The 3 types of product photos you need to know - Flat Lay

Product photography is key to getting your products from your work area into the hands of your customers.

93% of people buy based on visual appearance!

Not all product photographs are created equal, some shine on websites, others on social media. So here is the essential list of what product photography styles you should use, and more importantly where you should use them!

The three types we are covering in this blog series:

1. Flat lays

2. Close up/Detailed shots and

3. Lifestyle shots

Flat Lay:

Flat Lay photography is a photo taken at a 90C looking down angle of the subject. A great option for products, food, and themed shots. These types of shots do extremely well on social media as they tend to be very visually pleasing and you can dress them up or down to create a real atmosphere. When you set one up it is important to think about the arrangement.

My top tips for masterful flat lays are:

1. Think of textures - Try to mix up textures so you have both smooth and rougher textures in the visual

2. Think of colours - You want to spend some time considering what your goals are with this image and then select colours and palettes that support your aim. For example, if you want to create a calming soft feel, use pale blues and avoid reds.

3. Think of shapes - like textures, you want to include a range of complementary shapes. Also, see how they create paths throughout your image and make sure they all lead to your hero product.

4. Think of spacing - negative space is very important in a flat lay. What you don't include is just as important as what you do include. Keep your spacing even and distinctive, space out your props evenly within the space.

Final Sips:

Due to their aesthetic and satisfying nature, they work best on social media as a way to promote products, create an aspiration of what people want. They also work well on websites as page images as appropriate for the same reason but I would avoid using them on selling pages as they rarely show the products specific selling points.