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With an estimated 200 million blogs on the internet today it's sure to say this pastime is a popular hobby and career for many.
But while the number is high I'm sure a large percentage will be that of redundant and infrequently posting blogs. A lot of my own favourite blogs aren't around anymore!
Why? While blogging is rewarding and fun it is time-consuming. It also requires a multitude of skill sets from photographer to copywriter and of course understanding the technical side of your blog.
These two factors alone are enough for anyone's passion for blogging to wane!
However, I've found simplify my own blog routine has made a huge impact on how I feel about blogging and how motivated I am. From increasing my productivity levels to saving a ton of time!
Which is why I wanted to share three not so common ways I've been able to streamline my blogging routine for the better.
For the longest time the focus was on perfecting a good standard of writing as a blogger with the photography aspect being something that could be muddled through. From taking your own amateur shots to seeking out royalty-free images or even investing is a photo stock bundle. Fast forward to 2018 and I think it's fair to say both the written and visual content of a blog is now of equal importance (give or take a few blog niches).
These days brands are not only looking for blogs and Instagram account to collaborate with that have basically professional photographer lever skills but readers are also wanting, and to some extent expecting, to see visually pleasing blog content and grids. High-quality content all round is the new norm!
So, while I've pretty much covered the flat lay basics (and beyond) of blog photography I thought it was about time I shared solutions for some common flat lay mistakes that can mean the difference between your images looking amateur and pro! If you have any specific flat lay questions then feel free to leave them in the comments below and I will try to answer them as best I can.
As I only posted about creating the perfect flay lay just the other day I thought it would be fitting to follow up with an eBay themed Flat Lay Photography post. Especially as I find all my blog photography bargains on eBay!
Below find everything from the inexpensive vinyl backgrounds I use to my favourite props and gap fillers that really do work well with so many different flat lay themes.
Depending on the niche, blog photography can make or break a blog. In today's visual world readers want to see bright, themed images that not lot only look aesthetically pleasing but compliment written content.
For this reason, flat lays are now the most common style of blog photography! They're not only pleasing to the eye when done right but even with a range of inexpensive props you really can create a setup that wows in minutes.
However, there is a definite knack to creating natural yet engaging flay lays that can ultimately make someone want to click through from a social platform to your blog! Which is why it's important to get the basics right!
Below will you find a step-by-step style guide to creating the ultimate flat lay, from how to setup your shot to what factors decide your colour scheme and the props you will use. I hope if you're looking to improve your blog photography this post will come in useful!
There's no denying flay lays have become the millennial way of sharing images online. From taking that instagrammable shot to setting up the perfect flat lay for a blog post; I think we are all keen to up our flat lay game right now.
Whether it's to showcase a product, sell a lifestyle or simply to be creative, a flat lay done right can achieve this and more. Which is why I wanted to share with you three pretty simple tips that can transform any flat lay into something much more pro. I hope my easy tips and tricks can help!
If you're a blogger then I'm pretty sure you will always be on the lookout for new flat lay props! But often nice props can get expensive and inexpensive gap fillers can be hard to find. So I thought I'd create an eBay round-up solving both of these problems.
Hope you find some backdrop bargains here!
One of key elements of blogging is the visual aspect. Of course, not all blog niches focus on it so heavily, but on the whole photography alongside well-written articles can set your blog apart from others. Thus attracting more readers.
I absolutely love to get creative with my own blog photography, so today I thought I would share my own tips and tricks on how to style and shoot your blog images like a pro.
The Basics
Photography Backgrounds
Starting at the beginning we need to talk backgrounds. The most popular choice for bloggers (myself included) is a plain white matte background or faux marble. Both of these work well as they don't overpower the subject matter. However, taking inspiration from editorial still-life images can help to broaden ideas. Matte pastel backgrounds (bought from craft stores) can work well even using more than one colour either joining them together or overlaying them. For richer images try out more detailed backgrounds such as aged wood or slate. If you can't get your hands on anything, finding wallpaper samples in your local DIY store can be just as effective! Reflective surfaces also have their place, I especially like acrylic sheets (eBay here) which are inexpensive and can be bought in any colour, you can see an example of how I used a black acrylic background here. To add interest or to give a certain feel to the image, material can work well. Not only is it more fluid in appearance but you can style it to work with the objects you are photographing.
EXAMPLE: Effective use of wallpaper as a backdrop here
EXAMPLE: Favourite use of material as a background here
Creating a Prop Box
Having a large variety of props on hand for your images is essential. These can be anything from notebooks and stationary to plates, ribbon and dried flowers. Flowers and even food can also work well to dress up a shoot into something more interesting. As you can see in the above fragrance image I used leaves and water from a spray bottle to create an autumnal/winter feel. Though my personal favourite props are satin ribbon (you can find a cheap listing on eBay here), dried rose petals (eBay here) and books/magazines. However if you are looking to achieve more editorial style images then thinking outside of the box with unique props is key. For ideas flicking through your favourite magazines should help with your own creative inspiration.
Choosing a Colour Palette
Colour is definitely something that should be explored within still life photography. For styled images sticking to a palette of 3-4 colours always works well. But there may be times you want to stick to a single colour to add impact or go all out to create a vibrant image with an unlimited colour palette. All monochrome or pastel images can also work really well. Here it's about being aware of colour while also having fun because there really aren't any rules!
To Flat Lay or not to Flat Lay - Talking Angles
Deciding to shoot in a flat lay style, directly above, or at an angle really is personal preference. I often like to mix it up to make sure my images don't appear to same-y and just to add a bit of extra variety and interest. When shooting a flat lay from above I like to stand up straight and lean over my shot and zoom in if I feel I need to (sometimes a tripod is required). If you have quite a lot going on in your setup you may want to grab a small stool or even a pair of compact step ladders to capture everything. This generally isn't needed when it comes to photographing makeup products as a beauty blogger but for larger items, or showing what the products are placed on (maybe a table or bed) then getting up high and shooting directly from above is key. As for shots from a slight angle the main benefit is that is allows for a depth of field to be created (a blurred background) which gives a stronger focal point and is always pleasing on the eye. I personally prefer to shoot in this way as products can appear more tactile as the shape of them is more visible than in a flat lay, it also allows for soft shadows to be created.
Example post with a mix of flat lay and traditional angle shots here
Flat Lay Styles
The main type of flat lay in the blogging world is one that sets the scene/tells a story. These generally include a focal item with other items staged around it in a natural way. However, there are so many other ways to shoot flay lays that can expand your ideas. Below are the main types of flat lays that all work well for blog photography and social media posts.
Side note: Flat lays have become increasingly popular on social media. Other than being aesthetically pleasing, they are a popular choice for many for a reason. The lens on a phone is greatly different to an actual camera and can often distort the perspective and shape of products when shooting from an angle, making it pretty obvious the image has been taken by a phone camera. Shoot directly from above and that problem disappears!
The "setting the scene' flat lay
As I explained above this is the most popular type of flat lay for bloggers. Anything goes here really, as long as it makes sense and tells a story or sets the scene that is! For example when writing a blog post that's about blogging I often photograph the keyboard of my laptop, a notebook, a pen and even a few extras like a few plants or flowers and even a cup of coffee. This is a relatable scene and goes well with the blog topic I will be writing about. Talking about products to induce sleep? Photograph them on a white duvet with a cosy looking throw, a candle or two and even a pair of slippers, instantly setting the scene and creating a serene image. This kind of flat lay is so simple, yet so effective. Want to go one step further? Try an "action" shot by including your hands into the image to really make your story come alive. For this you will need a tripod and your camera on the timer setting or a willing helper!
The "organised' flat lay
If you like to keep things neat and simplistic then the organised flat lay style may be for you. The best way to start is to imagine a square or rectangle and place items within it, generally at equal distances apart .This does however mean you won't have a focal point as all the items will appear equal. Not all of the items need to have straight edges but using items with straight sides for the outer part of your imaginary straight edged shape reinforces the shape and the neat look you are going for. This becomes even more effective when paired with a single or minimal colour palette to give a contemporary editorial look. This style is perfect for sharing a similar collection of items, for example your skincare stash or the contents of your bag, albeit the receipts!
EXAMPLE: The Makeup We Buy
The "all about white space" flat lay
In photography white space can say a lot whilst remaining a simplistic looking image. But in blog photography it's slightly different and can give your focal product that you want to write about the space to breathe (and shine!) or even create a nice space overlay title text when it comes to editing your images. This style isn't as common, but with a focal product and one or two items to support it the shot can really work and look beautiful.
EXAMPLE: Luxury Beauty Favourites
The Main Elements of Photography Styling
Placement
I could write endless blog posts on styling (don't worry, I won't!) because there are so many elements to it. The main element that can make an image shine is placement. Depending on the type of image you are wanting to convey you may want to give products equidistant space and lay them mostly flat (good for flat lays) or mix this up with over lapping items with some stood up (good for shooting at an angle). Also opening up products for example a makeup compact or a magazine can give a more realistic yet editorial look to your images.Lighting
Lighting is another important element to be aware of. Natural even lighting is a must, so shoot in front of a large window if you can and avoid using flash at all costs. However shadows may actually be your friend and often play a large part in editorial still-life shoots; from soft shadows cast from the products you are photographing (example) to deliberate harsh shadows that add extra interest and dimension (example).Hopefully I've covered the basics with this post and have given some food for thought when it comes still life blog photography.
Let me know your favourite types of photography for your own blog and to see on others? I have a feeling it may be flat lays!
Fee xo.
This blog post should have been titled "Watch List Favourites I'll Probably Mostly Likely Buy". But that wouldn't be good for SEO so I had to opt for a the more restraint title!
As my eBay watch list is just a random mixed of items, mainly brushes and 'dupe' style bags, with lots of other bargainous things thrown in there, I thought I'd share a kind of miscellaneous eBay bargains post today. So many crazy cheap things here that I'm very tempted by!
Stick-on Polka Dot/Pineapple
Wall Decals
Polka Dots x 120 - £4.99 HERE
Pineapples x 52 - £5.99 HERE
Since becoming obsessed with pinning home office inspiration pictures on Pinterest of late I've wanted to jazz up my own office/spare room with something that would be inexpensive but with a big impact. And these decals are exactly that! Without wallpapering or spending too much you can literally change the look of a room with these super cute decals. Also perfect if you rent and can't re-decorate or do much to the walls. I really can't decide between polka dots or mini pineapples! Which do you prefer?
Cosy Cloud Sweater
£5.69 HERE
Let's admit me it, we all love our comfy clothes that we wouldn't be seen dead in outside of the house. I especially love anything cosy like I'm wearing a duvet as soon as it starts to get chilly again, so now is the perfect time to snap this this jumper up so it will arrive mid October. There are lots of different prints, not just clouds, in the listing, and from the close-up pictures you can just tell it's the softest cosier fleece material. Like a hug in a jumper! Sizes available in 6-14 but I'd always suggest ordering one size up from what you are.
Crystal Diamond Pens
£1.37 each HERE
If you love stationary then you need to get on eBay and look at what they have! You can find so many novelty pens on there it's crazy. Want a pen shaped like a piece of pizza that will be beyond awkward to write with? eBay's got you covered. Want a pen shaped like a giant lollipop that couldn't easily knock someone flying? Yup, eBay's got that as well. So this is pretty modest in comparison but still on the novelty side of things. I will be picking up the lovely looking blue ombre one and the rose gold one asap!
eBay Mixed Makeup Brush Set
£3.02 HERE
Recently I've seen a few of these mixed brush sets around and thought what a clever idea. Not only are they beyond cheap for what you get, but they are well put together with brushes and sponges you would actually use. This set comes in 3 different colours - gold (as seen above), black and rose. A really great way of trying out a few brushes!
Argos Outlet Colour Changing
Ring Light
£13.99 HERE
Now I was unsure whether to include this because my idea is to try this out as an actual ring light for my blog photography because if it works it will be the best thing ever! However I just don't know if it will be bright enough and if it's not, if I could replace the bulb with a much brighter white LED bulb. So I will be buying this to see if it's possible and if it is I will definitely let you know in a future eBay post while it's still available to buy! This could seriously be an amazing solution for the dull weather days come autumn/winter! Fingers crossed!
Caramel Frappe - all iPhone models
£4.95 HERE
Okay, my eBay phone case obsession may be getting slightly out of hand now... but seriously how can I resist buying them when they go and be this cute?! This is slightly more than I would normally spend, yes I'm frugal, but I just don't care because I've never seen a phone case like this and I love the illustrations and the fact it's actually a recipe for a caramel frappe! Soooo adorable. Apple Pie design also in the listing.
Eyelash Flat Sequin Shoes
£14.65 HERE
I love my quirky flat shoes and as soon as I saw these they went straight on my watch list. These are 'dupes' for the Chiara Ferragni flats... just not priced at £250+! Of course slightly different in the shape but overall they are very similar indeed. Really fun and perfect with jeans! Also available in silver, size 2.5-7.
So there you have it a selection of the random items on my eBay watch list - there's some gems, right?
Fee xo.
For a while now I'm been thinking I need to up my blog photography game and get a few new props. But then it came to me... why not do some DIY crafts and make my own props instead!
I don't like to blow my own trumpet, but these 4 DIY blog props turned out better than expected and literally took me no time at all! My personal favourites are the confetti ( actually fun to make!) and the DIY marble tray - let me know your favourite props in the comments!
Lets get DIY-ing!
1. DIY Hole Punched Confetti
So, this couldn't be any simpler! Grab some coloured paper or card and get hole punching with a hole puncher! Okay, I decided to get a bit fancy and threw in some wedding table decoration hearts for good measure, but you could literally cut up different shapes and have a random ol' mix of DIY multi-coloured confetti to sprinkle over blog backgrounds.
As you can see sprinkled around my quirky looking Furiously Happy book it's a lovely fun effect!
2. DIY Dried Flowers
Okay okay, so I cheated here a teeny bit.... dammit, I bought these from eBay! BUT in my defence pressing your own flowers and drying them out is definitely a craft project you could do, I just didn't have the time! You simply need either a stack of heavy books or better still, a wooden flower press. This all feels very nostalgic as me and my sister use to enjoy pressing flowers when we were children and would collect all sorts of dainty flowers from our garden - it's actually a really nice hobby/craft for any age come to think of it.
I picked up these gorgeous dried rose petals, that smell amazing, for only £2.20 (15g) on eBay here. I wasn't sure on the weight but trust me you receive more than enough!
Perfect for delicate looking blog images along side makeup or skincare products.
3. DIY Marble Blogger Tray
This is possibly the DIY blog prop I'm most excited to share with you as the idea came to me last week and I couldn't wait to try it out!
Taking some Marble contact paper (you can find a roll from eBay here for £6.99 or an A4 sheet (light grey) for £1.90 here. Also available in some hardware stores) simply apply it to the hard back of an old photo frame. It's totally up to you if you want to include the glass or not but to avoid reflection I decided to leave it out. This makes such an inexpensive marble tray and depending on the frame and size it can look as if you bought it!
For a confetti marble tray, simply keep the glass in, sprinkle your DIY confetti over it and then place your DIY marble backing and secure down. It really couldn't be any easier!
4. DIY Print-outs
Fancy some free prints to use in your blog backgrounds? Yes, me too!
Thankfully there are a lot of talented people on the Internet who like to share free things. So I simply did a search (Pinterest is good for free printables!) for some free Fall prints and found these amazing fall images (you can find them here).
You could of course just print them straight out and they would be pretty much free but I decided to get them professionally printed for only £2.50 including delivery for around 8 prints! Bargain, right? I'm done this many times with prints to hang around my home and always use Truprints (find them here!) as they offer a matte finish option which make them look much more like a print rather than a photo! Prints start from only 5p so it's an inexpensive way to get some props for your blog backgrounds and some art to frame while you're at it! Currently 15% off order as well.
A selections of my favourite free art print printables -
Stop And Smell The Roses, Watercolour Chanel Liptick, Bloggers Gonna Blog,
You Cannot Walk A Straight Line
So there you have it! My four DIY Blog Prop ideas!
I literally feel like Martha Stewart now and want to try even more crafts!
Let me know if you make any of these - I'd love to see them!
Fee xo.
The thing I love most about blogging is the photography side of it, I get to be as creative as I like and that makes me happy. Basically I love a good flat lay.
But I totally get that some of you don't!
Blog photography is literally back breaking work (okay, not literally, but nearly), natural lighting is beyond temperamental and understanding how to get the best out of a camera can be tricky not to mention boring. So that's why I've decided to give you a few free* high quality stock images that you can do as you wish with (for personal use only) - blog posts, cropped for social media... whatever you like! Basically I love giving away free stuff to help fellow bloggers and I realised I haven't created anything since my Free Printable Weekly Blog Planner way over a year ago now!
*If you ever want to repay my kindness and find yourself visiting the U.S feel free to pick me up a zillion Bath & Body Works candles! I joke... but seriously if you want to I won't stop you.
Please Credit!
Of course I'd LOVE if you could credit my blog if you use any of the images, just a tiny 'source – Makeup Savvy' linked to back to my homepage or this post. But if you don't I won't hunt you down, I'm cool like that. Anyway, so here are the 10 styled stock images in 4 swanky themes – Makeup, Lifestyle, Girl Boss and Seasonal (Autumn!). Simply right click over the image and 'Save Image As...'.
You can also find ideas of how to style/use these free lifestyle stock images at the bottom of the post - enjoy!
You can also find ideas of how to style/use these free lifestyle stock images at the bottom of the post - enjoy!
Makeup Stock Images
Lifestyle Stock Images
Girl Boss Stock Images
Seasonal Stock Images
How to get the most use out of these styled stock photos
You could always leave the images plain but below I've given you a few rough ideas on how to could use text with them. Images with a fine white inner boarder always look great and of course modern calligraphy fonts (DaFont.com do some good free ones!) make any image creative and done. My personal favourite has to be the Autumn stock image with rose gold foil text!
As mentioned feel free to use these how you wish – Blog posts, Instagram, Facebook, cropped as sidebar buttons for your social media platforms etc etc. With a little credit back to myself or if you want a cheeky pin of this post on Pinterest because I'm getting into it – finally!
Really hope you can make use of these styled stock images!
Fee xo.
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