Flat Lay Photography 101: How to Take Impressing Flat Lay Photos

Do you know how to take Flat lay photos? It is a very popular photography style today, loved and used by many people. Flat lays give us endless creative possibilities.

What is Flat lay? How to take beautiful and impressive flatlay photos? Let's find out with Mosyne in this article.

What is Flatlay?

Flatlay is a term that refers to the way of arranging objects on a flat background, then taking a photo perpendicular to that plane.

Normally, a flatlay photo will include a main item and secondary objects arranged in many positions, many layers to create a harmonious whole in terms of layout and color.

Before starting to arrange objects, you need to determine the theme for your Flatlay photo. You can choose to tell a story through photos, such as "What to do today" or focus on a specific topic such as food, color, fashion, and many other topics.

Why is Flatlay product photography popular?

The angle of the Flatlay coincides with the center of the normal eye so its expressive language is intuitive. Based on it, photographers can easily create simple, individual photos with an elegant, modern style. The composition in Flatlay also helps focus on the subject and convey the message clearly.

For example, a photo can tell about a morning working with a cup of coffee next to an open book - the correlation between them is special, and it can show a relaxing, quiet space.

Flatlay's adaptability across different fields makes it an essential tool in modern photography and marketing strategies. It is widely used in food photography, advertising products, makeup, clothes, etc. 

Nowadays, mobile phones are increasingly replacing many functions that cameras in the past required. It opens up opportunities for you to easily create your Flatlay photo.

How to arrange composition in Flat Lay Photography?

Because it is often taken from above, flatlay photos often have 2 main layout arrangements: Arrange everything neatly and squarely or leave it messy, random, and spontaneous.

You should choose the largest item as the main subject; then use other small photography accessories to decorate around it.

In addition, you should also pay attention to the density between objects in the photo. Avoid placing objects too far away, causing the image to be diluted, or too close, causing confusion for the viewer.

A flatlay photo is considered standard when taken with soft, harmonious light, clear, bright background quality, emphasizing the details of the main item.

How to set up flat lay product photography?

Flat lay photography is a popular style that showcases products from a bird's-eye view. Here's how you can set up an effective flat lay product photography shoot:

Choose a location

The location for flat lay product photography depends on your purpose and conditions.

1. If the purpose is to sell or advertise, you should take photos in a studio. The studio will help you control the light better and produce professional photos.
2. If you like natural light, you can choose locations near windows or outdoors. However, you should avoid taking photos at noon when the light is harsh or in the evening when the light is too weak.
3. If you do not have the conditions to take photos in both of the above locations, you can still take photos indoors. Just make sure the background is a flat surface with enough light.

Choose a background according to the theme

It can be said that the background is the soul of a flatlay photo. Normally, if your product has bright colors, you should choose a simple plain background.

If the product has a color that is not prominent, consider choosing a background color that is in harmony with the product and pay attention to arranging other decorative objects to highlight the product.

In addition, neutral-colored backgrounds such as white, gray, marble, cement are also very easy to photograph. Neutral colors like this will easily highlight your product.

Creative freedom flat lay layout

Flatlay is a "spontaneous and intentional" shooting style. That means the photo must feel harmonious, soft, natural but must clearly show the focus (or theme). Therefore, whether the flatlay layout is beautiful or not depends on your creativity. There are a few notes about the composition as follows:

1. You can optionally arrange objects according to the available layout or arrange them randomly to create an overall look that is “purposefully messy”.
2. The layouts commonly used are 1/3 layout, grid layout, or leading line layout.
3. The supporting decorative objects and the main product must be connected.
4. Leave some white space for the photo to create balance, not confuse the eyes. However, the items should not be placed too far apart because it will dilute the photo's layout.
5. A photo should not have too many decorative objects, there should only be a maximum of 4 - 8 items.
6. Arrange small and large objects intertwined to create highlights, making the layout more harmonious.

A deliberately arranged composition can be used as a background for an advertising message, a magazine cover, or can also be used as a message to share on personal social networks, a message of love.

How to take a flat lay photograph?

Before we begin, Mosyne has a few notes for you:

1. Take a photo perpendicular to the plane.
2. You can use a tripod to fix the 90-degree angle.
3. You can use a Softbox as a light source to make the photo bright and detailed.
4. Try placing the light source in the lower left corner and take a photo. If you are not satisfied, adjust the light until you see that light is okay.
5. If the light is too harsh, place a diffuser to make the light source wider and smoother.

Step 1: Choose a Background according to the theme

The background for a flat lay photo is the subject that expresses the style of the entire photo. Depending on your budget and shooting purpose, you can buy or create your own background.

A simple way to choose a background is if your item has bright colors like eyeshadow palettes, lipsticks, macarons, rainbow candies, etc. then you should choose a plain, elegant background like white, beige, light gray.

But if your item has a light color, it is harder to highlight, then the tip is to refer to the colors that can highlight each other.

Step 2: Arrange objects according to purpose

With the flat lay style, you can choose to arrange objects according to the available layout or arrange randomly to create an overall "intentionally messy", as long as the objects you put in the photo must ensure connectivity.

About the shape of the top small, the bottom big - the top light, the bottom dark - this is the transition of shapes and tones.

Take photos and edit flat lay photos

Adjust the filter to create balance. However, using filters indiscriminately can greatly reduce the quality of your photos. 

Because the characteristic of flat lay photography is to make the most of the available natural light, you should note to only edit the filter moderately to create balance. The tools you need to edit photos are: Adjust brightness, highlight, and saturation.

Some tips for flat lay photography

Here are some useful tips for creating stunning flat lay photography:

1. Taking a flatlay product photo does not mean overdoing everything. Because a beautiful flat lay photo is when it looks neat and clean.
2. Use flatlay photos to tell a story about your product. A good concept will help you convey the message of the product.
3. The combination of an old item with a newer one. Will a modern laptop placed next to a notebook with handwritten lines and a wooden pencil make the photo more interesting? The contrast of new and old will make your photo impressive and stir up a nostalgic feeling.
4. If you are not good at color coordination, you can choose objects with the same color tone. For example, if your main object is yellow, you can choose colors with similar tones such as orange, brown, beige, pink, ash.
5. If you are stuck for ideas when taking flatlay product photos, remember: Less is more. That means you can still take flatlay photos with only 1-2 supporting decorative items. Even a flat lay photo that only includes the main product and the background can still create a special effect thanks to the harmonious light and color.

Conclusion

Thus, taking flatlay photos not only requires perfect lighting and composition settings but also requires the photographer to use color coordination skills and pay attention to arranging objects down to the smallest detail.

This is a genre that requires you to research deeply about how to arrange to convey messages through the photo. With the above instructions, Mosyne hopes to help you conquer this interesting genre of photography.

Hoàng Duyên