21 Flat Lay Photo Ideas to Take at Home

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Flat Lay is generally used in product photography because it lets you visualize the product itself and the associative area around it. The best flat lay photo ideas are usually taken from above, which is why the shot looks dimensional and multi-faceted.

1. Add the Equipment for Home Comfort

cozy flat lay photo ideas

One of the most basic flat lay photo ideas resides in keeping a single-color scheme in the image. Brown or beige nude shades are the best for this.

You can create a cozy atmosphere in the picture by adding a book or a cup of coffee with a book. And to liven up the image, add a knitted item like a sweater or a scarf.

2. Try Fluffy Flat Lay Background

fluffy flat lay photo ideas

A furry background always looks good in a photo when the subject calls for it. With a camera for product photography, you can choose the right focal length and take a harmonious picture. It is best to use light colors of plaid to favorably shade the other inventory.

book and coffee flat lay photo ideas

Add your usual household paraphernalia to the photo, a fluffy blanket, and expose the light source diagonally to give the right light and shade pattern. If you decide to use garlands, don’t light them too brightly so as not to deflect attention.

3. Take Advantage From Circle Forms

Circular shapes are always responsible for harmony in a photo. So, by combining circles of different diameters according to the rule of thirds, you get an incredibly harmonious composition in the picture.

In addition, you can use a contrasting background and bright color accents, such as pink, to draw attention to particular objects.

4. Embody the Season Through the Details in Flat Lay

season flat lay photo ideas

Seasonality works in almost any photo format, and flat lay photography lets any season be represented in all its colors.

For the fall example, you'll need autumnal attributes, such as dried leaves or flowers, pumpkins, or other vegetables, to which you can add the lettering of cookies or cut-out vegetables. Give preference to complementary colors to get a frame that catches the eye.

5. Capture from the First-Person Perspective

art flat lay photo ideas

If you don’t know how to capture a painting or other handmade work beautifully, this is one of the best inputs for creative photography ideas. Adding to the shot a hand directly performing the action gives the impression of a first-person perspective.

first person flat lay photo ideas

Surround the leading figure in the picture with additional elements. It looks intriguing when they run out/bleed, so the viewer has to complete the shot himself.

fixthephoto flat layphoto editing before after fixthephoto flat layphoto editing before after

Want to Make Flat Lay Photo Stand Out?

To make the flat lay photos look perfect take advantage of professional retouchers.

Our experts will bring your photos to the same style and edit glare and background imperfections.

6. Don’t Be Afraid to Get Harsh Shadows in Flat Lay

Experiment with shadow photography to get unusual shimmers and shadows in the frame. Don’t be afraid of harsh shadows but accentuate them with transparent dishes, through which a new and fascinating pattern will bounce in the background.

7. Don’t Give Up on Minimalism

minimal flat lay photo ideas

To recreate a minimalist shot, you will need a professional lens for product photography and two contrasting shades. It’s a good idea to accentuate the geometry of the frame. So, the fabric on the run out of the frame can be a massive part of it while not being considered the main subject when the cup of tea will be less detailed.

8. Play with the Bokeh-Effect

big bokeh flat lay photo ideas

Bokeh photography can be challenging, but the results are worth your effort. For Bokeh, use a garland on different focal lengths.

tiny bokeh flat lay photo ideas

Experiment with the size and number of lights in the photo. You will see that the image will look magical. So, if you want to create a very striking bokeh effect, invest in a fast lens. By the way, you can use bokeh to cover a blank spot in a flat image that you didn’t know what to cover with it.

9. Display Natural Textures in Flat Lay Using the Wood

wooden flat lay photo ideas

The wooden background and additional accessories like a cutting board fully reflect the naturalness and connection with nature. A shot with wood is perceived as lively and fresh from the start.

An excellent idea is to put some greenery in the corner and choose a contrasting element like tangerines.

10. Combine Your Flat Lay Look of the Day

clothes flat lay photo ideas

This shooting type in clothing photography does not require an elaborate background, model, or pose. It is enough to choose an interesting multi-component image so that the frame is not empty and the clothes are folded neatly.

style flat lay photo ideas

You can put all the clothes in the frame or leave part of the hat outside. You can also do layering, where one garment overlaps another one to unify everything into a single composition.

11. Make Food the Main Part of a Flat Lay Shot

food flat lay photo ideas

Just set up your camera on a small camera tripod and move objects around in the image as long as you get the desired result. Advanced photographers boldly vary the food photography angles adding different product shapes and associations.

lemons flat lay photo ideas

In this photo, for example, a bright y12. Create a Breakfast Compositionellow lemon takes center stage while surrounded by chaotically scattered slices of fresh and dried lemons in a less bright hue, as well as the foods with which it is often consumed — honey and cinnamon.

12. Create a Breakfast Composition

breakfast flat lay photo ideas

Another option for how to apply food in the flat lay is to thematize it. For example, you can put together the perfect breakfast for a family with lots of foods that are mostly taken for breakfast. The frame will be rich in color if you take some foods apart, such as cutting an egg or breaking toast into its components.

oatmeal flat lay photo ideas

Your breakfast could be as minimalistic as the one in this tabletop photography. For a romantic breakfast for two, you do not need a lot of products, for example, only oatmeal and fruit.

Don’t forget to pack aesthetic kitchen utensils, spoons, honey dippers, plates, etc.

13. Show Flat Lay Traveler Starter Pack

travel flat lay photo ideas

Take a map as a background for your shot and lay out the attributes of the trip on it, such as camera, compass, and photo cards. Try to make the attributes in contrast to the background, but at the same time monochrome, so they don’t come out blatantly.

14. Show Off Your Makeup Stuff

make up flat lay photo ideas

Make up product photography is often shot in flat lays, as this looks good in ads and magazines. Choose your central product and place it higher, for instance, on a magazine, and put the rest of the beauty paraphernalia on the table. Everything is possible, a comb, candles, flowers, cream tubes, or jars.

15. Add More Body to Flat Lay

body flat lay photo ideas

You can put your arm and even half of your upper body in the picture. Thereby, the viewer will see the shot through your eyes. If you are taking pictures of yourself, you will probably need a camera remote controller. This way, you can photograph your shoes or clothes surrounded by fabrics and dried flowers.

15. Fill Flat Lay Frames with Coffee Flavor

coffee flat lay photo ideas

The flat lay format also lends itself to coffee photography. You don’t even need a lot of details for that, just a cup of coffee and some coffee beans scattered on the table.

coffee and flowers flat lay photo ideas

But of course, the frame will be more even if it is balanced on all sides, such as by flowers, candles, or pinecones, and, needless to say, if the harmony of colors is maintained.

16. Give Details of Your Activities

hobby flat lay photo ideas

This could be embroidery or sewing, or photography, for example. The point is to follow some product photography tips and your elementary working tools to tell what you do.

Fill the entire frame with them, and make sure you’ve balanced colors and sizes. Avoid too many colorful and large pieces. And it’s crucial not to try to get everything geometrically precise but to experiment to find your perfect shot.

17. Apply Wedding Attributes in Flat Lay

wedding flat lay photo ideas

Flat lay wedding photography ideas help to convey the romantic mood and capture the details of the process for the young couple that will last a lifetime. You will need some decorations, such as flowers or ribbons from the venue, rings, and anything that might remind you of the wedding, even the groom’s bow tie.

bride flat lay photo ideas

To vary the frame, try photographing the bride’s morning by putting in the frame, for example, shoes, rings, invitations that can be created with simple invitation design software, and accessories for hair or makeup.

18. Express Your Life Moto

paper flat lay photo ideas

Write a motivational saying on a piece of paper and make it the star of your shot. For instance, you can use a plain piece of paper and a pen, but it’s better if you get creative and write the saying on kraft paper or a blackboard with a white paint pan.

19. Make Real Flowers Flat Lay Pattern

flowers flat lay photo ideas

Patterns are a popular technique, often created with Photoshop. But you don’t have to resort to machine processing if you can make such a flower pattern yourself. Use different states of the flower: when it is still in a closed bud, when it is fully open and when its leaves have already fallen off.

The attraction lies in the disproportionality. It means that not all parts are geometrically correct and have uniformly recurring angles, but it is as natural as possible.

20. Show Office Inventory

office flat lay photo ideas

Be sure to leave enough negative space so that there is air in the image. Keep small stationery closer to the center and place large items like notebooks and keyboards in the corners to balance the space. You can photograph everything under your arm right on your desk.

21. Make Flat Lat Look Like Levitation

levitation flat lay photo ideas

Use the trick that makes your flatlay idea look like levitation photography. Place your objects, say, food, desserts, and cookies, on a sheet of clear plastic and place them a small distance from the colored background.

All the shadows created by the volume of the objects will stay in place, but all the shadows that fall on the background will disappear. Your composition will look like it is levitating.

Bonus Tools

flat lay photo freebies

If you want your photos to look professional, use presets. With them, you can automatically remove unwanted glare from your photos, for example, by balancing contrast and brightness and taking away dust and bumps in the background.

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