Flat lays are wonderful images that you can use to showcase products, portray themes or tell stories. Creating irresistible imagery with flat lays for your IG feed isn’t as hard as you think.
1. Use natural light
Nothing beats natural light! It is honestly the most crucial element of any photo and flat lays are no exception. If you shoot indoor, wait for the sun to be at its brightest, around noon, when the room is bright and airy. Outdoor, early morning light is perfect for shooting, as it is soft, yet bright.
2.Background
A clean, simple background is best to make your flat lay pop. I use my kitchen counter, but any tabletops, paper, concrete, floorboards, bed sheets, tiles will do. Anything that doesn’t draw attention away from your lay!
3. Tell a story
Since you plan to use it for your Instagram, think of a story before you shoot. What is your intention? What would you like to talk about? Keep the story, the caption in mind, when you compose the scene. Choose your props wisely, aligned with your IG feed, according to your brand.
4. Composition
Composing a flat lay is like writing a script for Netflix. You have one main character and everyone else complements. That is to keep the emotions balanced and the eye at ease. For flat lays I always like to go with the rule of odds, an uneven number of objects in a composition is perceived as more interesting and aesthetically pleasing. And for story-telling: the more, the better. But make sure the objects are balanced. If you have a big bouquet of flowers in one corner, put something visually heavy on the opposite side to create balance. This also means if you have a bunch of small objects, add a few larger ones to make the flat lay more dynamic.
5. Editing
You are almost there! Most of the pictures you probably don’t need to edit, as the iPhone camera does a fabulous job already. Nonetheless, Apple makes it really easy to edit any picture from dull to glam. If your IG feed has a certain look, try out all the filters, the easiest way of all!
