How to Do a Flat Lay Photo in 11 Steps: Updated 2024 | soona

How to Do a Flat Lay Photo in 11 Steps: Updated 2024

Learn how to create a flat lay photography setup and elevate your flat lay product photos to drive sales on your ecommerce site.

Erica

senior director of creative product

July 3, 2024

In its most basic form, flat lay photography is simply a type of product photo taken from above on a flat surface, the main advantage being that a bird’s eye view will show the product clearly and without distractions. But if that’s all your flat lay photographs do you’re missing a BIG trick.

Flat lay images offer an amazing opportunity for storytelling. Not just about the specific product in the shot but about your brand as a whole to help establish an emotional connection with your customers.

Ready to take full control of your visual branding? Want to produce stunning and evocative flat lay photos? Let’s take a look:

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How to do a flat lay photo in 10 steps

Ready to start shooting your first flat lays? Here’s a guide to all the practical steps you’ll need to take when setting up a flat lay product photoshoot:

1. Plan carefully

The more you prep the more productive your flat lay shoot will be. Save time with a plan of attack for your photoshoot. Create a timeline for your preparations and your photoshoot and build a shotlist.

Your shot list can identify each of the shots you hope to get and assign backgrounds and props to each scenario while still leaving plenty of room for experimentation. Having a shot list allows you to succeed and fail fast, so you can make any needed adjustments without bogging down your shoot. Sometimes the most creative and exciting ideas will only come to you after working through other less successful ones.

2. Build your story

Another key component of planning is creating your story. Product content should tell a narrative to really connect with people. Start with a strong narrative and everything else will follow. A good story = a strong mood or theme to your content that shows off your product and brand.

3. Create a color palette

Your goal is to create a well-coordinated and cohesive image, one that creates a visual punch. Just like with your clothing style, too many colors can become confusing and distracting. Keep your images focused by limiting each flat lay to a limited color scheme (a color scheme you’ll create during your planning process).

We recommend:

Focusing your colors will create a beautiful cohesive look while ensuring your product pops.

4. Select a background

Next you need to choose a shooting surface. If you’ve got a clear idea of the story behind your flat lay then this should be easy peasy.

5. Choose your light source

Consider lighting before you even start to set up your first shot. The first thing to decide is simply what kind of lighting you’ll be working with: natural or artificial?

6. Position your camera & tripod

It’s time to get your camera in place. This way you can see on the camera viewfinder exactly how any changes you make affect the shot. This is a particularly important step if you’re going to use natural light.

7. Prep the product

Spend time leading up to your shoot gathering and prepping your products. This gives you time to make sure your products are polished, cleaned, and steamed—or you have time to find and prep replacements.

8. Add props

Now it’s time to introduce props to help communicate your story. This is where the truly creative part begins! Start with one prop and then add more to the frame. You can really have fun with this part! Move props around and play with how they interact with your product to create a strong composition.

9. Tweak the lights

It’s time to perfect the lighting setup you created. A common issue is unwanted shadows caused by the introduction of props.

10. Compose your shot

Double check your camera is in the best position for the shot. You might want to take it off the tripod and play around with different angles and shots until you’re happy with the result.

11. Shoot

Our biggest piece of advice is to shoot in RAW format. Not JPEG. Shooting RAW will capture the maximum amount of information in your image files. This will give you a lot more flexibility when it comes to the editing stage.

Essential equipment for flat lay product photoshoots

For DIYing flat lay photos, here’s what you’ll need:

Camera

Many people capture flat lay shots with their smartphones. But they don’t offer much in the way of flexibility or technical control. We recommend using either a DSLR or a mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses. This way you have full control over every creative decision.

Tripod

Adding a good tripod to your equipment will save you a lot of time and headache. A tripod helps with framing up your shot and ensuring you capture perfectly focused images.

Tripod arm

Adding a tripod boom arm is a simple addition that mounts horizontally on top of your tripod. It allows you to angle the camera so it faces down at exactly 90 degrees to your flat lay background.

Poster board & foam core

Poster boards and foam core make for excellent shooting surfaces. They provide a cleaner and more graphic backdrop look.

Creative shooting surfaces

As essential as poster boards are for flat lays, you’ll likely also want to start hoarding other unusual backdrops for future use. These could be anything from sheets of slate or marble to a weather-beaten old wooden door.

Lighting & accessories

Natural light can be a joy to work with, and the results are usually stunning. You can create warm light and soft shadows by setting up your shoot by a big window.

Best practices for flat lay photography

Consider the end use

Before you even begin setting up a shot, it’s essential you consider how you will use the image once it’s finished.

Stay on-brand

The stories you create must be deliberate and controlled. They’re not merely meant to entertain, but to capture your brand and product perfectly.

Bend the rules

Technically a flat lay should be shot from directly overhead—a bird’s eye view of a totally flat surface, but that’s perhaps a little too strict.

Ideas for flat lay photos

Flat lay is a versatile genre. One that lends itself well to a wide range of creative approaches. Here we look at a number of popular types of flat lay images to help inspire you when deciding how to present your products:

Bold minimalism

Rich maximalism

Patterns

The human touch

How to edit flat lay photos

Careful editing will be essential to get the most out of your flat lay photos.

Set exposure & white balance

Combine images

Dodge & burn

Adjust color

Adjust vibrance or saturation

Retouch imperfections

How to use your flat lay photos

It’s always a good idea to maximize your investment in product content to get the most ROI.

Shoot additional content

Cross-sell when it makes sense

Repurpose the content for other uses

How to do a flat lay photo FAQs

How do you take a flat lay photo?

  1. Plan carefully
  2. Build your story
  3. Create a color palette
  4. Select a background
  5. Choose your light source
  6. Position your camera and tripod
  7. Prep the product
  8. Add props
  9. Tweak the lights
  10. Compose your shot
  11. Shoot

What is a flat lay image?

A flat lay image is a photograph taken from directly above, capturing items laid out on a flat surface. It focuses on arrangement and composition, often used in social media, blogs, and advertising to showcase products, outfits, food, or other themed collections.