I have been looking for a creative challenge for myself; something to get me shooting and stretching my abilities. In December I was driving to Lethbridge one day and had the random idea to do a flatlay challenge! It would get me shooting every day and help push me creatively. I was planning an iPhone product photography workshop to help business owners with their photography, so I decided to use my phone. The first flatlay was posted in December, and I just finished the challenge last week!

The Details

All of the images were taken with my iPhone 7. Then, I edited them in Lightroom mobile, with Jess Kettle presets. My subjects ranged from Nutella to a candle to a Christmas ornament to clothing to cupcakes to photographs to a wedding album to cookies to a book to Argan oil and more!

This flatlay challenge pushed me to be creative with whatever I had in my house most days. I picked up some poster board and a few flowers one day. Another day I found a couple of things at a thrift store. The last week I used two vinyl backdrops I purchased. Other than that, I sourced everything from my house or DIYed it and it was so good to push myself to be creative with what I had!

A Bonus

One of the best, and most unexpected, parts of doing this challenge was the feedback I got! I loved getting tagged in other people’s Instagram feeds showing off the photos they took. During the challenge I got DMs from people showing me their own photos, telling me I inspired them!

As I shot every day, I showed the behind-the-scenes of the flatlay I was shooting and shared tips for taking better photos. Now, these videos are all saved in my Highlights on Instagram.

 

Flatlay Tips:

Phone Tips

• Clean your lens – our phones have fingers all over them every day!
• Turn on the grid on your camera to help you keep things straight
• Tap the part of your screen you want to focus
• Try different angles while you have it set up – more bang for your buck as they say!

 

Backdrop/Set Up Tips

• Use foam board for a bright white backdrop
• Inexpensive foam board can be used as a reflector ($6/sheet at Michaels or Staples)
• Posterboard is an inexpensive backdrop
• Packaging can be a prop
• Use two pieces of posterboard for a split backdrop (one color on one side, another color on the other side – extra tip: place the one on top the farthest away from the light to minimize a shadow down the center)
• Use small tape bubbles to help hold things in place
• With a simple object (ie all one color or monotone) use a more detailed backdrop with a pattern

 

Lighting Tips

• A covered porch is a great studio
• On cloudy days get really close to your window or open your front door and place your subject on the floor
• Use natural window light – turn off your lights in your house
• White curtains soften and diffuse light
• The closer to your light source, the softer your shadows (ie move closer to the window, or put flatlay down on floor for above light)
• For shiny objects – use the very softest light – you can use white curtains or white paper to diffuse the light falling on your subject
• Place a light-colored object on a dark background to help it stand out

 

Styling Tips

• Use triangles or groups of 3 when styling
• Humans can be props – try putting hands in your photos
• Odd numbers tend to look better than even numbers
• Pull colors from your subject to choose props for a cohesive color scheme