asked Instagram users about their favorite background strategies and tips for Instagram stories; here are some of the best tips and strategies:
- Use contrasting colors to make your text pop
- Blend two or more background colors to create a unique gradient effect
- Use background stickers or GIFs to add fun and dynamic elements
- Use illustrations or hand-drawn artwork as a background
- Create branded backgrounds to increase your brand recognition
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve covered various aspects of changing the background of an Instagram story, including a step-by-step guide, video tutorial, creative ideas, advanced background techniques, photo-editing apps, and user-generated content strategies. Changing your Instagram story’s background can make it more appealing and memorable, but you should also consider your brand aesthetics and personality while selecting backgrounds. With these tips and strategies, you can create stunning and engaging Instagram stories that capture your followers’ attention.
