Flat Lay Tips to Perfect Your Instagram Account

*This post is sponsored by Panasonic

With the Instagram algorithm constantly changing, the struggle to grow your following is tougher than ever (read more about my love/hate relationship with Instagram here). As Facebook (and consequently Instagram) try to give their users more of what they love, their focus has shifted to the quality of content users offer to their following. Add into this the obvious fact that the stronger your content is the more likely people will follow and like your pictures, you have a strategy for success. But improving your Instagram images isn’t as easy as it sounds, so let’s take this one step at a time – starting with flat lays. To put it simply, flat lays are images taken of a collection of objects from above. Not only have they become one of the most popular types of Instagram image but they are also some of the most popular images on my account. So keep reading for my favourite flat lay tips…

The best tools for the job

Ever heard the saying ‘a bad workman blames his tools’ well when it comes to photography sometimes bad tools are to blame. You could be the best photographer in the world but if your image is grainy or pixelated it can ruined. Look for a digital camera with a high megapixel and the ability to change exposure and shutter speed. The Panasonic Mirrorless 12-60mm Lens Camera is a great option if you have the budget, as it has 30k optical zoom, 4K photo and video all in a compact design making it perfect for a variety of uses not just taking flat lays. 

Background focus

While the background is not the main focus of your flat lay, it is the foundation of your photo. I always opt for a light, white surface as this is non offensive and won't distract from the focus of the image. Don’t worry if you don’t have a white floor or table for your flat lays, simply lay a towel or white bed sheets on a flat surface and you have your background. This also allows you to move your white material around your house to find the best lighting. 

Lighten up

As with all photography, lighting is the most crucial part of creating the perfect flat lay. I use natural lighting in all of my photography as I find it gives the best results without the need for lots of editing. But for natural lighting to work you need to consider a couple of things:

• Time of the day - as the light changes throughout the day it will have different impacts on your image. At midday the sun is at its brightest and this may lead to your image being overexposed. Sunset (or the magic hour) can create beautiful soft lighting in images but can often have an orange tint resulting in the need to alter white balance. During the evening (or on a dark cloudy day) there is no light meaning you won’t be able to see your image. 
• Positioning – it could be lovely and light outside but if you’re in a dark room you won’t benefit from it. Position yourself close to a window to maximise your lighting.
• Shadows – Depending on your positioning and the time of the day you can sometimes get quite harsh shadows in your images, especially if the light is coming from behind your objects. To avoid this try repositioning yourself or use a white piece of card to reflect the light onto the shadows. 

Less isn’t always more

Some of my favourite flat lays have to be the ones crammed full of products and objects but they still somehow manage to look beautiful rather than a mess. To make this work, vary the size of the objects you are arranging and fill bare gaps with ribbons, petals or confetti. Also layer textures and objects such as magazines and patterned fabrics to break up your white background. 

Colour co-ordinate 

A huge part of Instagram is how your profile looks with all of your images sitting together. Most people try to make this look more co-ordinating by having a ‘theme’. The easiest way I do this is through adding little accents of colour into my images to ensure they all co-ordinate. For example in the above images I have added hints of red through the strawberries on the pancakes and the rose petals. By keeping the rest of the image black and white and then adding this pop of colour means that they sit together nicely on my Instagram page. I have also done the same with the below images by adding a pop of pink. I will consistently use one colour in at least 6 of my images before gradually transitioning to a new colour if I want to change the look of my feed.  

Practice makes perfect

Flat lays may look easy but sometimes it can be hard to get them to look ‘right’. Take your time, moving different objects and adding bits or taking away items that don’t quite look right. With a bit of trial and error you will finally find the perfect arrangement to take your photo. 

What are your tips for the perfect Instagram flat lay?

Eleanor xx

Why Instagram Is Getting Me Down

Ah Instagram. It's like the ex that no matter how many times they hurt you, you keep finding yourself running back into their arms. Once madly in love and a little bit obsessed, your relationship has changed (thanks to that pesky algorithm) and has become incredibly hard work. 

Social media was never designed to be hard work. It was designed as an online platform to meet new people, make friends and share the things you love with like minded people not for competition and advertising. It is so frustrating when you post a photo to your followers (real people who have basically said 'Yes I want to see their photos!') and Instagram will only show that post to half of your following. It's equally frustrating when I see paid for ads from accounts I already follow because why should they have to pay to appear in my feed?

But it's not just the algorithm that's getting me down, it's the way I constantly compare myself to others. By that I don't mean your typical 'omg she is so much prettier/skinnier/etc than me' I mean that I compare my account to others. I'll see someone doing an AD for a brand and click on their profile to see how many followers they have. If they have less or about the same as myself, I'll start wondering why they were picked over me. Or I'll see accounts I love growing their following and hitting big milestones, and while I'm happy for them, I'll feel down because my account isn't growing as quickly. It's toxic and I hate that this is the person I've become.

I work hard using every spare minute I have at the weekend to take photos for my Instagram, I try to post everyday and also engage with other people, yet nothing seems to work. As soon as my followers go up they fall straight back down, my engagement is still a lot lower than it was before the algorithm change and in all honesty I don't have enough money to pay to advertise my posts. I could cheat and buy more followers but we all know my opinion on that.

The other day one of the girls from work mentioned that she'd heard of this new social app called Vero that is apparently like Instagram but without ads and algorithm, we were all intrigued but wary that it may never take off. Then just the next day I was watching Vix Meldrew's Instagram stories and she mentioned this app again saying that is had already crashed because so many people were downloading it. After looking at reviews of the app on the App Store I realised that I wasn't ready to move on to someone new. These apps are all the same. They lure you in with their promises but as soon as they gain a bit of confidence they ruin your relationship through advertising and money making schemes. So despite how much I hate Instagram it's better the devil you know. Maybe one day they will realise the errors of their ways and we can relive 'the good old days'. But for now I'll keep trying to make things work, until eventually something better comes along.

Eleanor xx