When I first started my blog I had no idea what a flat lay was, although I was familiar with this kind of picture. This became the "trendy" way to take photos for blogs and of course, Instagram. I compiled a few tips and tricks that will help you take your flat lays to the next level.

LIGHTING
Usually for blog photos I use natural lighting. However, if you can't rely on a natural lighting source, you might want to consider investing on artificial lighting. Good lighting is key to an aesthetically pleasing image.

CHOOSE A COLOR SCHEME
You could opt for using many colors. But I like to choose from two to five. Complementary colors are always a good option. Don't just throw a bunch of random colorful products together, make sure you have a vision of what you want to create.

LAYERS + TEXTURE
This adds a lot of dimension to the picture and it looks incredible when done well. You can add magazines, colorful papers and flowers in one photo with the products you're trying to showcase.

DEFINE THE MAIN ITEM
What do you want people to see first when they look at your picture? Put it in the center, or make it the most colorful item out of the bunch. There are many ways you could position the object to capture people's attention.

EDITING
I strongly believe that you can fix almost every photo with editing. You can always sharpen, correct lighting issues, the saturation and even make it more vibrant. Nowadays, I use Photoshop CS6 to edit all of my pictures. This software has allowed me to do a lot of things that I couldn't before. As some of you already know, because of a blog post I made a few months ago, I used to use free programs, like Paint.NET and PicMonkey. Those are pretty awesome if you are starting out, but if you want to improve your work I highly recommend Photoshop.

Overall, everyone has their own style when it comes to photography. I like to have a colorful background, but you can find a lot of white and marble frequently being used by other people. Make sure to find your own "identity" and not simply copy someone just because you like their style. Creativity is everything and it will definitely make you stand out from the crowd.

What are some of your tips for the perfect flat lay?