Pregnancy Announcement Flat Lay Tips

If you’ve spent any amount of time on Instagram or Pinterest, then chances are you’ve seen lots of beautiful flat lays - those attention-grabbing photos with collections of items shot from directly above. Sure, a flat lay is a fun way to commemorate an impressive brunch spread, a coffee and laptop scene, or just some of your favorite things, but it’s also a simple and beautiful way to do a pregnancy announcement or gender reveal! Rather than booking a full photoshoot, a pregnancy announcement flat lay is a fun, low-key, DIY way to celebrate your new babe and incorporate elements that have special meaning to your family.

A lot of you reach out to us for help putting together elements for photo shoots and pregnancy announcements (hello baby shoes and teethers!), so we wanted to give you the full scoop on how to make sure your pregnancy announcement flat lay turns out exactly as you envisioned and preserve the excitement of this season. Here are a few flat lay tips we gathered in collaboration with one of our favorite photographers, Crystal Hollman of Crystal Clear Photography!

Photo: @wet_blanket

Find the right lighting: Pick your photo shoot location based on lighting and move your surface to that spot. Typically, you’ll be shooting inside your house, so choose a room that has bright, indirect light. A cloudy day helps diffuse the light, but if sun is streaming directly in, sheer white curtains can help avoid harsh light.  If your house doesn’t have much in the way of natural light, find a shady spot outside or wait for a cloudy day. Again, this will help you avoid harsh light and shadows.

Choose a backdrop: When in doubt, a plain white or neutral background is a great choice! Crystal recommends buying a simple white craft board like the Elmer’s poster board that you can find for a few dollars at any craft store. You can also consider other spots around the house for backdrops, like a pretty wooden table or floor. A photo looking down into the crib is perfect for a gender reveal flat lay - plus you can show off those adorable crib sheets and blankets you got for your little one! No matter what, you’ll also want to get a white craft board to use as a light balance. This helps avoid any weird shadows and reflects light onto your flat lay. Arrange the board in an L-shape as shown below.

Choose your props: The key to choosing items for a flat lay is to select a main element to use as the focal point and then choose props that complement it. For example, in a pregnancy announcement flat lay, an ultrasound, letterboard announcement, or pair of baby shoes might be the focal point. Then grab a variety of items to add visual interest. This could be a garland or banner, baby accessories like pretty teething rings or bottles, a sweet romper, a diaper bag, even a serving tray! Shop your house and you’ll likely find lots of cute supporting props! Crystal also suggests adding some greenery of any kind - a succulent from around the house, eucalyptus, flowers, even just some greenery from around the yard!

A few of our picks? This gender-neutral romper and these cute wood teethers are perfect for a pregnancy announcement, this sweet bow and flutter sleeve romper for a classic pink gender reveal, or these leather oxfords and linen romper for a blue themed gender reveal!

Arrange Your Flat Lay - Rules of Thumb: The key to an aesthetically pleasing arrangement is balance, both in the number and the colors of the flat lay. Odd numbers of items are best for achieving this balance. As mentioned before, you’ll want to pick a main item, then arrange items around it that direct attention to the part of the image you want to highlight. For example, if you have a pink item on one side of your main item, you may want to add another pink item on the opposite side to bring balance to the image. Play around with a few different arrangements until you find what you like!

Edit Your Images: To put the finishing touches on your pregnancy announcement flat lay, you’ll want to adjust the image with an editing tool. If you’re not a Photoshop wiz, not to worry! Crystal suggests editing your images with the app Snapseed, or if you want a bit more of a challenge, VSCO. If you’d like to use preset filters, the Adobe Lightroom CC app offers lot of presets, including many you can purchase.  The key to making your photos look exactly how you envisioned? Crystal says it’s all about making adjustments after you apply the presets. Play with the brightness and contrast to get things just right since no image is exactly the same as another.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us, Crystal! If you want more tips, you can get her guide on the 6 reasons why your photos aren’t working and tips to fix it fast or connect with her on Instagram! As always, if you need to run flat lay ideas by someone or are looking for suggestions on what to include, give us a shout or slide into our DMs. We'd love to help!