Today I got inspired to write a blog post that’s a bit different than anything I’ve ever done. I thought I would show you a little “behind-the-scenes” look at my flatlay-taking process! I’ve seen a handful of other bloggers do posts similar to this, and it always amazes me how different everyone’s process is. It’s kind of cool to think that we all take such different approaches to the same thing.

Anyway, so while I was taking flatlays over the weekend, I decided to snap a quick photo of the area surrounding my setup. I figured it would be the easiest way for me to go through everything, and, if you’re a visual person, get a better sense of what I’m talking about.

As you can see from the photo, taking flatlays is a pretty dysfunctional process for me! I once saw a tweet that described the process of setting up a flatlay as gathering everything you own and throwing it on a piece of marble, and I couldn’t agree more with statement.

The first thing I do when I begin a flatlay session is grab a variety of props. I try to find a hodge podge of items, ranging from books and magazines to beauty products and coffee mugs. It’s helpful for me to have a diverse mix of props to work with. Plus, it means I’ll spend less time running around trying to find the last addition to a photo later on.

Once I’ve got my spread of props in front of me, I focus on lighting. Finding a bright spot to take flatlays is very important when you use natural light. I like this corner in my house because it is directly under a set of windows.

Next, I set up my reflector. If you’re a blogger struggling to get good lighting in your flatlays, I strongly recommend investing in one of these. Reflectors are great for giving your photos that extra bit of brightness, especially during the dreary winter weather. I got mine off Amazon a few months ago, and I don’t think it was more than fifteen dollars.

Before I start setting up flatlays, I like to take a couple of blank shots to check out the lighting. Something I’ve learned from experience is that things turn out completely different on camera than they do in real life. You may think you have good lighting in shot, but your camera may tell you otherwise. You don’t want to waste time setting up an intricate flatlay only to discover it’s too dim to take photos. It’s happened to me countless times, and I can tell you it’s not fun.

After I’ve got the lighting situation all sorted out, I moved on to actually putting together the flatlays! Everyone has their own approach to setting up a shot, and mine simply involves playing around with the angles until I find something I like. It can definitely get messy and involved a lot of moving and maneuvering, but I’m always happiest with my flatlays when I take the time to do so.

And that concludes this post! Sorry it’s a short one today. But I really just wanted to focus on the photo. I hope this gives you a better idea of what goes “behind-the-scenes” of one of my flatlays and illustrates the fact that it really is a messy process.

Do you take flatlays? If so, what’s your process like? 

Sincerely,

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