Instagram single-photo posts surge in popularity

The next era of Instagram belongs to the brands that lean into simple and spontaneous content over information-heavy, templated noise, says social media strategist Jarrah Brailey.

With the humble single-photo post making a return to Instagram feeds, brands and businesses are once again embracing it as a viable alternative to carousels and reels.

Brailey, the founder of Sydney-based digital marketing studio Jampacked Agency, says anyone scrolling their Instagram feed right now will see that every third or so post is a single-photo post. 

The social media strategist says single-photo posts are making a comeback because they are simple, easy to digest, effortless, and tell the story immediately rather than slowly.

“Consumers are craving simplicity after years of overproduced and hyperoptimised content,” Brailey says.

“Every feed has become a masterclass or a tutorial, a single image feels refreshing precisely because it isn’t trying so hard.”

Single-photo posts are creating curiosity on Instagram feeds instead of satisfying it.

“Carousels and reels often answer every question, whereas single images leave room for imagination, sarcastic context and cultural relevance. Single photos feel spontaneous, authentic, personal and relevant,” Brailey says.

“There’s also something about a single photo post that feels more human. I think this is because Instagram is gradually rewarding content that feels like something a friend would post, not something a marketing team spent three weeks building and put through five rounds of approvals.”

Brailey added while carousels often lean into an educational strategy, education has become saturated on the platform, and more than ever, we are craving less noise.

“You can jump into Canva and create the most detailed, insane looking carousel, but they’re all starting to look pretty much the same,” she says. 

“That’s not to shame the carousel; I love a good carousel, and there’s definitely a time and place for them, but a single image post is not only low effort for brands, they’re low effort for their audiences too.”

Single-photo posts a stark reminder of the old days of Instagram

Annalise Paints founder Annalise Lawn has more than 7,000 followers on her Instagram page where she uses a combination of video and photo content. 

The Melbourne artist has found she sees positive engagement on her single photo posts and would love to see more of them on Instagram as it’s a lot easier as a business to share photos rather than film time-consuming reels.

Lawn says she has noticed more small businesses and artists posting single photos again. 

“Even though Instagram seems to be pushing reels and carousels, I think a lot of us just want to post a nice photo and be done with it, like the good old days of Instagram,” she says. 

“For my business, simple photos of my finished pet portraits often work better than the before-and-after or half-and-half images I have tried.”

Lawn says while reels still normally win when it comes to reach, likes and saves, she believes single photos can create more genuine engagement because people actually stop and look at the artwork.

If single photo posts are making a comeback, I will try it, says Chundee founder

Karmyn Roberts, who is the founder of Queensland bib business Chundee, has more than 20,000 followers on her brand’s Instagram page. 

While she welcomes a comeback of the single photo post, in her experience, video content has seen the most audience engagement.

“I have always been told video is king, but making videos is time-consuming; from coming up with ideas to editing, it can almost take up to a whole day depending on the content,” Roberts says. 

“Single photo posts would relieve so many creators and especially small business owners from overworking, getting overwhelmed, and going into paralysis because it just gets too much.”

Roberts says single-photo posts are easy to construct, and for the audience, it is right there in front of them, no waiting until the end of a reel to see the final result or the product they promised to show you. 

“Single photo posts may not get the reach that reels do, but within the community that you have already built, they can give vital information without bombarding your followers with video content,” she says. 

“Something that I am definitely going to implement in my social media strategy from now on.”

For Roberts, reels have worked best for her in her business journey so far. 

They have created reach and engagement and have been able to describe and promote her product unlike a single photo post ever could.

“In just two months of 2025, from Instagram and cross-posting to Facebook, my reels reached over 100 million views,” Roberts says.

“When I first started my business journey, I was only posting photos or reels of photos, and it wasn’t until I started posting reels of my product being used and of me with my product, packing orders with a voice-over of me telling my ‘why’ story, that’s when it really took off.”