It’s no secret that smartphones have become incredibly powerful photography tools. But did you know that you can use your phone to create beautiful flat lays?

Flat lay photography is a way of taking photos of items that are laid out on a flat surface. You can use notebooks, pens, pencils, food, flowers, beauty products- simply any type of everyday item that makes sense for the theme of your photo.

I love a good aesthetic! I actually used a lot of my experience from shooting my own TV news stories into this creative pastime of creating beautiful images to use for my personal Instagram page or here on my blog.

Additionally, I also find tons of inspiration from a stock photo site that I’m a member of. It’s called Pixistock. The images in this blog post are photos that I took with my iPhone and shared on Instagram.

Here are my tips for using a smartphone as a flat-lay camera:

Choose a backdrop.

Choose a backdrop that is simple and clean. You want to avoid busy patterns, as well as light or dark backgrounds.

If you’re using an object with a pattern, make sure it matches the color scheme of your objects (i.e., blue-and-white china with red flowers).

To see what kind of background will work best for your flat lay, try taking some photos without anything behind your items first—this way you can see how they look on their own before deciding which background would work best.

Style the background.

Once you’ve chosen a background, it’s time to style it. A great way to do this is by adding some props that complement your subject. The type of prop you choose will depend on what kind of mood you’re going for and what the overall aesthetic of your photo is. For example, if you’re trying to create a clean, modern look with bright colors and simple lines, then use geometric shapes as props. But if you want something more fun and playful with lots of color, try using toys or stuffed animals instead!

Hopefully by now I’ve convinced you how easy it can be to take flat lay photos on your phone! If this tutorial was helpful at all or gave any inspiration for some new ideas (or just made me look like an expert), comment below so we can chat about photography together.

Create an interesting composition.

Creating an interesting composition is the most important part of flat lay photography. It’s all about using negative space to create contrast and balance in your photos.

Don’t put too many objects in the frame. If there are too many items on a flat lay or if they’re placed too close together, it will be difficult for someone viewing your image to understand where their eyes should focus on first (and second, third and so on). You want each piece of fruit or vegetable to have its own visual weight; even if it’s just a small bite-sized piece, try not cramming them together like nobody’s business!

Don’t use two similar colors next to each other (like blueberries next to raspberries). This creates confusion when looking at the picture because both colors look similar but aren’t actually identical shades—so it becomes hard for people who don’t already know what type of berry they’re looking at tell whether they’re different types of berries or not!

Take a lot of photos from different angles.

The key to getting a good flat lay is to take lots of photos from different angles. When I worked as a TV news reporter and shot my own stories, I found it super helpful to shoot video from tons of different angles, so I could have plenty of options when I sat down to edit.

Don’t be afraid to try new things, whether that means using different lenses or lighting your photos in an unusual way. Try setting up your phone on a tripod and taking pictures from above or below the subject using different lenses. You can also use natural light as well as artificial light sources like lamps and candles.

Editing

When it comes to editing photos, I usually use my iPhone’s editing features to edit or the Lightroom app. And if I need to, I’ll use Canva as well.

Hopefully, this post is helpful for you to create photos for your social media pages, website, or other marketing assets.

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