WellCurated has become known for a few things over the past couple of years; consistency of brand across social media, website and in person, being a fun group of gals to work with and, last but not least, our flat lays.

 

We’ve been posting flat lays on our social media account pretty much since day one and when Aelea, our staff writer and stylist came on board, we took advantage of her skills by offering in-person flat lay photo styling workshops, offering styled images for our clients and basically just had her take flat lays of anything and everything for promoting events and workshops on our own feed.

 

There are so many amazing things we could say about flat lays; They are amazing for your social media, website and blogs, they work beautifully for telling a story and can really showcase a product. We asked Aelea to share her favourite props for styling and here is her round-up props she loves to use!

 

1 – Fresh Flowers

I never used to style consistently with flowers until I started working at Well Curated and had a budget for them! Flowers are the perfect addition and can add a pop of colour, fill in spaces to make your flat lay look more full and can add some more visual interest. I love using fresh flowers and greenery to match the season– peonies and daisies in the spring, dried leaves in fall and cotton and pepper berries in winter.

 

2 – Pens + Pencils

When I did my very first branding shoot for my blog a number of years ago, I had cute cakes, sprinkles, flowers, notebooks and jewelry. The one thing I knew I wanted was a set of pretty gold pens. That shoot was at least 3 and a half years ago and the gold pens I used in that shoot I still have and use to this day in photos! They are simple and make a great addition to the style of photos I take.

 

3 – Small Dishes

I’ve started collecting cute little dishes over time and they are so nice to add into photos! Little dishes are easy to find at markets or gift shops. Last summer, when we were in Tofino teaching flat lay photo styling, I styled photos with a little dish that has a pink stripe and a fox and I just had to have it! Now it’s in my stash of cute dishes along with a bright yellow dish with a gold cat and a few other cat related dishes.

 

4 – Your Hand!

Your hand is one of the best props you can use to draw attention to an area of your flat lay! Especially if you are featuring a flat lay with many items! Add in your hand and voila! Instant focus! I often direct people to imagine they are a ballerina– a nice delicate hand. You are actually very rarely holding onto something in a flat lay and just placing your hand gently on it to draw attention.

 

5 – Small Treasures

Small treasures can be anything from little crystals to candy or macarons! Anything small that fits your brand is great to pop into your photos. I once chatted with a girl whose brand colour was purple. I told her to grab a few small, purple items that she can add into her flat lays when she takes them so that it matches her brand every time she posts a photo. Simple and effective and can help relate to your ideal client, too!

 

Having a few key props in your arsenal will help you as you start styling. Adding in any of these props to an image you are styling will elevate the flat lay (as long as the prop makes sense) and will help it stand out amongst flat lays taken from stock photo sites that everyone seems to be using these days!

 

If you want to learn more about flat lay photo styling, including signing up for our totally ONLINE Flat Lay Like a Pro styling course complete with videos directing you on how to style three different styles of flat lays, click HERE.