Seriously Up Your Flat Lay Game for Instagram and Blogging Now!

How to Master Flat Lay for Beginners?

If you haven't noticed my Instagram, you are literally missing out, because I love doing flat lay photography!!! Doing flat  lay photography is one of the easiest things for me to do because its all about product styling. I bought a ton of prop photo items, if you missed my last post here, for under $5!  Unlike with fashion or beauty shots its a lot less stressful although I am left with a mess afterwards haha. Plus it gives me a way to create a world of my own through photography. In my world its full of bright, fun, happy colors!

Make one item the main focus.
When you focus on one product, one clothing piece, one makeup items, etc. you can then base your theme around that one item! Finding one item helps stick with a consistent color scheme. This helps especially when you are trying to find your Instagram aesthetic. If you are really serious about your blog this also helps with creating your own brand as a blogger. What is the main focus in the picture below? How is the secondary items highlighting that main object?

Don't let any other item fight for the main attention

Don't let every item compete with one another. Each item should add to the main focus feature.

Find a Story line
What story is your flat lay telling. What type of emotion is it giving off. Do you want it to exhibit happy thoughts for your reader, sad thoughts, confused thoughts, heck mad thoughts haha...what do you want to portray. For example if you are telling a story about it being Friday and you are really excited about it being the weekend, how would you portray it. In the picture below I'm saying FRI-Yay as a form of celebrating so what's more celebratory than having confetti stars splattered throughout the picture! I added these coasters to go with the them. I chose a bright background to personify my enthusiasm! Notice how the Scramble words are still the main focus even though it's smaller?

Find the right backdrop!
Speaking of backdrops, backdrops are everything to a story line of a picture. Do you want to give it a cozy feel add something furry like a fur rug or throw blanket. If you like minimalist styles go for marbles, wooden floors, or any type of backdrop that says serene and calm. As for me I like to showcase a more fun creative side so color it is...My blog's name isn't Color U Bold for no reason right haha! So I find ways to incorporate colored posters and cardstocks to my picture. The right backdrops highlight the overall theme of a picture. Notice how the backdrop of this photo makes you feel. When I look at it, I think of spring, warm, and the color of the sky?

Different Types of Backdrops

Wood floors

Floor Tiles

Cardstock paper

Posters

Fabric

Rugs

blankets

Use your surroundings!

If you are on vacation why not display in that flat lay the sand as your backdrop. If you are in a hotel showcase the comfy blankets. If you are in a country with gorgeous textured rugs, put that in the picture! Taking people into your flat lay, if you will, will give more personality.

Add Personality
Add personal touches to your pictures. What do you normally use on a daily basis, you'll see a cup of coffee in my pictures a lot. That's because I love coffee! Add your favorite fruit, drink, or meal to tell people what you are doing at the moment. What type of plants or flowers do you have. I love fake plants(I'll kill real ones haha) in my room so I have them on my desk, dresser, on the floor in a basket, it doesn't matter but I want to show that in my pictures too. Sometimes I'll add a hand in my pictures or even my legs! People like to see body parts...don't ask me why haha! Add your own quirks to a simple picture. Every picture doesn't not have to look like its straight from a magazine although for me I do strive to make it look like that but I always add my personality to every picture. Take for instance this picture of lemons I created, I love lemons but I wanted to make it quirky with a cute straw to the side. Doesn't that make ya happy!

Consistency!
Make sure lighting, editing, and aesthetic goes hand in hand. If you are creating a brand for yourself and you want the brand to personify colorful happy thoughts, make sure your photography is bright, colorful, and a bit quirky with your personality! If you are more on the minimalist side make sure your photography is still bright, uniformed in color whether its black, white, even pastels, and consistent with a custom theme such as minimal objects in pictures. If you are a bit of a clutter fanatic make it uniform in all of your pictures. When someone comes across a picture on twitter or Instagram will they say "oh hey I know who that is!" They will be more likely to click to find out more...BONUS!

Step by Step to Flat Lay Goals!

1.Pick out your main focus piece.
What do you want to highlight in the picture?

2.Create a storyline.
What type of story do you want to tell?

3.Get out the right backdrop
What type of backdrop will work well for your photo?

4.Add some personality
How can you show character in your photo?

5.Now just be consistent!
What do you want your blog/instagram aesthetic to be?

Once you are able to get the basics out of the way then you'll be able to break the rules, create new rules, and take your photography up a notch!

What are your tips for the perfect flat lay picture?

*What other photography tips would you like me to write about?*