5 Steps to the Perfect Flat Lay
Happy Saturday!
Creating a flat lay is difficult. From deciding what to include in the frame or coming up with the best arrangement of all the items, it requires a lot of rearranging. Read on to see my 5 step process to the perfect flat lay!
1. Choose the theme or item of focus
Theme: Desk/Work Item: Bottle of Blue Tea
Choosing a theme not only helps me search for inspo, but it also allows me to choose what I include in my composition. I wanted to make it look like I had been working at my desk (which is normally a little chaotic) so I included things like a magazine and a laptop. My item of focus was this great pastel blue latte I made earlier with blue tea and coconut milk. I was really excited about getting to try this tea, so I wanted to photograph it.
You can check out my Pinterest board of flat lays here:
2. Select a background
When you select a background, you want to think about the theme of the photo and the color scheme on your Instagram. My theme is light and bright, so good backgrounds include marble, white sheets, faux sheepskin or a white tabletop. Darker themes could have wood cutting boards, wood tabletops or black sheets/dark velvet fabric. I’ve even gotten creative enough to use clothes as plain backgrounds if I have nothing else. It’s all about framing.
It’s best if the tabletop or background you choose to place your items on are matte rather than shiny, to avoid reflections coming back. Here are some of my past flat lays:
3. Gather items to include in the frame
This might be difficult. Think about the overall color scheme of the photo. Often times in flat lays the items don’t always make sense, but the photo is aesthetically pleasing. People will place flowers next to beauty products or donuts in the same frame as perfume. Common props for flat lays include fresh flowers, leaves, beauty products, jewelry, cameras or even instax photos. As I took photos I decided not to use certain items such as this cute top and these dainty chokers, because they lacked form and would not display nicely on the table.
My main tips are:
Make sure that the items don’t have patterns or colors that clash with the background (ex. I chose a specific page of the magazine because the one below was distracting)
Choose items that are smaller so that they will all fit in the frame - this way you won’t have to get too high up to take the photo
Items should make sense to a certain extent - such as the same types of flowers or similar items (ex. tropical flowers and roses don't make sense)
4. Place and Rearrange
This can be one of the more difficult parts of creating a flat lay. You might think you don’t have the eye for it, but it takes practice and patience. Continue to move around, add or take out items as you frame the photo.
Here are my main tips for this:
Rearrange, take a photo, rearrange and take another until you’re satisfied
Watch the shadows, larger items may cast shadows on smaller items (ex. if the bag in the third photo below was moved higher, the shadow would block other items)
Move certain items out of the frame and cut them off, but not to the point where it’s difficult to tell what the item is
If you have very angular objects, use this as a way to create a grid of some sort, arranging a geometric figure out of the objects you have
There does not need to be a clear center to the photo, often items are displayed to draw attention in multiple directions but the photo should still look cohesive as a whole
Hands can be a great accessory to the photo as well!
5. Edit and post!
Here is the final product after 70 photos.
Hope you enjoyed this post! Keep checking back for more.
- Kaycee
All photos taken with iPhone 7.