Instagram Carousel Generator for Lightroom Classic

Adobe Lightroom Classic plugin for creating seamless Instagram carousel posts.

Overview

The Instagram Carousel Generator is a Lightroom Classic plugin that helps photographers create and export photos optimized for Instagram's carousel format. With support for seamless panoramic carousels and customizable export settings, this plugin streamlines the process of preparing multi-image Instagram posts.

Features

• 🖼️ Instagram-Optimized Export: Multiple aspect ratio presets (4:5, 1:1, 5:4, 16:9, 9:16) perfect for Instagram
• 🔄 Seamless Carousel Mode: Automatically splits panoramic photos into multiple edge-to-edge seamless tiles
• 📐 Aspect Ratio Presets: Standard Instagram frame sizes with custom ratio option
• 🎨 Smart Overflow Handling: Choose to add bands with optional frames or crop to fit perfectly
• 🌈 Customizable Styling: Adjustable background and frame colors with customizable frame width
• ⚙️ Customizable Dimensions: Adjust export size to your specific needs
• 📁 Multiple Formats: Support for JPEG, TIFF, and PNG export
• 🎨 Color Space Options: sRGB and Adobe RGB support

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Download or clone this repository
2. Locate the plugin folder:
   • The plugin is in the InstagramCarouselGenerator.lrplugin directory
3. Copy the entire InstagramCarouselGenerator.lrplugin folder to:
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom Classic/Plugins/
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Adobe\Lightroom Classic\Plugins\
4. Open Adobe Lightroom Classic
5. Go to File > Plug-in Manager
6. Click Add button
7. Navigate to and select the InstagramCarouselGenerator.lrplugin folder
8. Click Done
9. Verify ImageMagick Status: In the Plugin Manager, check the "ImageMagick Status" section to ensure it shows "✓ Installed" (green) for seamless carousel functionality

Updates

The plugin includes an automatic update checker that notifies you when new versions are available.

Checking for Updates

1. Go to File > Plug-in Manager
2. Select Instagram Carousel Generator
3. Navigate to the Updates section
4. Click Check for Updates to check for the latest version
5. If an update is available:
   • The status will show "Update available: [version number]" in green
   • Click Download Latest to open the release page in your browser
6. Download and install the new version following the installation instructions

The plugin checks against the official GitHub releases at: https://github.com/manuzzi/LightroomClassicCarouselPlugin/releases

Usage

Checking ImageMagick Installation

Before using seamless carousel mode, verify ImageMagick is installed:

1. Go to File > Plug-in Manager
2. Select Instagram Carousel Generator
3. Check the ImageMagick Status section:
   • ✓ Installed (green) - Ready to split panoramas
   • ✗ Not Installed (red) - Follow the installation instructions shown

Exporting Photos

1. Select the photos you want to export for Instagram in the Library module
2. Go to File > Export (or press Cmd+Shift+E / Ctrl+Shift+E)
3. In the Export dialog, select Instagram Carousel from the export service dropdown
4. Configure your carousel settings:
   • Aspect Ratio: Choose from Instagram standard ratios (4:5, 1:1, 5:4, 16:9, 9:16) or custom
   • Frame Size: Automatically set based on aspect ratio (customizable for custom ratio)
   • Seamless Mode: Enable to split panoramic photos into multiple carousel tiles
   • Overflow Handling: Choose how to handle images that don't fit perfectly:
     • Add bands with optional frame (for centered images with background)
     • Crop to fit perfectly (for edge-to-edge fills)
   • Band & Frame Settings (when using bands):
     • Background color (default: white)
     • Frame color (default: black)
     • Frame size in pixels (default: 10px)
5. Configure other export settings as needed (file format, quality, etc.)
6. Click Export

Requirements

For seamless carousel mode (image splitting), ImageMagick must be installed:

• macOS: brew install imagemagick
• Windows: Download from https://imagemagick.org

If ImageMagick is not installed, photos will be exported as single images without splitting.

Plugin Structure

InstagramCarouselGenerator.lrplugin/
├── Info.lua                                    # Plugin metadata and configuration
├── InstagramCarouselGenerator.lua              # Main plugin initialization
├── InstagramCarouselExportServiceProvider.lua  # Export service implementation
├── PluginInfoProvider.lua                      # Plugin Manager UI
├── Documentation/
│   └── About.txt                               # User documentation
└── Resources/
    └── Images/                                 # Plugin icons and images

Detailed Usage Guide

For comprehensive usage examples, troubleshooting, and best practices, see the Usage Guide.

Development

This plugin is built using the Adobe Lightroom SDK and written in Lua.

Requirements

• Adobe Lightroom Classic (SDK version 11.0 or higher)
• The plugin is compatible with both macOS and Windows

Key Files

• Info.lua: Plugin metadata, SDK version, and service provider registration
• InstagramCarouselExportServiceProvider.lua: Export dialog UI and photo processing logic
• PluginInfoProvider.lua: Information displayed in Lightroom's Plugin Manager

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

Donation

Support the project on PayPal

If this plugin saves you time or helps your workflow, a small donation is greatly appreciated.

License

See the LICENSE file for details.

Support

For issues, questions, or feature requests, please open an issue on GitHub: https://github.com/manuzzi/LightroomClassicCarouselPlugin/issues