We have so many gorgeous photography backgrounds to choose from and we know that choosing can be difficult, so we'd thought we'd try alleviate the burden of having to make such a difficult life choice :)
Here are our top 5 tips to help you decide which style board is the right background for your products and overall brand image.
1.
Think about your brand image
Most importantly, you need to consider your product or service that you are selling, and make sure the style board is the right fit for your brand image.
This is because, ultimately, you are communicating a visual story to your community, so think carefully about what your photo will say about your brand.
For example, if you are a baby boutique selling delicate baby clothes and accessories in soft pastel shades, then you wouldn’t want to choose a dark slate or concrete background. You’d rather opt for classic white marble or whitewashed wood or our gold and pink hued boards to softly compliment your products, rather than add too much drama.
Photos courtesy of The Collective Boutique Namibia. Shot on our Marble 8 Pink Swirl Board above, and our Wood 9 Whitewashed White Banner below.
If you are an edgy and fashion-forward fashion brand, then choosing a dark background or highly textured background like concrete or plaster is a great fit. Look at the example below from Nicci Boutiques, using one of our banners - Texture 3 Concrete Plaster Grey - beautifully.
2. Choose according to COLOUR
Every brand and product is unique, but colour is the most visually noticeable. So it makes sense to remember a basic rule – follow your brand’s colour identity if it’s a strong part of your brand image.
Choose a neutral board if you’re adding presets to your images so that your flatlay shots will blend in beautifully with the rest of your feed.
Colour is also an important consideration when it comes to the products themselves – for example, if you sell brightly coloured children’s toys, then you’d want to opt for the more neutral colour style board background, to make sure they don’t confuse your audience or detract focus away from your product.
Our top advice? Filter our boards according to colour to narrow your search, and then take it from there.
3. Consider product vs service
Are you selling a physical product, or a service? Or are you communicating a narrative only?
If you sell a tangible product and want to focus on the product in your image, be sure to consider brand and product colours and brand image as mentioned above.
However, if you are communicating a narrative only, for example, you’re a travel blogger, a fashion influencer or mom entrepreneur, then you have more freedom with your background choices.
We suggest a gorgeous tiled background with exotic patterns and gorgeous colours that stand out, as well as adding a neutral option for your portfolio and playing around with different styling options.
Brands can most certainly do both of the above when posting content, which makes having more than one style board an absolute must!
Drop us a DM on Instagram, chat to us directly on whatsapp, or pop us an email on
info@flatlaystudio.co.za if you need help deciding! We’re happy to help.
4. Choose according to your broad business Category
We know there are countless businesses out there, all of whom could definitely do with a styling board to up their IG ante. We’ve listed three popular business categories below, with our best picks for styling boards that we think would enhance your brand image and make your IG feed even more WOW.
Jewellery
- Marble
- Wood
- Texture
- Plain Jane
Marble is a fave with our jewellers, but anything goes depending on the style of jewellery you create and sell.
A general rule, don’t pick a background that’s too busy – you wouldn’t want to lose your jewels on a bright and busy pattern.
Edgy jewels like those from Mink & Jack would look great on dark slate or concrete textured backgrounds. But engagement rings would need something softer, to communicate romanticism instead, hence marble being a favourite.
Food stylists or food bloggers
- Marble
- Wood
- Texture
- Plain Jane
- Tile
The versatility of food photography out there means that anything goes, depending on what type of food you’re snapping pics of, and depending on the message you want to send your audience.
For example, organic produce looks best on no-nonsense backgrounds that are as natural as possible – natural wood or an earthy stone textured background would showcase simplicity.
Clean, white marble is still a favourite because of its use in kitchens as countertops, setting a realistic scene for audiences.
At the beach and posting a snap of your fresh fish & chips meal? Whitewashed wood background is our top choice!
A general trend these days is for food stylists to use gorgeous dark stone, concrete or slate backgrounds to instantly make their food vibrant, and to add interest and drama to their image.
Clothing brands
- Marble
- Wood
- Texture
- Plain Jane
Again, one of the most versatile of products, your background can be changed according to seasons as well as different promotions.
For example, a selection of father’s day clothing items for sale would look good grouped together on a darker, masculine wood background or a strong, grey concrete.Whereas, a mother’s day promo would showcase products on a feminine background, whitewashed wood, pink marble, gold grunge or a plain Jane grey.
Avoid busy backgrounds if your clothes have patterns, and opt for the 1000mm x 800mm size vinyl flatlay so that you have more space to group your props.
Get in touch with us for quotes on larger sizes if you think you’ll need even more space.
5. Go with your gut.
Remember! You know the narrative of your brand better than anyone, so our best advice would be to focus on the story you want to communicate with your image, and make sure it resonates with your brand’s ethos and vision, and just go from there.
Still stuck?
Ask for help! Please get in touch with us via DM on IG or email us on info@flatlaystudio.co.za and we will be happy to help you choose the best board for you and your business to help you reach your goals!
We can also source different style boards for you in case we don’t have stock of what you need.
Flatlay Studio is a South African company that supplies photography style boards to your door, enabling you to take more beautiful pictures of your products & services & instantly uplift your brand. Our style boards are reusable & durable and portable.
We ship nationwide in 3-7 business days.
Be sure to tag @FlatlayStudio.co.za in your flatlay posts – we’d love to cheer you on and help celebrate your gorgeous flatlay photography!
