Believe me when I say so, you're not alone. This is a whole other art form. I have asked my good friend Shaeline to share some of her flat lay work. She is always the person I learn the most from when it comes to flats, simply through her inspiring me. Her flats tell stories, tying in the elements of her weddings through these inspirational captures.

Do you struggle with flat lay arrangement?

Flat Lay Inspo

Think in lines and circles

If you look at all of these images, what do they all have in common? They all follow a direction through a birds eye view.  You can follow an S curve, probably a more simple and impactful method of spreading the elements. Or you can arrange the elements in a diagonal line through the centre of the frame. The more complex but fun arrangement is the Fibonacci Spiral -- the spiral allows the eye to travel from the bottom element around the canvas to the inner spiral of focus. It makes the flat less chaotic when there are a lot of elements to work with.

Written by Angelina Obritsch 
Captures by Shaeline Faith Photography
June 30, 2023

Set your aperture Smaller

Do you feel like your flats are too soft focused? You're doing everything right but just not getting that refinement. Don't be scared to set your aperture to something smaller like 2.8, 3.5 or 4.5.  I know that having a lens with a 1.2 or 1.4 aperture is very exciting, but everything has a purpose. Flat lays are not the same as shooting an adventure session. 

Practise at home

We are always learning, no matter what stage of our careers we are in. We sometimes go months between weddings from end of fall to spring when everything resumes again. Most of us spend the winter adding new elements to work with, ring dishes, ribbons, ring boxes and styling mats. Gradually create your collection, practise with different apertures and see what works for you when arranging and editing. 

Set up near a window

If you want optimal light, set up next to a window. That doesn't mean flat lays with flash are lesser, but flash is more of a learning curve. If your shadows are too harsh on the opposite side of the window facing flat lay, use a big white panel or a white pillow to bounce light and fill in the shadows.