How to make an Instagram post mockup for a client or a pitch
Published 31 October 2026
Clients sign off faster when they see the post as it will look in the feed, not as a loose image and a caption in an email. Here is how to build a convincing Instagram post, carousel or profile mockup in a few minutes, and the details that give one away.
What you need
The photos, the caption and the brand's handle. Fakeconvo's Instagram post generator draws the current feed post view, is free, needs no account and puts no watermark on the PNG. Your photos are cropped in your browser and never uploaded.
Five steps to a realistic Instagram mockup
- Set up the brand account. Under People, type the brand's name and a "Handle" like "juniper.bakery", then tap the round button before the name to add the logo as the profile picture. Tick "Verified badge" only if the brand really has one.
- Add the photo or the slides. Press "Photo" on the post and pick one image, or up to 10 for a carousel. Each is cropped to a square from the centre, so keep the subject in the middle. Click a thumbnail to show that slide; the "1/N" badge and the dots follow.
- Write the caption the way the brand posts. The first message is the caption: a line or two, an emoji, and a few hashtags at the end. Then read it in the live preview, next to the photo, the way a follower will see it.
- Type the counts in proportion. "Likes" take a thousands separator, so "1,284" shows as "1,284 likes". "Comments" shows as "View all 86 comments", so write two or three comments under it with real-looking handles. Write the post's "Time" as an age, like "2 hours ago".
- Show the profile, then export. For a rebrand or a grid plan, open the Instagram profile generator: the first message is the bio, the posts, followers and following counts are under Settings, and the highlights take their own covers. Pick light or dark mode and download the PNG at 2x or 3x.
Details that give a mockup away
Round numbers look typed in: 1,000 likes and 100 comments never happen, 1,284 and 86 do. Comments are a small share of likes, and five comment lines under "View all 3 comments" don't add up. A clock time like "14:32" under a post is wrong too; Instagram writes an age or a date.
On a profile, the posts count should be higher than the tiles in view, a bio runs three or four short lines, and the grid looks planned when the photos share one style or palette. A blue badge on a neighbourhood shop gives the whole thing away.
Use it the right way
Instagram mockups are for client previews, pitch decks, ad creatives, case studies, design work and lessons on social media. Do not make posts in the name of a real person or brand that has not asked for them, and do not pass a mockup off as a real post. Our acceptable use page has the details.
Fakeconvo makes mockups and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Instagram or Meta Platforms, Inc. Instagram is a trademark of Meta Platforms, Inc.; the name is used only to describe the style.