If you’ve been on Pinterest to plan your wedding – I’m sure you’ve seen all the GORGEOUS flatlay shots floating around. You know, the ones where your invitation suite, shoes, rings, perfume, and flowers are all laid out?
While I love having a documentary approach to your wedding day – sometimes taking the time to lay out all of the details that you’ve planned out can be a really fun detail to add to your gallery. That being said though, there’s definitely an art to it and it takes a bit more planning and time to get those shots perfect.
What is needed to execute a gorgeous flatlay shot:
I highly suggest getting a box (a shoe box usually works great!) to collect all of these items in. It’ll make things 100% easier if when I get there you know exactly where all of your details are in one, easy spot.
- Your Invitation Suite
- You’ll notice that a lot of these detail shots have an invitation suite that has a lot of elements involved. This will help your flatlay look very full, so if these shots are important to you I suggest going with a fuller invitation suite.
- Rings
- Both your engagement ring, wedding band, and your partner’s band(s). Also, don’t forget to get your rings cleaned before the big day~
- Jewelry
- Earrings, bracelets, necklaces, etc.
- Perfume / Cologne
- It doesn’t matter if it’s a large bottle or the roller ball!
- Lipstick
- This one isn’t necessary but it does add a fun touch!
- Shoes
- If you’re changing your shoes at some point throughout the night – make sure you have both ready for these!
- Florals
- If you want a very elaborate detail shot like a lot of the ones in this post, be sure to ask your florist for extra florals (the more the better). It’s also important to let them know that I will be cutting the florals apart, so they won’t be able to use them for anything after the details.
- Vow Books
- This is also an important thing to have for your ceremony if you’re reading your own vows – nobody wants a picture of themselves holding a cell phone during their ceremony.
- Any additional details:
- Have something special from a family member or any other additional little details that are special to your wedding day – set them aside for me, too!
Things I’ll bring to help with your detail shots:
Aside from all of YOUR specific details, I have a full detail kit that I will bring along to your wedding day to help photograph your details. This kit includes things like:
- A styling mat
- Sometimes there’s no good surface to photograph your details on, so I have a gorgeous, neutral, two-sided mat that I bring with me to weddings.
- Loads of ring-boxes
- While sometimes the box your rings come in is super gorgeous, sometimes it’s not. So I have a collection of velvet ring boxes in different colors, shapes, and sizes to help me get the best shots of your rings.
- Tons of random dishes
- Which helps in photographing your small details like other jewelry.
- Ribbon
- I have a large collection of ribbons in different colors and textures to help spice up your flatlay shot.
Other things I need from you:
On top of all of the specific details, it’s important to note that if these shots are important to you, I need at least 45min – an hour in your timeline (usually right at the beginning) to do these. While that might sound like a long time, trust me these types of shots take time to lay out. Aside from the actual time, making sure that your getting ready spot has a good, clean spot with NATURAL light is available too.
It’s also very important that you give me a list of vendors for all of your items that I’ll be photographing.
VENDORS:
Invitation Suites: Sal Studios, Summit and Sage, Eros Studios
Florists: Mini Blooms by Emil, Flowers by Lexi Lou
Styling Mat: Chasing Stone
Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Looking for these type of detail shots at your own wedding?
Reach out here.
x B
