tip : if you're looking for affordable but pretty and basic jewellery, head to H&M as they always have a tonne of great pieces.
Get inspired..
My number one piece of advice for inspo is to use Pinterest, this will make your life so much easier when it comes to working out what to place in your flatlay. I sometimes stand around in my room with absolutely no idea what to build a flat lay out of, but even scrolling through Pinterest for 30 seconds gives me so many ideas, but don't mimic someone elses shot, unoriginal content is a straight up no.
Some of my faves from Pinterest :
Background..
I usually compile my flatlays on my bed, clean white backgrounds often work well with flat lays, or marble as I'm sure you've all seen scattered throughout different bloggers feeds! Then you can work colours and textures in later as you go along, start with simple and build.
Complimentary colours..
Once you know what your focal point of the shot will be, pull things that are complimentary colours, my idea of hell in a flatlay is having an abundance of random colours and shades scattered throughout! Every colour under the sun isn't what makes a good flat lay, less is more most of the time. Once I know the colours I'm aiming for I'll have a wander around picking things that I think might work, pile them on to my bed and then spend time working out a composition, this can take a while if you're like me and determined to get the perfect shot, which then also ends with having to scroll through 200+ photos with only slight differences #strugglecity
Angles and Lighting..
When taking shots, trial different angles and lighting, I can almost guarantee you won't get it right with the first shot, and if you do, I 100% envy you because THIS NEVER HAPPENS TO ME. Try taking shots from different perspectives, stand from a way back, birds eye shot, or get real creative and get up on a stool. I don't agree that flat lays 'have to be taken from above' mix it up and try different shots until you get what you want.
Texture..
Adding texture to your flatlay makes it way more appealing, it's a personal preference but I can't stand it when a piece of clothing is laid out dead flat with no level to it but I think that's something I picked up from visual merchandising. I'd always been taught when dressing a mannequin that you HAVE to add texture, when using a jacket make sure there is texture in the elbow, roll the sleeves, make it look how you would actually wear it. It's so aesthetically pleasing when there is knitwear that has texture to it in a flat lay, it gives all the serious autumnal vibes, also by adding levels/texture you'll find that you'll have varying light angles which adds more depth to the photo.
Props..
I definitely advise investing a little in to the props for your imagery, this of course isn't a must but I've found it helps to have a variety of items to pull to build the layers. The number one place I go to for props that don't bust the budget is Tiger, seriously go and check it out. I always head straight from the household section, they usually have marble coasters, wooden serving boards (for that blogger brunch vibe) and just mega cute bits and pieces. It's really not expensive at all, I don't think the items I've bought from there have ever been more than £10 singularly.
Another prop I'd always recommend would be magazines, magazines are your best friend, I absolutely love having imagery in a flat lay, and magazines are the best way to do this, alternatively using Polaroid shots also work an absolute dream. There are tonnes of example of how to incorporate them in to your shots, here.
I hope those tips help anyone who's looking to up their flatlay game, if you have any questions drop me a comment below!
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