Flat Lay Photos: Try Your Hand at the Hottest Trend On Instagram
by Thea Fiore-Bloom, Ph.D
Have you noticed flat lay photos are “Little Miss Popular” on Instagram these days?
A flat lay is just a photo of objects arranged on a flat surface, taken from above.
If you can allow yourself to play around with flat lay (aka knolling) you will:
- Sell more of your art prints, coaching services, or online classes.
- Juice-up your social media feed, ignite your creativity (and up your self-esteem.)
But how does a simple photo technique do all this cool stuff?
Well, three different ways.
1. Flat Lay Photos Contain Mini-Magic Magnets That Attract Attention
Let me give you an example of the magnetism of good flat lay.
I was parsing through Etsy this holiday, looking for the right art print to give to a friend.
Scrolling down the page I saw a bazillion options, but only one listing gave me that saucy, “come hither” look I had to click on.
It was a lovely flat lay photo of a print by the Nova Scotian watercolor artist, Katelyn Morse.
Morse is the modest artist behind the wildly-successful Etsy shop Birch Bliss. (At the time of this writing Birch Bliss has garnered over five thousand sales and 5-star reviews.)
I reached out to Morse to ask her why she includes a flat lay photo in almost every one of her print listings?
“Well, flat lays provide inspiration and information to a buyer on what sort of style the item would fit into and what kind of mood it would evoke,” said Morse.
“On the practical side flat lays are essential for providing scale for the item, as well as creating and exaggerating the style of the item.”
“On the impractical side, I’ve found flat lays just add a magical, unique touch that buyers love!”
What kinds of objects does Morse lay on top of her nature-themed prints to create her flat lay magic?
Katelyn’s go-to flat lay props are simple, natural, objects like quartz crystals, seashells, or flower petals.
Why Don’t You Try This at Home Too?
For instance, if you have a gorgeous print featuring a pine tree, why not consider artfully placing some pinecones, quartz crystals, or a pine sprig near the print and capturing it from above with your smartphone?
(Use the doohicky I suggest at the bottom of this post to make taking overhead shots super easy.)
And while you’re at it…do this:
Morse often plunks a paintbrush, her hand, or her hand with a paintbrush, into many of her flat lays and you might try this too.
Why does adding a paintbrush, a hand, or a jar of open paint glue viewers’ eyes to photos?
Well, art buyers are creative souls and see painting as a romantic, magical endeavor.
And I say these props remind viewers of the charmed way the finished product they’re looking at – came to life.
A real, cool, artist made it!
And that real, cool, artist is you!
So now we know more about how flat lay magnetize eyeballs but how exactly do flat lays turn viewers into buyers?
British brand stylist and author of How To Style Your Brand, Fiona Humberstone had an answer for me.
Fiona’s answer is my second reason to give flat lay a whirl.
2. Flat Lays Spur Sales by Creating Desire
“For me, Humberstone said, “flat lays are about sparking ideas, giving context, and of course, creating desire.“
How the heck can we “create desire” in our flat lays?
Well, one way to create desire in a flat lay is by using the combination of your product (like a small painting or wood sculpture) along with your props (like woodworking tools or even exotic fruit) to tell a photographic story.
For example, the kumquat-laden photo below is for Humberstone’s photo styling seminar, “Compose and Captivate.”
Setting the Scene, Capture the Magic
As I see it, Fiona used her product, (an online workshop) represented in the photo by the handout and pen; in combination with her props (peach double roses, yards of white cotton, and fruit-infused drinking water) to create a desire in her students to take the course.
How do these objects create that desire?
They get a viewer to connect the notion of taking her course with a feeling or a story.
When I look at this photo I imagine myself in a Tuscan villa on a spring day by an open window, pen in hand, drinking citrus water, leisurely taking notes, and learning how to present my new, imaginary, prosperous brand.
Not bad for one photo, right? Fiona captured the magic and set the scene of an inspiring working desk.
Try this at home too.
Maybe photograph your ceramics on the wheel, with tools and other romantic artist-stuff laying about.
I bet you’ll prove to be way better at creating a mood and instilling desire than you think. Because there is something special your brain came pre-loaded with.
Which I talk about here in my final point.
3. All Artists Have “Junior Stylist Software” Pre-Loaded In Their Brains Already
Yes, styling a flat lay photo is an art – but fortunately, you’re an artist.
Luckily we artists are already pre-loaded with the “good with color, composition, and telling visual stories” software.
So, despite our introverted natures, we’re naturally born junior-mood creators and junior stylists.
You don’t need to be a professional photographer to do good flat lay!
You do need to maintain a sense of humor and adventure though. Keep playing and snapping and eventually, you’ll make something wonderful.
I believe in you!
Let’s end with some bonus help for you in the form of 3 short how-to videos.
How To Create Your First Flat Lay
This 5-minute video will help you see how to use props to tell stories with your art:
This 6-minute video has great examples of the art of leaving stuff out:
Whereas this kooky ten-minute video is about the fun of cramming more stuff in. Great for juicing up your Instagram feed.
Yaroooo! You’re Done
As a little reward for trying flat lay, I bought myself this Bendy, Cheap, Cute, Smartphone Clamper-Thing. for just $18, I love it!
I bet you will too.
It keeps my Smartphone steady and straight while shooting from above. And it frees up a hand to put in my flat lays.
Also great for DIY Videos for FaceBook or Instagram.
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Over to you! What do you think? Will you try it?
Tell me the subject of some of your artwork?
What mood does your work convey?
Can you imagine any props that might enhance that mood?
Share your comment below. Let’s help each other.
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Thanks for your explanations and videos. I learned a lot. I’m a western Artist. I could use Spurs, bits, leather etc in a flat lay. Do you have other suggestions? I love the light and airy ones that you highlighted.
I think that all the things you mentioned are great ideas. Antique pocket watches, saddle blankets.old tiny apothecary bottles…and other things that evoke a time gone by might or western life be fun to play with. I have an antique tooled gun holster for instance. But depends on who your ideal buyer is. Mostly men or women? What kind of woman-Cowgirl or Bloomingdales? To go lighter maybe found feathers, or prairie grass or lace… Decide on a color palette that matches your oils. Old American coins or stamps, cameos, horseshoes, linen fabrics, silk ribbon or stamped letters or little wildflower bouquets like those from the old west, such fun, just let yourself go and play around with the stuff in your house and I bet you will hit it out of the park. Get the Style Your Brand Book too, you’ll love it I bet.
I never realize there was a name for this. We like to use “Flat Lay” sometimes in our studio area. But during a photo session, we prefer using a ring light. It seems it is always cloudy up here. And it is hard to get natural light to work for us. The smartphone holder looks cool. We will have to purchase one of those. Thanks for the post!
You are so welcome Kevin. 🙂 I have just starting to use a ring light too and sometimes even a little mini lightbox for shooting my assemblage pieces but it is no fun compared to a flat lay! The smartphone holder is so good for non-blurry overheads, I now have to take all my Etsy photos over because that tool gives me such a better picture. You know flat lay was originally dubbed knolling and popularized by a cool janitor named Andrew Kromelow who was working at Frank Gehry’s furniture-making shop and started taking photos of tools at right angles on all surfaces.
I never knew but I do now!
Check out the knolling images in this post of tools and such, very different than the examples I gave.
https://creativemarket.com/blog/what-is-knolling-the-overhead-photography-trend-explained
I have to say I always learn something new from your blogs. Something wonderfully, creatively new. I had no idea about Flat Lay. You are an incredible resource for artists. And you almost always focus on a working artist bring attention to them. The time in research you put in to every subject is extensive. Your passion is undeniable. I can just imagine how much you give in your coaching. Thank you.
Ah Denise, that is music to a research-geek’s ears, thanks so much! So glad you got something valuable from this post and some others. Huzzah!
Thanks for another great podcast tutorial! Your ideas are always so inspiring! I plan to try this technique for photos. Funny, I am always attracted to the flat lay photos, but it never occurred to me to try it myself! By the way, the photo you did from your sketchbook is amazing. Wow, fantastic work in the sketchbook! I’m curious about how you came up with the idea for the Anatomy Man. Is it a painting?
Hey Karen! I just love your last name btw. Thank you so much for your kind words about the podcast and my attempt at flat lay. If I can do it, you can do it Karen! I hope you try that Brooklyn Sketchbook Project with me, so you can have your work in their collection too -I have a post on that if I haven’t foisted it on to you yet. https://thecharmedstudio.com/have-your-sketchbook-be-part-of-history/
“Anatomy Man” is mixed media, I painted over this cool paper from a company that specializes in old charts and maps and adverts from by gone eras. They are called Cavallini & Co. You can get their papers online at Paper Source but here is a link that is less expensive on Amazon. https://amzn.to/3t5fANt
They have old mineralogy and astrology charts too, just dreamy.
My last name is my married name and it is German translated from Morgenstern. I have been thinking about your last name, isn’t Fiore flower in Italian? So your name is flower in bloom, or blooming flower. Just lovely.
I re-listened to the podcast you did on the journal. I thought about doing the journal project, but it seems so daunting because my life is so unpredictable right now. I take care of my mom during her illnesses or after falls and surgery which have been frequent these days. So I try not to commit to things that I will probably not be able to finish. Thanks for the link for the Cavallini & Co. papers. I pick up old papers often for different projects at yard sales or people give them to me. I have a scrapbook done by a young girl in the 1800’s that is full of newspaper articles, cards, etc. from that era. The scrapbook is an old pharmacy ledger that the girl used. Such fun stuff!
Karen, it is flower in Italian, both are family names from different sides of my family.Don’t worry about doing the sketchbook project, it runs perpetually every year and will wait for when you want to do it if it is good for you. Sending you and your mom good energy. I love the scrapbook in an old pharacy ledger, I can just imagine it. I can also just imagine you writing a wonderful (perhaps illustrated) historical fiction novel from that young girl’s perspective that tells a story of a certain time in America. Would you ever consider that?
I have a backlog of work that I’ve procrastinated on getting the imaging done. I am now inspired and motivated to move that along and try some of these tips too. I sometimes find there is a glut of hyper-stylized images on may SM accounts, but this has made me re-think that. I appreciate the way you bring these topics to us and share your insights too.
So glad you will try your deft hand at this Melissa. And if you’d like please send me a photo of what you come up with. I too, was a bit worried when I first experimented with this that the results would be too commercial and slick. But my results were always on the opposite end of spectrum. (the spectrum here being slick/commercial on the right, to whacky creative/messy on left). So you learn to pile it in there and then edit it out of there. I speak of this on the podcast version of this post a bit. And the results will surprise you. You end up with a creative, totally original yet professional look.
When you really get into it you start pulling in some weird-ass things/props that you have laying about that YOU think are beautiful and that express your work. And those kinds of things are DEFINITELY not what people shooting cosmetic flat lay have lying about the house. lol. I mean most of us don’t have 13 eyeshadow palettes and a bottles of Chanel on the brain. Also those stylized shots are composed on plastic backdrops. The minute you try stuff like hand made paper etc, it all gets deeper, imo. Go for it!! Let me know if you think as I do that the spirit of the artist comes through in their flat lay.
I agree and I’m getting a lot of ideas just thinking about the possibilities. I am currently overlaying my work on stock images for scale, vibe etc – but this is really a game changer. Sometimes we just need a different point of view to open our eyes. Thanks again! (and TBH: I did not know there was ‘name’ for this technique lol)
OMG, I didn’t know there was a name for it either at first. We are all apprentices. I admire your venturing out and I assume you are taking about programs like ART ROOM that show your art in a virtual room? I want to do a post on the options on that some day, they all seem oriented for bigger work and smaller pieces get dwarfed. Do you have one you recommend? But, yes, buck the tide-I’m right beside you or behind you or…I always have trouble with spacial relations, lol.
Thea, thank you very much for sharing these amazing tips on flat lays as well as the videos.I never heard of flatlays before! I have taken photos of my work like that without the wonderful props! So many clever ideas! Cant wait to get started!
Cool Sylvia! I can’t wait to see what amazing creative stuff you come up with. It is a bit harder with 3dimensional assemblage work like ours, but just doing detailed, wild flat lays of the objects we put in our art-alone-would be an inspiring thing to add to an Instagram or FB feed I think. What do you think?
PS Would you be up for trying it next Sunday and sending each other an image of what we come up with?
This is such valuable Information, for artists, and anyone with an online business. I love doing flat lays, for my blog, but also for selling prints and even original art.
The smartest thing I have seen is Katelyn’s idea for adding your hand in a shot. Instant scale! How smart is that?
I adore Fiona’s work too, she has inspired me to think about the mood or the feeling I want to create with a flat lay. Brilliant! Plus, it’s actually really easy and fun.
Thea? Your the bomb….and this is such a clever thing that most artists aren’t doing. Kudos baby!
OMG I am honored. I’m also so glad you found information and inspiration from the post. Katelyn and Fiona-like you- are incandescent sources of creativity. I am always inspired by your current artisinal adventure. Thanks so much Den Hertog.