Flat Lay Clothing Photography is a unique method of clothing photography that you can use on social media sites to engage your customer through an aesthetically pleasing way of displaying your clothes. It has a combination of professional and still life photography touches.

So, are you excited to explore the world of Flat Lay photography? Unlock new and exciting methods to take photos of your clothing brand for your website or social media. Gain millions of followers on Instagram for your clothing brand through sensational photography of your clothing using flat lay techniques!

We have covered everything in this blog, from what is clothing flat lay photography to how to take the best clothing photos using flat lay. We even discussed how to prepare your clothing for the photography session to retouch the images in post-processing. So, hurry up and explore this exciting world of clothing photography!

What is Flat Lay Clothing Photography?

This trendy clothing photography method is where you place the clothing items on a flat surface. Then photograph the piece of clothing from above.

The part where this photography method makes the product stand out depends on how you represent the product and capture it from above. Interplaying the relationship between the clothing item and the background is one of the key aspects.

Furthermore, to make some unique and eye-catching compositions for your pieces of clothing,  you can use props relating to the product to tell a story. It is a way to showcase how you want to represent your brand with the products you are promoting on social media. It helps potential customers get an insight into your style and vision for the products.

Helpful Equipment for Flat Lay Clothing Photography

When starting a new E-commerce business with your website or on Instagram, it is important to consider the cost and accessibility of the setup you can use for taking your clothing flat lay photography. So here is some easily accessible equipment you can consider:

Camera

Any camera suitable for product photography will do the job. However, consider a lens with a focal length greater than 50mm to avoid distortion of the image, which is common for wide-angle lenses (focal length lower than 50mm).

Furthermore, if you are starting out new in the E-commerce business you may not have a camera for product photography. In that case, a smartphone can be your photography equipment. However, you should not consider using a smartphone if you have a large number of clothing items you want to photograph for your E-commerce site. Consider investing in a camera for that purpose.

Studio Lighting

The right lighting condition will always play a role in how your images turn out. Using natural lighting conditions is always an option. It gives your still-life photographs that extra something that helps convey the feeling you are trying to set. For example, you can use warmer light for clothes with warm colors, thus giving the image a warm cozy feeling.

However, exposure to natural light depends on the time of the day, which is not always possible to control. So, you can consider using studio lighting to balance the exposure and shadows of the products.

Tripod

A tripod is another useful piece of equipment for your flat lay clothing photography setup. It is so because taking steady shots of your clothing items is crucial. Handling the camera by yourself can introduce blurriness and distortion.

Even though you can make adjustments in post-processing using Photoshop for retouching or manipulating the image to make it look flawless. However, capturing the best shot during the photography process is advisable, as it will help to save time during the editing stage.

Ladder

A ladder is helpful since you want to take a shot from a reasonable height to include everything in the frame of your shot. It is so because a tripod is not often high enough to take the entire shot of the items. So, might want to consider climbing on a ladder and capturing the flat lay photo.

Moreover, you can climb up or down the ladder to adjust the height at which you want to capture your photo.

Flat Lay Backgrounds

The background you use for your flat lay photography can be something you will want to carefully decide on to work with the theme you are setting up for your flat lay composition. How your products stand out in the background of your choice plays a crucial role.

Moreover, you can use flat lay backgrounds to convey the vision you want potential customers to see regarding your product. Getting a suitable background is relatively easy and readily available on Amazon and other E-commerce sites.

Tissues

Tissues may seem a very unusual item for flat lay clothing photography setup. However, you can use tissues to bring depth to your clothes when they are lying flat. It helps make the items look natural, as if someone wore them, instead of simply lying flat on the surface.

Flat Lay Clothing Photography Tips

Flat lay photography is one of the most creative ways to express the mood and tone that goes with the clothing item you are trying to sell. So, before taking photographs of your clothing, going through some of these flat lay clothing photography tips can make your composition ever more exceptional: 

Clothing Preparation

When you want to photograph your clothes, it is always ideal to represent them in their best form. So, having wrinkles on your clothes can be unappealing to customers and appear unprofessional. So, to be competitive between all the various E-commerce sites consider ironing your clothing item, either by using a hand steamer or an iron.

There will still be some wrinkles left even after ironing, you can re-iron after laying them flat for your shot. Any other inconsistencies can be removed during post-processing using some retouching techniques. You can even consider an E-commerce photo editing service to enhance your images to get the final output.

Bring Attention to Details

Once you have prepared your clothes, how you lay them down on the surface comes next. It is important for the overall success of the composition. Since the entire purpose of the composition is to advertise the clothing item to potential customers, it is important to highlight its details and features.

For example, there are some slits on the sleeves of your clothing item, tucking them under will not allow the customer to get the correct representation of the product. Details that will help to sell the product should be included in the shot.

Select your Flat Lay Props

When it comes to the composition for your flat lay photos, props help you convey the vision you have for your products.

Deciding on the right props will assure how appealing your product is to potential customers. You can use flat lay props like other accessories that go along with your clothing item. For example, shoes, a belt, or a scarf. These items help the customer visualize an ensemble they can consider when purchasing that clothing item.

Another way props can help is by setting the mood for the product. For example, you are promoting a spring dress. You can consider placing sunflowers in your composition. It helps to set the mood that springtime is here.

Furthermore, you could try to convey a story with your props. Suppose, your clothing item is suitable for a journey somewhere. You can place props to tell a story about how that item is perfect for a particular location.

Choose the Right Flat Lay Background

We have already discussed how you can use flat lay backgrounds for your composition. Choosing the background that complements your product is very important. Making the product stand is what you must aim for when deciding on the background.

A simple background is an ideal choice for most cases. You can even use wood flooring or a table that gives your composition some texture. Or sometimes placing your items on wrinkled ribbons of bed covers can provide a neutral background that highlights your product.

Another thing you can consider is taking contrasting backgrounds, that is if you have a lighter-color product use a darker background.

Add some Layers

Adding some depth and layers to your composition can make it even more interesting. There is an endless combination you can try to add layers to your flat lay photos. You can try placing one clothing item over another.

For example, place jeans over a cardigan and their sleeves over the jeans. Display as if the cardigan is hugging the jeans. Another example could be placing a bow tie or cufflinks over a folded formal shirt.

Use props or clothes to create different combinations to add some layers adding extra flair to your flat lay photographs.

Consider Space for Text and Graphics

When working on your composition, consider where you will place texts or graphics on your flat lay images, such as the company logo or quotes that enhance the story you are trying to convey. It is a good practice to leave some place when arranging your props on the background.

Flat Lay Clothing Photography – The How to

Until now, we have covered flat lay photography tips. Now, let us move on to how to use those tips to take exciting flat lay photos. Here are some of the things you can follow to take your photographs:

Step 1: Choose a Flat Surface

Since you want to capture flat lays using a fat surface is given. Now if you are using a tripod whose height you can not adjust too far, then you can consider using the floor as your flat surface to increase the distance. A table is also an ideal place to set up your flat lay photography.  

Step 2: Use Appropriate Lighting

Using the right lighting condition is important for your flat lay shots. As previously mentioned, using specific lighting situations sets the mood for the composition. So, the vision you want to covey can greatly dependent on the lighting condition.

Step 3: Prepare your Composition

Place your props on your background with your clothing item and use your imagination and creativity to arrange them for the composition you want to take.

Step 4: Set the Angle and Height

For flat lay clothing photography, the appropriate angle to take the photo is where the camera is pointing straight down at the product. That is the camera lens pointing perpendicular to the surface.

Use the height that will cover the entire composition for your shot. However, you can consider taking a close-up shot to capture more details.

Step 5: Capture your Flat Lay Shot

Now, that you have set up everything, it’s time to take your flat lay shot. It is always advisable to capture more than one shot as it gives you the option to choose the best one for your clothing photography requirements.

Moreover, capturing a few options will help during the post-processing as well as you can select the shot that requires the least effort. Furthermore, try out a few different arrangements for your composition to take your shot.

Enhance Your Flat Lay Clothing Photos in Post-Processing

Once you have captured your shot, another crucial part of being a successful E-commerce seller is to enhance your images in editing software like Photoshop.

Background plays a major role in your flat lay photos, if your background isn’t appropriate, you can use background removal techniques and replace it with a suitable background. Another thing that you can do in post-processing is use image manipulating techniques to adjust any inconsistencies like any distortions in the image.

Furthermore, you can also do color correction, adjust the white balance, and work on the shadows and highlights during the post-processing phase. However, if any of these post-processing techniques are overwhelming, you can always consider using a photo editing service provider.

Conclusion [Flat Lay Clothing Photography]

Wow! What a journey!  I hope this blog was everything you were looking for to understand and learn about flat lay clothing photography. It is one of the more approachable and easily accessible methods for your clothing photography. With the skills to take flat lay photos in your arsenal, you can conquer the E-commerce world in no time. Just pick up a camera and point downwards at your clothing item and shoot. So, best of luck!!

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