5 Tips for Taking Fantastic Flatlays

If there's one thing that's key to a blogger, I think the ability to take visually appealing images is definitely it. If you're a blogger or a content creator in general, I believe it's essential to know how to do a decent flatlay simply because it's part of the profession. 

I love to look at gorgeous flatlays on Pinterest and Instagram. It's no lie that they do so well on those apps and I do get a lot of nice comments and questions about my flatlay photography be it on the blog or on my Instagram. I enjoy doing flatlays — it's a bit therapeutic for me. When the final results turn out so good, isn't that the most satisfying feeling?

If you want to learn how I slay every flatlay I have ever done, here's a little 101, if you will. I am not claiming to be an expert or anything — there are far more skilled and talented content creators out there who can do flatlays better than me. However, I don't mind sharing my tips and tricks to take gorgeous flatlays with you guys.

How I slay my flatlay (and you can too!)

1. Make use of natural light

Unless you've got the skills of a pro shutterbug or just happen to own a top-notch camera and a lighting setup that screams "I mean business," you're pretty much always gonna want to snap those flatlays in good ol' natural light. After all, who wants those gloomy, shadowy shots when you're trying to flaunt your stuff? Trust me, that built-in camera flash? It's a total mood-killer for your product game.

For me, lighting is like the secret sauce, especially because I'm all about snapping those flatlays with my trusty smartphone. Seriously, it's the magic ingredient that turns my flatlays into picture-perfect works of art. Let me stress, this is the holy grail of clear, bright, and super put-together flatlays.

The key is to scout out a spot in your crib where you've got that gorgeous lighting game going strong from not one, but at least two different angles!

Determine as well the kind of lighting you want for your flatlays. I simply would go outside to get those bright, delicious natural rays. The photos you see on my blog were mostly taken in an area near two big windows — the same goes with my Instagram photos — for my small business, my sister and I took them outside.

Other times when I want some harsher sunlight effect where I do have nice, soft shadows on my flatlays, I will shoot my flatlays in the evening (in that juicy golden hour that only lasted for 15 minutes) as opposed to in the morning. 

I would say take your time and experiment with the light. Once you get the hang of it, trust me, it's so rewarding. Oh wow, I do have so much to say and we're still on the first tip. Let's move on.

2. Stick with a theme

I think it's important to have a theme to stick with to put some sense into your flatlays. Do you want to portray luxury, clean, whimsical, or minimal? Your call.

While you might be able to get an okay shot by throwing everything that you can find around the house as props and accents, having an overall theme for your flatlays will take it to the next level.

If you look at my shots below, you can get the idea behind each photo. The props I used are not just random things I had lying around. Each of them ties back to the theme making it cohesive and satisfying to look at.

3. Add texture

Many people think that texture doesn't matter in flatlays simply because they can only see it, rather than touch it. I don't know about you but my eyes are extremely perceptive and can pick up very fine details in an image.

I personally think it's important to incorporate different textures and elements to add characters to your flatlays. It's one of those little things that makes a huge difference to the final result. For me, I like to use wood, fur, silk/ satin fabric, glass, paper and a variety of fake plants and dried flowers. There are tons of options!

4. Pay close attention to the editing

This is where most of the magic happens, well, at least for me. I will always take the time to edit my flatlays. My flatlay editing mostly involves the Lightroom app which is super duper handy for a small content creator like yours truly.

The app allows you to create your own filter or preset that you can copy and paste into an image which makes the process less tedious. So that's the first thing I do — I pick my desired preset, and then I adjust the saturation, tints, sharpness all that good stuff. All of my flatlays will get the same exact exposure, contrast, colour palette, saturation, etc. That's one of the secrets to an 'aesthetic' and cohesive Instagram feed.

It's easy to get carried away at this point, so my advice to you is to keep things simple. Don't overdo it until it takes away the initial and true colours of your flatlays. If editing through an editing app like this is not your forte, it's okay! Just slap one of those premade Instagram filters. Honestly, they're not my favourite but some people think they're decent so.

5. Look for inspiration

Pinterest and Instagram are always my go-to's! I get so inspired just by scrolling and seeing a bunch of beautiful flatlays, especially the ones with beige and cream tones — they're definitely up there on my Pinterest boards.

Now, it's fine to take a look at other people's work, see how they've styled something and get inspired by it. The important thing is you don't straight up copy their work. Take notes on the consistent elements in their flatlays. How's the lighting? Do they have a theme? And now go make something awesome!

With all these tips, I will never be tired of telling you to experiment, experiment and do lots of experiments. Take as many shots as you can until you find your style and what's the best way for you to finesse it if you will. Hopefully, these tips can make your flatlay game skyrocket and produce some gorgeous AF flatlays!

What are your tips for taking fantastic flatlays?