How To Experiment With Flat Lay Photograph Backgrounds
Yesterday during a beauty blogger Twitter chat (yes, that's a thing! #bbloggers) we were discussing tips for taking good photographs and I mentioned how I'm experimenting with backdrops that I bought from a hardware store. Um... excuse me, wat? came the response from fellow bloggers. So, I thought I'd just quickly explain what I've been trying. Getting your background right is essential for any kind of blog photo, especially the close-ups and flat lays required for beauty blogging. A plain white or a marble background have become almost a cliche in beauty blogging, but damn they make things look classy on your blog, as well as on Instagram and Pinterest. The chances of having the perfect white table or marble kitchen counter, and the perfect light upon them are possible, but if not, here's a blog hack for you.
Your local hardware store, like B&Q or Homebase, will sell rolls of adhesives that people use to cover their kitchen counters (hmm, fake marble, classy!). I picked up the monochrome marble and the beige marble (above) for around £8 a roll. I also got a roll of patent white, which helpfully reflects light, and I got some other whites with patterns on (these are window adhesives) to play with texture. It means I can have different backgrounds, and take them wherever I need to in my house to catch the best light at certain times of day. I use paperweights to hold down the edge of the roll, take my shots, and then roll it up and go. You can also find these rolls of adhesives on Amazon, you can get get wooden backgrounds, or metallic ones. The possibilities are many, and I'm enjoying playing around. Here's some of the results, let me know if you already do this, or if you think you might try it x