5 TIPS FOR STUNNING FLATLAY FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
If you use social media platforms like Instagram or Pinterest, I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with the term flatlay! It’s one of the most popular photography styles on Instagram, especially for food and lifestyle photography.
WHAT IS A FLATLAY?
In case you are unsure of what exactly a flatlay is:
A flatlay, is an image taken from above (top-down perspective) of objects carefully arranged on a flat surface. This bird-eye view perspective can show off your food really clearly and create a WOW effect when paired with lots of stunning props and a beautifully crafted backdrop.
While the process of capturing a flatlay may seem pretty straightforward, creating an eye-catching and exciting overhead shot is definitely more challenging than it looks.
Let me share with you my best 5 tips for flatlay food photography.
1.FIRST THINGS FIRST, USE THAT TRIPOD!
The number one piece of equipment that I highly recommend you to get to improve your flatlay images is a tripod or a c-stand! It will ensure that your camera is positioned directly overhead and keep it perfectly stable. Your frame will stay in the same place while you can fully focus on styling your beautiful flatlay images.
I have a tripod and a c-stand, but I always use my c-stand to capture the overhead images, as it gets my camera up much higher for those wider scenes that I love to create. It can extend it up to 309cm! Here is the same C-stand that I have.
You will also need something to attach your camera to the stand. I use the most basic one - a spigot, but there are many other options you can choose from. You also want to consider tethering your camera so you don’t have to struggle trying to reach it every time you want to see the image you have taken.
2. CHOOSE A BACKDROP TO COMPLIMENT YOUR FOOD
Your backdrop choice serves as the foundation for your food photos. It sets the mood, creates the atmosphere, and helps you to tell your food stories.
What you choose to shoot on is always important, but it is especially important with flatlay photography! That’s because with the overhead images, your backdrop gets way more attention than if you were to shoot the same scene straight on or from a three-quarter angle.
Here are some things you should consider when picking your backdrop:
First, you want to work with matte surfaces to avoid horrible reflections.
Secondly, look for a background with some textures. It will create a beautiful play between the highlights and shadows, making your images look real and natural. Look for something with spots, grains, minor scratches, and other elements that are interesting to the eye but not distracting. When working with fabrics, don’t get your iron too quickly, as creases and wrinkles can also add a nice touch of texture. For rollable vinyl backdrops, you want to look for a surface with tonal differences and textures in the print itself.
Finally, make sure your backdrop matches the food story you are trying to tell. For example, if you want to take your audience to a cute little cottage in the countryside with tea and cake, then using rustic wood planks or a grey linen tablecloth as your backdrop would be the right choice to make!
3. LEVEL UP YOUR IMAGES WITH COMPOSITION
Composition is one of the key components to beautiful food photography shots. Especially with flatlay images, as this is a very graphic angle to use. Here is what you can do to improve your composition:
Use food and props to create leading lines in your image. This simple and super effective technique helps to guide the viewers' eye to the main subject and creates movement and balance. I love using curved lines for a more gentle look or diagonal lines to create more dynamic.
Leave some negative space for your main subject to breathe.
Pay attention to cutlery and other props with strong lines! Make sure they guide the viewer through the frame or direct it to the main subject.
Including hands in the frame is another excellent way to strengthen your composition, as our brains are wired to notice humans first! You can use your hands to hold the main dish and instantly grab your viewer’s attention.
4.ADD HEIGHT TO CREATE A SENSE OF DEPTH
Creating depth with flatlay images is a little more challenging than with the angled shots, as most of your elements will be placed at the same focal plane. However, you can still add depth to your flat lay photographs by building layers and placing elements at different height.
You don't need a huge difference in height to create a sense of depth. Even a few centimeters can help! However, by placing some taller objects in the scene (like flowers and plants) and setting your camera at a slightly more open aperture, you can create a gentle bokeh effect, which will make your images look more three-dimensional. You can also hold some objects closer to lens to create a much stronger effect. Showing the edge of the table to reveal the floor is also a great way to play with distance when creating flatlay images.
5. EXPERIMENT WITH WIDER SCENES
Flatlay images offer a fantastic opportunity for visual storytelling! To make the most of it, you want to work with slightly wider scenes rather than having your camera right up close to the food. This way, you have an opportunity to play with many beautiful props and show more of the environment to tell your food stories.
To capture bigger scenes you want to get yourself a wider angle lens. 35 or 50mm is ideal! I use the Canon F1.4 50mm lens to capture all my flatlay images.
BEFORE YOU GO…
Found this post helpful, but would you like to dive deeper and learn how to take stunning food photography shots for your creative business? Develop your unique style? Master the art of visual storytelling and creative editing?
My 1-to-1 online photography course will launch this month, with only a limited number of spots available!
Join the waiting list to find out when my e-course opens for registration first!
