How to style, compose and light a flat lay photograph

How to compose your shot:

• Ensure your hero piece is in the centre and commands the most attention from the viewer.
• Try not to use larger items in the corners of your shot. 
• Keep an eye on the distancing between each piece. Keeping things equally spread always works well. 
• Negative space can be very distracting, so keep an eye out for this, especially in the corners of your frame.
• Try to focus on the main parts of your hero piece e.g. with the Nikon Z 7 you might want to show the layout of the buttons at the top.
• Try some slightly different angles, adding a very slight tilt can add a lot more depth and dimension to a photograph without taking too much away from the birds-eye view.
• Use items that have different heights. This is a great way to make certain items stand out and make good use of any negative space.

Lighting

In most flat lay photography, you will see an even light spread across the image to avoid long and harsh shadows that might cover some of the items in the scene, and in some cases become a distraction from the main focal point. There are a few ways you can light your photo; natural light (if you are shooting outside, a cloudy sky will give you great even light with hardly any shadows), artificial light such as neon lights from a sign, continuous lighting or a speedlight.

However, in some cases introducing some direct light can help add depth and personality to your photo, if it does not overexpose any of the items you have laid out.

How to use lighting in your photo:

• Try to create an even light across your photo to make sure everything is exposed correctly and equally.
• Be mindful of harsh shadows as they may cover some of your items.
• When photographing items that are reflective, you can often get bright spots that could cover key details you are trying to capture.
• Keep an eye on your white balance. This is especially important if shooting under things such as blue skies, tungsten bulbs and fluorescent tubes.

Balance, colour and tones

This is where you can start to bring out the personality of the photograph and make it unique to your aesthetic. There are a few ways you can go about doing this. Here are a few examples of things you can try:

• Try using a colour that contrasts with the products to help them stand out more, equally using the same colour can be just as visually appealing to the eye.
• Use different textured backgrounds — these always work extremely well e.g. bricks, wooden textures, and concrete.
• If you are using textures, keep them minimal so they do not take away from the items you are showcasing.

Telling a story

I mainly shoot street and documentary photography, and with this genre I am constantly trying to tell a story — either through a single image or from a group of photographs. I wanted to bring this into flat lay photography. Here are a few ways in which you can do this:

• Introduce some personal items into your photograph — such as a pair of sunglasses, a plant or a baseball cap. Just be careful that they do not detract from your hero piece.
• Background and textures always add depth and personality to a shot. If you are using the photos for a blog or Instagram feed, search for textures that match your style and bring out your personality.
• If you are shooting product, try to demonstrate some of its features. One example would be shooting the Z 6 with the tilt screen extended out.
• Bring in other elements such as water. Adding a light mist to your products or background can further help visually tell the story behind the photograph (such as demonstrating the weather sealing capabilities of the Z Series range).
• Postproduction editing. Every photographer edits their photographs in a unique way. Use this to add flavour to your photos.

Nastavitve

Zdaj pa prihaja tehnični del fotografije plosko razporejenih motivov. Glede nastavitev na fotoaparatu: na voljo so čas zaklopa, zaslonka, ISO in goriščna razdalja, pri kateri fotografirate. Tu je hitra razčlenitev nekaterih nastavitev, ki bi jih priporočil za fotografiranje plosko razporejenih motivov.

Čas zaklopa

Kako nastavite čas zaklopa je odvisno od tega, kako fotografirate. Če fotografirate iz roke, se prepričajte, da je nastavljena tako kratek čas, da se izognete tresenju fotoaparata. Dober način za presojanje, kakšen čas zaklopa bo preprečil, da bi zajeli morebitno gibanje, je, da podvojite hitrost goriščne razdalje, pri kateri fotografirate. Če na primer uporabljate 50-mm objektiv, poskrbite, da čas zaklopa ne bo počasnejši od 1/100 sekunde.

Zaslonka

Zaslonka, ki jo izberete za fotografiranje, je odvisna od tega, koliko globinske ostrine želite na fotografiji. Običajno bi želeli fotografi pri f 5,6 ali več, saj s tem zagotovite, da je vse na fotografiji ostro in izostreno. Če imate elemente, ki so precej višji od drugih, boste morda morali še povečati zaslonko.

Če pa želite osvetliti določen del fotografije, na primer osrednji motiv, boste morali uporabiti manjšo zaslonko, na primer f 2,8 ali nižjo, s čimer boste dosegli lepo zamegljeno ozadje.

ISO

V večini primerov boste plosko razporejene motive fotografirali pod dobrim virom osvetlitve, zato visoka vrednost ISO ne bo potrebna. V idealnem primeru bi rekel, naj bo čim nižja, da se izognete zrnatosti in ohranite fotografije čim bolj ostre in čiste. Večina fotografij, ki sem jih naredil s serijo Z, sem uporabil ISO 500 ali manj. Če delate v temnejših okoliščinah, poskušajte uporabiti stativ, saj lahko s tem skrajšate čas zaklopa in zmanjšate ISO.

Goriščna razdalja

Plosko razporejene motive lahko fotografirate z večino goriščnih razdalj, a če uporabite preveliko, se bo začelo pojavljati popačenje objektiva. Priporočam, da ne fotografirate širše kot 50 mm, da se temu izognete. Pri ulični fotografiji običajno fotografiram s samo 35 mm, za delo s plosko razporejenimi motivi pa se moraš zelo precej približati, sicer boste na končnih fotografijah opazili določeno popačenje.

Urejanje

Na voljo je veliko aplikacij za urejanje fotografij. Jaz uporabljam predvsem Adobe Lightroom. Je hiter in preprost za uporabo ter odličen način za organiziranje datotek. Če ste nov uporabnik Lightrooma, je najboljši način učenja, da greste skozi orodja za urejanje in prilagodite drsnike, se poigrate s krivuljo tonov ter vklapljate in izklapljate možnosti, da vidite, kako vplivajo na sliko. Ko veste, kako delujejo, lahko začnete uporabljati prilagoditve, primerne svojemu slogu.

To je tudi odlično orodje za manjše popravke, na primer za odstranitev prahu in da počistite manjša območja fotografije.

Nasveti za urejanje fotografij plosko razporejenih motivov v Lightroomu

• Vedno začnite tako, da v razdelku s popravki za objektiv potrdite polji »Remove Chromatic Aberration« in »Enable Profile Corrections«. S tem zmanjšate popačenje objektiva.
• Bodite previdni pri prilagajanju barv. Zlasti pri fotografiranju izdelkov priporočam, da poskušate vse barve ohraniti čim bližje izvirnim.
• Če imate na istem ozadju celoten nabor fotografij, shranite urejanje, s katerim ste najbolj zadovoljni, kot prednastavitev. Nato ga lahko uporabite za vse izbrane fotografije.
• V glavnem urejam v razdelkih »Tone« in »Tone Curve«. Naravne barve in odtenke na fotografiji lahko močno povečate kar iz tega razdelka.