Tell us a little bit about yourself and your wedding photography business!
"We are a husband and wife destination wedding photography team based in Charleston, SC. Our workflow includes digital photography, drone photography, with the option of adding on film photography. We love weddings both big, and small. Our aim is to create emotion-driven images that lay out a narrative throughout each wedding day."
How long have you been shooting weddings, when did you start incorporating flat lays?
"I’ve been shooting weddings for 12 years. Flat lays became an irreplaceable part of our work about 6 years ago."
How long do you like to reserve for morning detail photos?
"We typically allot a full 45 minutes just for flat lays, making sure to arrive early to say hello and get together every detail. Depending on what we have to work with we do anywhere from 3-6 unique designs."
How do you prepare your clients for wedding flat lays? Do you ask for anything specific? Any tips for being prepared?
"Discussions about flat lays are usually a part of most of our initial calls with clients. We make sure to feature them prominently on our website, marketing, and social channels. When clients reach out and our interested in our services, more often than not they mention our flat lays as one of their main points of interest. We also always include a link to our blog post specifically about this! Setting the Scene: Key Details to Have Ready for Your Wedding Photographer’s Flat Lay Images"
Let’s get into the technical side of shooting stunning flat lays . What camera(s) do you shoot with? What is your preferred lens for detail photos
"We shoot with a Sony A1, fixed with a 50mm."
What aperture do you like to shoot at?
"This depends on the effect we want to achieve. We often jump back and forth between being super wide open and also utilizing a very high aperture."
Any tips for how you find/make good light for flat lays?
"If wind and temperature isn’t an issue, outside in open shade is usually our preferred spot. However, you can usually find some ground space inside near a window that has consistent light. We also travel with a large diffuser and can make it work pretty much anywhere under the sun."
What are your go to items for flat lays?
"Besides out collection of ring boxes from Styling Archives, we bring a variety of stamps, dishes (some sourced from our travels abroad!), ribbon, scissors to chop down flowers to the perfect size and a gardening kneel pad so I can comfortably style each flat lay."
How do you feel adding flat lays to your portfolio has affected your photography business?
"Flat lays help to tell a more complete narrative story. They are often at the front/top of a delivered gallery. They both set the stage for the overall aesthetic of the wedding, and help highlight important details like family heirlooms and wedding bands."
Any advice for someone just starting out?
"Practice, practice, practice. It took years to get to a point where we were both skilled, and fast enough to complete flat lays on the morning of a wedding. When you have some down time, get flowers from the grocery store, and old invitations to practice at home."
