Want to take better flat lay images that help you stand out on Instagram or Pinterest? Photographs are tough, you want ones that grab your audience’s attention, but you don’t want to spend a lot of time or money achieving it. I get it. It’s hard finding the time for everything on our to-do list. Follow these simple steps to improve your pictures.

Tip #1: Natural light is key 

Take your picture outside or in front of a window. Natural light is super helpful for taking a great product picture. It’s more flattering and provides more natural coloring for pictures. Below was my “studio” for this photo shoot. Jealous right? 

Tip #2: Use a clean backdrop.

A white foam core board, black presentation board or even a table with white wrapping paper can be used. These ideas are cheap, but effective which means there really is no reason to use your living room carpet. Unless you have a pretty awesome carpet, but I’ve only seen a few flat lays on carpets that make me go wow that looks awesome.

Also, check out the post where I share how to make your own marble backdrop.

Tip #3: Use a Reflector 

Reflectors are not that expensive and help bounce the light back onto your image, improve the clarity and remove shadows.  I’ve had this reflector (affiliate link) for almost seven years and it’s in great condition. It also folds up when not in use, which means its very easy to store. See the difference below. On the left image I didn’t use a reflector and on the right I did, not only is the image brighter, but the showers are less intense. 

And you don’t need to have a fancy set up for your reflector. I was holding this with my hand and bending it around to see what angle provided the most pleasing image.

Tip #4: Stick with one color palette 

To make your picture stand out and pleasing to the eye it helps to use one color palette. And no need to buy fancy, expensive objects. For this flat lay I used objects I had around the house. Cardstock for color and then flowers to add some dimension. It doesn’t need to be fancy.

Tip #5: Keep adjusting

Don’t feel discouraged if it takes a few attempts to get your picture to look good. I changed the products, added elements and kept rearranging until I was happy with the look. And remember don’t let perfect be the enemy of good enough. Could this be better? Sure. I see several things that I want to improve on next time. However, am I happy with it? Yes. And it’s done.

You can see I started with this composition on the left and then switched the products until I was happier with the arrangement. Note how I changed both the products, placement and the flowers. 

And here is a bonus tip – Try to complete your photo shoot during nap time. Everything is a lot easier while the munchkins are sleeping

Here is the final image I created after following the 5 steps above. It’s ready to be added to this blog post or shared to social media.

I hope you found these tips helpful! Don’t forget to sign up for my monthly newsletter to get the next

To learn more tricks to improve your images check out the posts: 5 Cheap & Easy Backgrounds and DIY Marble Background.