How to Prepare a Video for Reels and Shorts

Why vertical videos get cropped badly

Reels, Shorts and TikTok are designed for 9:16 vertical video. When you upload a landscape or square clip, the platform may crop the sides, add bars or recompress the file, which can cut off faces, captions and on-screen text.

Preparing the video yourself means you decide what stays in frame instead of leaving it to an automatic crop.

Choosing crop, fit or original framing

A vertical crop fills the screen and works best when the subject stays near the centre. A blurred-background fit keeps the whole frame visible, which suits landscape footage, slides or group shots. Keeping the original framing is useful when the video is already vertical or when the platform handles your format well.

Tips for better results

Start from the highest-quality source you have, avoid re-exporting the same clip many times, and check the preview on a phone-sized screen. Keep important text away from the edges, where platform buttons and captions often overlap the video.