Create Instagram Carousels FAST in Canva (2026)

0:00You probably already know how to use

0:02Canva, but every time you open it to

0:04design a simple Instagram post that

0:07should take you around 20 minutes, you

0:10find yourself 2 hours later still

0:13tweaking fonts or changing colors. If

0:16that sounds familiar, this video is for

0:18you. I'll show you how to create fast,

0:20professional looking Instagram carousels

0:23without overthinking every design

0:25decision or spending hours in Canva. and

0:28stay watching until the end because I

0:30have a little gift for you.

0:35A common mistake a lot of people make

0:37when designing is not to have the

0:40content ready. And by this I mean the

0:42written content that you're going to

0:44have on your Instagram carousel, for

0:46example, or a particular set of images

0:48you absolutely need to have in that

0:51carousel. This is actually the first

0:53step or the first tip I want to give you

0:55today. Please have that written content

0:58or those images ready and handy.

1:04Once you have this ready, you're going

1:06to follow step number two, which is to

1:08explore the template library. Now, we

1:11are here in Canva. We are in the

1:12templates section. And for you to save a

1:15lot of time, instead of scrolling down

1:18and browsing the template library, what

1:20you want to do is to actually search for

1:23what you need. So in this case, I'm

1:26going to type Instagram carousel. Hit

1:28enter. And then from here, I have only

1:31Instagram carousels in this search

1:33result. If you want to refine this

1:35search result a little bit further, you

1:37can actually type some other keywords in

1:40here. So Instagram carousel only text

1:43and see what do we have in here. As you

1:45can see, we have refined a little bit

1:47more the search result and we see more

1:51templates that only have text in them.

1:53So now another thing that I want to show

1:55you in here is that when you search for

1:57Instagram carousel, you now see

2:00templates that have multiple pages. And

2:02this is important because in these kind

2:04of designs, you will have already a

2:07cover for your carousel. Some other

2:10designs or layouts that work really well

2:12for the middle section of the carousel.

2:15And some of these designs, they will

2:16also have a call to action page at the

2:20end. So, this is going to save you a lot

2:22of time because you will have all of

2:24these designs ready and they will look

2:26all cohesive in the same carousel. Now,

2:29let me show you another keyword example.

2:32Let's say that you want to create an

2:34Instagram carousel, but it doesn't need

2:36to be only text. You have some images

2:39that you can work with or you are happy

2:41to use the images available in Canva. So

2:44instead of using the keyword only text,

2:46we can go for the topic of your

2:49Instagram carousel. So let's say that

2:51you want to create an Instagram carousel

2:53in which you talk about productivity. So

2:55I'm going to type here productivity and

2:58hit enter. And now you can see that in

2:59this search result, we have narrowed

3:02down the options to only templates

3:04related to this topic. This will be

3:06super useful if you already have the

3:08written content of your carousel, but

3:10you still want to have some images in

3:12your carousel. So, let me show you here

3:14an example. Let me open this template

3:17here. As you can see, we have different

3:19images related to the topic. And in this

3:21case, you will only need to change the

3:23written content on the design. The

3:25images are already there. I'm pretty

3:27sure the designer that created this

3:29Instagram carousel already spent a lot

3:32of time trying to find the perfect

3:34images for this carousel. So, why not

3:37take advantage of this and save that

3:39time?

3:42Now, let me go back to Instagram

3:44carousel. I want to talk about tip

3:47number three. When you're here in the

3:49template library, searching for the

3:51right design or the perfect template for

3:54you, it's not only about searching for

3:57the right keywords, but also paying

4:00attention to the layout of the designs

4:02available in here. The first thing you

4:04can ask yourself in order to choose a

4:06template is if you want to use images on

4:10your design or not. This can make a big

4:12difference in the time that you're going

4:14to spend designing your carousel. So, as

4:17I already showed you, there are plenty

4:19of designs only using text. If you have

4:22your written content ready, it's only

4:24matter of changing the content inside

4:26the text boxes. So, let me show you in

4:28here. We have, for example, this

4:30template that is using only text, maybe

4:32a couple of pages here and there that

4:34are using images, but you can delete

4:36them if you don't want to use any image

4:38at all. What about using a template that

4:40is using only text, but you also want to

4:43have a little bit of color here and

4:45there? There are designs like for

4:46example this one in which we have these

4:48elements in the background bringing some

4:50color and some fun to it. This is just

4:53for you to know that there are plenty of

4:55different designs only using text. So

4:57I'm pretty sure you can find a design

4:59that really aligns to your brand and

5:01your message. Now let's say that you

5:03really want to use images on your

5:06design. No worry. You can see that there

5:08are plenty of different options. But if

5:11you are going to use images on your

5:13carousel, I want you to pay attention to

5:16the following. Let's take for example

5:18these four designs in here. These four

5:20templates have images and these photos

5:24are portraits. So if you're going for a

5:26design like this, make sure that if you

5:28are using your own photos, you have a

5:31similar photo to replace the one on the

5:34template. If you're going to use exactly

5:35the same images provided in the

5:37template, then you don't need to worry.

5:39So now let me give you an example in

5:41here. I'm going to scroll down because I

5:44saw this template that I really liked.

5:46So I'm going to click here and customize

5:48this template just to show you what I

5:51mean by replacing the image with an

5:54image similar to the one we see in here.

5:57So let me show you the image that I know

5:59I can replace for the one that we have

6:01on the template. I have here in uploads

6:04a folder with the image that I believe I

6:08can use. So as you can see the picture

6:11that we have in the design is someone

6:14taking a selfie and I have exactly

6:17something like that. I was taking a

6:19selfie in here. So let me create a

6:21duplicate of this page. So we can see

6:24the before and after. You can see that

6:26there is a little doodle on top of her

6:28head. And because I'm replacing the

6:31photo with something pretty similar,

6:33I'll be able to use exactly this same

6:35element. So all I have to do is to

6:37double click and simply adjust the

6:40position of the photo. I can also play

6:42around a little bit with this doodle. I

6:44don't want to spend too much time

6:45playing with it. But as you can see, it

6:47took me just a couple of seconds. I just

6:50replaced the image, adjusted the

6:52position, and adjusted the size of this

6:54doodle. So, we went from this design to

6:57this one in just a couple of seconds.

6:59All I have to do is to change the text.

7:02And if I want to go a little bit further

7:04and make it aligned with my brand, I can

7:07change the font, the colors, and why not

7:09the doodles. If I want to really, really

7:12make this design look like our brand.

7:14Now, let me show you another example on

7:16how to choose the right template. Let me

7:18go here to this search result. I already

7:22see here a template that is using an

7:25image that I know I can use. So I'm

7:28going to click here, customize this

7:29template. And in this same folder, let

7:32me go to folders, personal. I have this

7:34image. You can see that the subject in

7:37this photo is right in the middle of the

7:40image. And I have a photo in which you

7:43see me right in the middle of the image.

7:45So I can simply drag and drop. And as

7:48you can see, these doodles are almost in

7:50the perfect place. I can just move them

7:52a little little bit so they adjust

7:55perfectly to my image. Another quick

7:57example could be this template that we

8:00saw on top of the page. Let me click in

8:02here. Customize this template. So I'm

8:05going to duplicate this page. Ctrl Ctrl

8:08+ V. And I'm going to use my picture in

8:11here. So I'm going to upload folders

8:14personal. And I want to use this image

8:16in here. So again, I'm dropping the

8:19image. This template is a little bit

8:21different because, as you can see, we

8:23have this image without a background,

8:26but we're going to make it work. And

8:27this is going to be super fast. I'm

8:29adjusting the position of this image.

8:31I'm trying to align the subject on my

8:33image. So basically ourselves more or

8:36less to where this lady is in the

8:39design. Now I'm bringing my photo again

8:43one more time. and I'm selecting the

8:45photo from the design from the template.

8:48I'm clicking copy style and then I'm

8:50pasting that style in my own image. I

8:53have Canva Pro, so that's why I was able

8:56to use the background remover feature.

8:57And my photo is without a background. So

9:00now all I have to do is to stretch this

9:03image so I can put it on top of the

9:06other one and we can hide ourselves in

9:09there. Now, the next step is to delete

9:10the photo of the girl that was

9:13originally in the template. And that's

9:15it. All I need to do is to customize the

9:18text that we have here on top of the

9:20page. So, you can see that we went from

9:23this template, this is the original

9:25design to this in just a couple of

9:28minutes. If not, I would say that you

9:30can actually do it in a couple of

9:32seconds. Now, I want to show you a

9:33couple of mistakes that some people may

9:36do and that's why their designs are not

9:39actually looking professional. So, let

9:42me take for example this design right

9:44here. Let me customize it. And as you

9:46can see, the photo that we have in the

9:48background is a closeup of somebody

9:52working on the laptop. But what happens

9:54if I go to my images and instead I add

9:58this image? You can see that my face is

10:01behind the text. Remember that this

10:04template was created by a professional

10:06designer and they already spend hours

10:09trying to make this template look very

10:11professional. So try to pay attention to

10:14what it's already there in the design

10:16and try to think if you already have

10:19similar images to this. So, what if

10:21instead of using this image that I

10:23showed you, I use a photo like this one,

10:26but instead of seeing my face, I'm going

10:28to stretch the image so we can see only

10:31the laptop. As you can see, this works

10:34much better because we are using

10:36something similar to the original image

10:39used on the design. So, as you can see,

10:41I used a section of my own photo instead

10:46of just dragging and dropping the photo

10:48because, as you can see, my photo is

10:50behind the text. So, these are little

10:52details that you need to pay attention

10:53to, the templates, to the designs in

10:56order for you to create professional

10:58looking carcass. And what's even better,

11:00you can create them in just a few

11:02minutes. And talking about Instagram,

11:04I'm just thinking that maybe the next

11:07tutorial I can create for you guys is

11:09one in which I teach you how to edit

11:12reals. Please let me know in the

11:14comments if that's something you would

11:15like to watch and if there is enough of

11:18you interested, I'll make it. If you

11:20want me to create that kind of tutorial,

11:22what is it about reals that you really

11:24want to learn? Is there something in

11:26particular that you are struggling with?

11:28Please let me know because I'll take the

11:30comments in this video as inspiration

11:32for the next tutorial. So, most probably

11:34I'll be answering your questions in that

11:36video.

11:40Tip number four is to save those

11:43templates that you really liked and that

11:46were easy and fast to customize. This is

11:49pretty simple. When you are here in the

11:51template library and you find that

11:52template that you really liked, you're

11:54going to hover on the design and you see

11:57this little star. You're going to click

11:59on this star and you're going to see

12:00that that design or that template has

12:03been starred. This is going to help you

12:04out later because maybe in the future in

12:07a couple of months, you come here to

12:09Canva, you search for Instagram carousel

12:12and because there are new templates

12:14being added to the library, probably you

12:17won't find this template right here. It

12:20could be buried. It is very possible

12:22that you will see new templates in this

12:25section. So you have start your design

12:28or your template and where do you find

12:30it after? You're going to make sure that

12:31you have this menu opened. You're going

12:34to go to templates. We are already in

12:36this section. And then you're going to

12:38go to start content. And here you'll

12:40find that template that you just start

12:42and you can use it again and again

12:44whenever you need it.

12:48Another tip that you can use is that if

12:51you found a template like for example

12:53this one, it was easy to use, you like

12:55the style, maybe you also like the font

12:58and you want to continue using it. You

13:00can check the profile of the creator

13:01that designed this template. So you can

13:04find here the creator. So I'm going to

13:06click here on the name so we can check

13:08the profile and then from here you can

13:10scroll down. But what I do recommend is

13:13that you search for carousel or any

13:16keyword related to the template that you

13:18liked. So you can see in here that this

13:21is the template that we liked. We also

13:23started and there are some other

13:26templates using exactly the same font or

13:29a font that is pretty pretty similar. So

13:31you can use these other templates to

13:33create more carousels and for them to

13:36still look good and cohesive on your

13:38Instagram account. And again, if you go

13:40to that creator profile and you see

13:43templates that you like, don't forget to

13:45start them.

13:50And the last tip is not only going to

13:51save you time, but it's also going to

13:54ensure that your Instagram profile looks

13:57very professional. You probably already

13:59know that there are optimal Instagram

14:01post sizes, and this optimal size tends

14:04to change with time. For a long time, we

14:07were only able to upload square post to

14:09Instagram. Then we were able to upload

14:11the 4x5, which actually dominated the

14:14feed. And now it's a different format is

14:183x4. And this is very important for you

14:21to know because if you upload a square

14:23carousel to your profile, the cover is

14:25going to look cropped. Therefore, your

14:28profile is not going to look

14:29professional. So again, when you're

14:31trying to find the perfect template,

14:33instead of going for a square format,

14:36like for example, this one, you can see

14:37here it says square is 1080x 1080. I

14:41suggest you go for a portrait mode. Can

14:44be something like this or like this. And

14:46let me show you something here. This one

14:48and most of the templates in Canva are

14:524x5. that as we already saw in here in

14:552026 there is a new optimal aspect ratio

14:59which is 3x4 but this format is the

15:02closest. So if we resize this format to

15:06a 3x4 there are not going to be too many

15:10adjustments to make. So this is pretty

15:12simple. You are just going to go to

15:14resize go to custom size and in here you

15:17are going to type 1080x440.

15:21Let me just double check with Google.

15:231080 by 1440. Perfect. I'm going to

15:27select this new custom size. And then in

15:30here, you can either copy and resize or

15:33resize this design. I'm going for the

15:35second option. And as you can see, the

15:37design is ready. I just need to adjust

15:39this image a little bit. And that will

15:41be it. And if you want to use the resize

15:43option, remember that this is a Canva

15:46Pro feature. You can see here the little

15:48crown. We have a 30-day free trial of

15:51Canva Pro in the description.

15:54All right, now you know how to create

15:56Instagram carousels faster and how to

15:59make them look professional. If you want

16:01to have the steps that I showed you in

16:03this video handy the next time you open

16:05Canva, I've put together a simple

16:07checklist you can use before designing

16:09anything. It is free to download and

16:11you'll find the link in the description.

16:13I'm going to leave here on screen

16:15another tutorial in case you're having

16:17issues being consistent on social media.

16:19I think this video is really going to

16:21help you. And I think this is it for

16:23this tutorial and I hope to see you in

16:25the next one. Bites.