How to create beautiful flatlays: for beginners, bloggers and small business owners

We all know them, we’re seeing them everywhere, we love them and we don’t have a clue how to create them: flatlays.

Not only are flatlays beautiful and inspiring, they’re also perfect for creating highly engaging Instagram content.

So how do you start? Or maybe you, just like me not that long ago, have tried to shoot a few flatlays but they’re just not coming together right and they don’t look like the picture in your mind at all… but you don’t have a clue what went wrong.

The truth is: creating flatlays is easier than we think as soon as you understand them. Creating them can actually be a lot of fun! And having fun while creating is best, right?

Today, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned being a wedding photographer for many years and now as content creator for stock photography and social media.

#1 Know the WHY behind your flatlays

What’s the story behind your flatlays? What do you want your follower / customer to see first? What are you trying to say / show?

Knowing exactly what you want to accomplish with your flatlay makes it easier for you to focus on the important things.

#2 Choose a Clean Background

Clean, simple and not cluttered backgrounds are the best way to have your follower / reader focus on the important things. Tell your story! Give your flatlay more impact. Avoid busy patterns or bold coloured backgrounds as they’ll distract your customer from the important objects (products) in your flatlay.

Backgrounds I like to use are: white bed sheets, beautiful wooden tables, neutral and calm coloured floors, countertops, calm coloured wool sweaters, blankets…

Maybe you can find some of these in your home too. Craft paper or wooden boards from your local shops are another easy background idea. As simple, calm and clean as possible is the only goal.

#3 Light your Flatlay right

Natural light is, in my opinion, the best way to light your flatlay. It not only looks great and more authentic on social, it’s also free and available everywhere…kind of. I’ve just moved into a new place and I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to figure out where the best spots for natural light are, depending on time of the day, weather… we’ll see what autumn and winter will be like. I personally love window light.

The best natural light is usually next to a window (inside) or outside in the shade. The goal is to avoid direct sunlight to limit harsh shadows and extreme contrast.

#4 Place your hero product

If you’re creating flatlays for your small business or blog, you usually have hero product you want to focus on. Whether it’s your small batch handmade soap or jewellery for your social media or your current read for your book blog, your goal is to have the focus on those objects.

I usually start with placing my hero object first and then adding the other elements I want to have included. So if your hero object is a laptop, other important objects could be a cup of coffee or a notebook. I usually aim for 1 hero object and 1-2 other important objects.

#5 Place your Secondary Probs

Secondary props are the supporting characters in your story, so I’m always trying to choose props that help telling my story and add value and context to the flatlay.

So if the hero of your flatlay is a laptop, then your supporting objects could be a pen, reading glasses, paper clips, and a watch. The main reason for using secondary probs is to fill in the gaps between your main objects while still telling your story and adding context to it. Be careful not to overcrowd or overwhelm your hero object. Keep the focus on the main product(s).

#6 Stick to a simple colour palette

It always helps me to only choose a limited number of colours when creating my flatlays. Be careful with colour, as you want the focus to be on your hero product and not on some very colourful secondary object.

Black and white go well with any colour palette and are a great choice for secondary probs.

📸 Flatlays are shot from a bird’s eye view, so try to hold your camera as steady and directly above the middle of the flatlay as possible. Tripods can be very helpful, or using a chair if your flatlay is on a table.

Aim your lens straight down and if possible, turn on your grid to help line up your shot.

After all the work you’ve put into it, try taking more photos for bonus content. Use different angles, close ups, a different crop or swap out probs for change things up. Make the most of your beautiful set up!

Take a few behind the scenes photos to share with your audience on instagram etc. The more content you can get out of it, the better for you and your audience. Add value in every way you can.

How to Edit your Flatlay

All images benefit from editing, even if it’s just for giving your social media feed or blog a consistent look.

There are fantastic photo apps, so that you can edit your images right on your phone. They’re easy to use and especially Lightroom mobile is such a great app for it.

The most important adjustments are crop, exposure, contrast, clarity and saturation. They are the simple tools to make your flatlay photos really pop.

If you want to make it easier for yourself, why not get some Lightroom presets and speed up your editing process big time.

Check out my lightroom presets on Etsy. They’re easy to use and will save you a lot of time.

Wondering how to install lightroom presets? I wrote a blog post about it.

And please don’t worry if you’re not 100% happy with your first flatlay. Just like any skill, the more you create, the better you’ll become.

There’s no right or wrong way in art and photography, so this is just my way of creating flatlays. You will probably develop your own way of doing it, your own style and your own way.

I’m excited to see your flatlays! Be sure to tag me @ettaletsgo .