Tips For Improving Your Flatlay Photography

Tips For Improving Your Flatlay Photography

If you follow my blog, or my Instagram, then you’ll know I love a good flatlay. Flatlays are great for showing off your current favourites, your style and creating great visual content. They look amazing, and are a cool way for you to get creative. if you’re wondering how your favourite bloggers take these great flatlays, you’re in luck – as I’m happy to share some flatlay photography secrets with you.

Invest in some good tools 

To get crisp, clear flatlay photography, you’re going to need some kit. You can take some good photos with your phone, but a digital camera is the best way to get the photos you need. It’s not too late to put one on your Christmas list, so why not add the 4K Compact System Camera Panasonic to your letter to Santa? A good compact camera is a blogger’s essential, allowing you to take great photos and video, without having to lug a DSLR wherever you go.

Get the right set up

Flatlay photography needs to be flat, so you need to make sure you’ve got a good surface to place your products and fit everything in. I bought myself some white and coloured boards from my local paper shop, as well as marble contact paper from Amazon.  You don’t need to get yourself boards, a table, a throw or your floor will do, and you can always add fabrics and different textures to make things more interesting.

Navy background
Pink background
Marble background

 

Hunt for the perfect lighting

Lighting is everything when it comes to shooting a flatlay, especially if, like me, you love shooting on a white background. The right lighting will give sharp detail to your flatlays and make sure the colours are captured correctly. Ideally, you’ll want to shoot in natural light – early morning and late afternoon tends to be a good time in the summer. I’ve struggled with finding good light in the winter, but luckily I’ve got some photography lights which I can pull out to help me out.

Poor lighting
Good lighting

Position your products

Flatlays can be used to create themes, or they can be used to highlight a central item. Play around with positioning and find a style that you like and are happy with. You might have to take some test shots for things to become apparent but you’ll get there. Try using props like jewellery, flowers, notebooks and other bits to help fill in gaps and to create a more on-trend look.

Choose the right editing tools for flatlay photography

Editing your flatlays to give them a cool finishing touch is quite easy. I love to use Snapseed to make the backgrounds pop, as well as lighten/darken individual details. Photoshop Fix and Mix can help you extend background and erase any funny marks. It only takes a minute or two to touch up your photos, but it’s definitely worth it.

Getting flatlays right takes practice, and even I’ll admit that I don’t get it right every single time! Just have fun with it, let the images reflect your personality and focus on capturing the things you enjoy. Flatlay photography is great for your Instagram and blog, giving a more polished look that’s ideal for fashion and beauty lovers like me!

What are your best tips for flatlay photography? I’d love to hear them!

Siân

x x

Follow:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe


Instagram