Turn Your Photos Into Boomerangs With This Quick Instagram Stories Hack — It's So Cool!

POPSUGAR Photography | McCall Minnor
POPSUGAR Photography | McCall Minnor

It's official, ladies and gentlemen: we're living in the age of innovation (as if you needed the reminder). From apps that close the gap between personal and digital to fresh ways to share with friends, nothing catches on like a tech trend — especially where social media is concerned. One such trend is the beloved Boomerang, the GIF-like feature that lends itself to endless clinking glasses and struck poses. Yet as much as we delight in taking them, sometimes we just forget to or are too busy taking photos with the camera app. Luckily for us, Instagram Stories has a nifty little trick that can help you turn a live photo into a Boomerang. Follow the next few steps to find out how (then take a live photo of that epic New Year's Eve cheers)!

POPSUGAR Photography | McCall Minnor

Begin by going to your Instagram profile. From there, tap on your profile picture — it'll automatically take you to the Instagram Stories recording page. You can also reach this page by tapping on your profile picture in the upper left corner of the app's homepage or by swiping left on the homepage.

POPSUGAR Photography | McCall Minnor

Once you're on the recording page, swipe up. This will bring up your phone's photo gallery. Scroll until you find the live photo you want to show as a Boomerang, and tap it. It'll then show up in the story-editing screen. When you first select it, it'll appear as a still photo, but don't worry! This is how it's supposed to happen.

POPSUGAR Photography | McCall Minnor

Press and hold a finger to your screen. Don't tap! That will bring up the text tool. After pressing for a couple of seconds, your screen will go dim and your Story will go into Boomerang mode (signaled by "BOOMERANG" popping up on the screen). Once that fades away, your live photo will be a moving Boomerang! Now you can edit your story to your liking — GIFs, music, location tags, whatever strikes your fancy.

POPSUGAR Photography | McCall Minnor

Once you're happy with your Story, tap the "Send To" button in the bottom right corner. If you're sharing with all of your followers, you'll want to tap the share button next to "Your Story." If this Story is for select eyes only, tap the share button next to "Close Friends Only." When you're finished, tap "Done."

POPSUGAR Photography | McCall Minnor

Et voilà! Your live photo is now a Boomerang on your Instagram Story! With this helpful trick, you can now take as many photo-Boomerang hybrids as you please without even opening Instagram. No doubt this will be a savior for us multitasking social media users, as well as for those of us who don't post right away. Just make sure that your phone camera has live mode on. If the circle in the top center of your camera screen is yellow, you're set. If it isn't (and instead is white with a slash through it), simply tap it to turn live on.

Now pose, shimmy, and clink away.