Flat Lay Photography Tips

What is flat lay photography?

A flat lay photography is simply an image shot directly from above, people refer to this angle as a bird’s- eye view, of an array of carefully arranged objects. It is an ideal way to illustrate everything.

Flat lay photography is a technique that translates into different types of photography. Its simplicity helps to make strong and independent images. The perspective transforms the subject from three into two dimensions. Also, you can create depth and shape in the shadows. Or you can set aside the shadows and create a simple look at the subject in focus.

The flat lay photography needs the objects to be on a flat surface. Since gravity holds all the objects on the ground, you are more likely to photograph from up. This means that you will be shooting facing down, that comes with its challenges.

The flat lay photography has been around since a long time ago. They are one of the first forms of photography under the influence of photogram. A photogram is made by placing objects on a piece of photographic paper. Thereafter, You flash the light from a magnifier to the paper. The light exposes the paper that it touches, and does not expose the print of the object. If you expanded the paper, you would see objects in white on a black image.

What is Flat Lay Photography used for?

Flat lay photography has the power to draw the viewer’s full attention to your subject. You can carefully choose the background and what you put inside the frame. Such things can create a great effect where the subject is strongly emphasize.
Flat lay photography is used primarily on social media. It is used by both individuals and businesses to display products, convey a mood, or as lifestyle branding. Food and fashion are two particularly popular subjects for flat lay photography.

12 tips to perfect flat lay photography

1- Find a flat surface for flat lay photographing

Flat lay photos can be shot on a dining or coffee table, a desk, on beds, or the floor. Since the surface you are photographing on is relatively flat, you will succeed to have perfect photos.

Flat Lay photography works really well when there are several items on a blank background with no patterns or textures. If the surface you are working on is not neutral in color or texture, go for a baking sheet, use the natural texture of your table, or choose a neutral colored foam core to put on your flat surface.

2- Tell a story for your flat lay photography

The best flat Lay photography tell a visual story. Flat Lay photography can be either a simple item shot or more complicate of a story. You may not get a complete narrative with a starting, middle, and end. Whereas, you have the ability to make simple comments about a product. This comment will be according to how creative you like to have.
If you aim to create a small story, keep it as simple as you can. Also, go for harmonious, complementary colors.

3- Use colors to create a theme for flat lay photography

 

The most essential decision is what message you want to express to your viewer. Do you want the subject to look stylish and cool, or colorful and playful? You control these factors with the colors you choose.

Pay special attention to the color and texture of the flat lay background you use. A plain black or white background is great for creating a sleek and basic setting for some photos. You can make a baseboard or foam board in these colors to create a perfect background.

A color card is an ideal way to do the same for a playful image. Also, you can select colors, cut them or put them together side by side.
Pay attention to the colors you use. It is a good idea to use a color wheel. This helps you to have successful photography because your objects are all in sync with their colors.

4- Use the best camera for your flat lay photography

 

The advantage of flat lay photography is this point that it does not need a specific camera. You can use your phone for this type of photography. The essential thing is to use the best camera to provide the best quality. For flat lay photos, sharpness is the main aspect. Thus, a tripod is important.

5- Shoot on a tripod for flat lay photography

 

The tripod you use will be an important part of your flat lay photography. You take a picture of your subject from a bird’s- eye view. This viewpoint indicates that you will shoot straight, facing down. Ideally, you need a tripod with a tilting center column. This lets you keep your camera facing down and in the same place. If you want to take many flat lay photos, then buy a tripod with this feature.

If you do not have such tripods, you can get a tripod or ladder to raise yourself above your position. This makes it easier to take photo directly from above. If you shoot with a phone, you can be a bit smarter. Place the phone on a flat surface and just pull out the camera. The weight of the phone should hold the phone firmly enough, but take care not to break your phone accidentally.

6- Choose the suitable lens for your flat lay photography

 

When choosing a lens for your flat lay photography, it is better to avoid wide angles. You probably want to choose neither too wide nor too long one. If you have suitable space for long lens photography, then do so. A long lens provides you a narrow vision of the subject while keeping each line of your photo straight.

You can start to see some of these lines when shooting with a wide-angle. Converging indicates that the straight factors at the edges of the image will start to warp. This will destroy the neat effect that flat lay photographs do best.

7- Create unity for your flat lay photography

 

As the background must work together with the objects that you are laying out, also the items must themselves work together.
Try to explain how each creative decision is relevant to the whole piece. Every small detail should be working with the photo to make the look and feel that you are trying to have.
Each element in the image; from the textures, the background, the choice of colors, and definitely the objects themselves, must work together to give this feeling. It doesn’t make difference if it’s painting a picture of a boutique coffee house, a tattoo and so on.

8- lighting to use for flat lay photography

 

Light is key to every photo, and flat lay photography as well.
When it comes to lighting in flat lay photography, it is the choice of style. It depends on if you want to have an impressive and dramatic image, or if you want a softer and well- lit product. It is preferred that rough directional lighting is best for flat lays with a single object. These directionally lit photos are great for exaggerating the product form.

It is advised to use soft light which creates the least amount of shadow. This helps to blur the background images. It also helps to make your object two-dimensional. You can even take these photos with natural light.

9- Use negative space for your flat lay photography

 

It may be attractive to fill the frame with relevant component, but remember not to make the photo too busy. The more things you include in the photo, the harder it will be to make them seem consistent or organized. Do not be worried about blank space. Leave some blank spaces for graphics. This, for example could be suitable for a company logo surrounded by elements which peer your aesthetic.

10- Pay attention to the depth of field in your flat lay photography

 

To make sure that everything in your flat lay is properly in focus from front to back, you need to maximize the depth of field, so choose aperture priority or manual mode and choose a narrow aperture for example f / 16. This requires a longer shutter speed, for example. 1 second, that is another reason to use a tripod, because it holds the camera steady during a long exposure to ensure a clear, sharp image. This helps to ensure that the camera shake is minimized. Photograph with a cable release or use the camera’s self-timer.

11- Try a flat lay video

If you are thinking about how to differentiate your brand, you may be wondering, “How do I create a flat lay video?” Simple gestures and stop-motion animations can do the trick, especially when you take in account that Instagram looks to favor video more and more.

Several creative flat lay videos use stop-motion. This is a collection of still photos that are edited afterward together to create the illusion of motion.

You just photograph many photos and turn them into an animated video file. If you aim to use them on the web, the best way is to turn your photos into an animated GIF.

This can be achieved in Photoshop, via your phone app, or by uploading photos to a website.

Remember that you cannot upload animated GIFs to Instagram, but there are apps for phones which turns your photos to video files, or you can drop your photos in Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, edit your animation, and after that export to the appropriate format.

12- Edit your flat lay photos

The photography is not finished when the photo has been taken with your camera. Editing should be a part of your creative procedure to highlight the details.
This means throwing on a Lightroom preset to provide the photo with a specific look and feel, trimming the photo to give a better feeling of balance, somewhat repositioning items using Photoshop, or even using Photoshop’s Transform tool to correct perfectly lines or angles.

Final words

Flat lay photography is a perfect way to shoot simple product photos. They can be an ideal way to display your photography kit as well.

Flat lay photography is harder to capture than they appear. But the time you spend planning and preparing the photography will be perfect at the end.
The advantage of flat lay photos is that all the objects are always there and no one of them is moving anywhere.

For this reason, take your time and keep shooting until you get a great shot. Flat lay photography will reward you the more you spend time into it. Try different flat lay ideas every time you photograph.

Surly you will find out as soon as you begin sifting via Instagram and Pinterest, flat lay photography can be a very creative and artistic procedure.
It provides you the chance to create small, two-dimensional worlds which convey something special about someone or something which might not even shown in the photo.