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. 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! What ever your style is, you can create incredible photos of items laid flat on a surface too!

Sooo why is Flat Lay Photography so important? To put simply its an awesome trend in photography that has been used for years in businesses but most notoriously used for Instagram feeds!   It's one of the easiest yet complex photography trends out there because there is so many ways you can be creative with a flat surface, some props, a background, and your camera or phone!

Who would benefit from Learning Flatlay Photography?

Anyone who loves being creative! Flatlays are beneficial for displaying certain products for promotion, send traffic to your website, getting you noticed on Instagram, tagged by top influencers, seen by your favorite companies, and even sponsorships that get you a ton of money if you do it right! Flatlay attracts a lot of attention so with my help I could get you what you need!

This one picture got me exposure, more followers, and some extra cash on the side!

Step by Step Guide to Mastering Flat Lay Photography!

Step 1: 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.

In this photo I wanted to highlight this awesome cup I received! So I made that the hero piece and added different elements that highlight it!

Step 2: Find a Story line

What story is your flat lay telling. Think of your flat lays as little visual theaters. The objects are the characters telling a unique story.  For example if you are telling a story about it being excited that is finally Friday, how would you portray it. In the picture below I used the letters FRI-Yay(a trendy hashtag btw) as my hero piece. Then I added my secondary items and what's more celebratory than having confetti stars splattered throughout the picture! I added these coasters to go with the them to add even more visual elements. I chose a bright orange background to personify my enthusiasm! Remember your background is super important when showcasing your items. Knowing the color personality chart will help you pick the right color. Here, Orange personifies enthusiasiam! Notice how the Scramble words are still the main focus even though it's smaller?

Step 3: Find the right backdrop!

Speaking of backdrops, you need to find the right one in order to tell your story. 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.

Here's a more minimalistic photo to help you see the difference!

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 room showcase the comfy blankets. If you are in a country with gorgeous textured rugs, put that in the picture! Adding a human touch like a hand, legs, heck the whole body, into your flat lay will give more of a personality.

Step 4: Add Your Personality

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. Take for instance this picture I was about to have my breakfast at my desk as always but realized "hey this is the best time to take a photo" hence this gorgeous shot!

Step 5: 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 but add negative space in between. When someone comes across a picture of yours on twitter or Instagram will they say "oh hey I know who that is!"  Make your photos speak for you!

AT A Glance:
Step by Step to Flat Lay Goals!

1.Pick out your main focus piece.
What is the main object you want to highlight in the picture?
What type of secondary items coexist well with it?

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 with your story?

4.Add some personality
How can you show the 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!

Get on the VIP List to get the Master YOUR Flat Lay E-course before it's released to the public at a discounted rate Click Here!!!