Mega Flat Lay Tutorial Round Up!

mega list of flat lay tutorials via besotted

We know how popular flat lays are right now for social media and we also know how difficult they are to achieve even though they seem like they should be easy (they aren’t). We have plans to do a tutorial soon on what we have learned, but in the interim we did a round-up of flat lay tutorials for you, everything from photographing the flat lay to styling it, we have you covered on the editing front (which is usually equally as difficult as shooting the darn thing). The great news is that once you have a little practice under your belt, it gets a lot easier and a lot more fun (especially the sourcing props part).

If you have any tips or tricks to add or would like to add your own link for ‘inspiration’ please do so in the comments!

//RESOURCES//

Flat Lay 5 Ways (good one!)

Park & Cube Flat Lay How to (+ video)

Instagram Style Flat Lay

How to take a perfect flat lay

Master Flat Lay like a boss

Flat Lay Photo Styling Tips

The Perfect Flat Lay

Style a Better Flat Lay

DIY Flat Lay Workspace

How to Flat Lay by Mr. Gumbratron (video)

A Jewelry Designers take on Flat Lay

//INSPIRATION//

Flat lay/Composition

Minimal flat lays

Fashion Flat Lay

//SUPPLIES//

Stockholm | Clean x Minimal photo editing set

Photoshop CC

Wide angle lens

White board

Lights (optional)

Reflector (you can use your foam core board too)

Tripod

Stool

Putty

Tristan B. is the co-creator of the world’s best + easiest product photography editing tool-Foto Rx | Shopkeeper’s Helper and one of the writer’s of this delightful blog.

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The mega list of floral drawing tutorials

the mega lost of floral drawing tutorials

We’ve had some winter wonderland snow-filled days here in the PNW, and although they were stunningly beautiful I am aching for spring. Michelle and I decided to break out our sketch pads for a pattern we had in mind for our Photoshop pattern class using your own illustrations, but it quickly escalated into a floral sketching bonanza. I haven’t done any sketching in what seems like years, but I can tell you just taking a few minutes here and there to sketch with pencil and paper, the most humble of tools, has made me wildly excited about the possibilities of actually having a creative hobby that I could do with a toddler in tow.Read More

Kelle Sauer

kelle_sauer via besotted blog

Isn’t this mood board gorgeous?  There’s more where this came from, but not enough if you ask me, that is why I am writing this, in hopes that Ms. Sauer will add more mood boards for my delight (and I suppose for others as well;)  I found Kelle via instagram and loved her images–simple, filled with texture and lovely tones. So I thought I would do a little snooping and found out she has a blog, she doesn’t update much but when she does she writes completely from the heart–“I want my words to count, to be rich with meaning, so that no matter how few I speak, they will last. I want to take pictures that share my feelings, because that is what I do.”  and when she puts up these mood boards?  Total heart eyes. Enjoy!

//RESOURCES//

Kelle Sauer Journal

Kelle Sauer Portfolio

Kelle Sauer Instagram

Mood board tutorial Photoshop

Mood board templates 1 | 2 | 3

Free mood board templates

Miss Tristan B. is the co-creator of the world’s best + easiest product photography editing tool-Foto Rx | Shopkeeper’s Helper and one of the writer’s of this delightful blog. Her lofty goal here is to make this a creative resource repository and to inspire you to fall truly, madly, deeply in love with your life.

Quality art supplies make all the difference

Quality art supplies make all the difference!

Many years ago I had art school interns, one of them whom suggested that I’d probably love watercolor, because it was a forgiving medium. So one day I decided I would try it, I was at the drugstore and bought one of those multi-pans of watercolor that came with a brush and pulled out some copy paper from my printer. Do I need to even mention how my results were far from any expectation I had? Probably not, it was a disaster, a waste of time and money. Nowadays we have access to so many more resources on line but I thought I would do a quickie review of some supplies that might make your foray into trying a new art medium/skill a little more successful for the first time. It’s really not quantity, but quality and luckily quality art supplies are available in a range of affordable prices so you can try something new out without a huge investment.

Drawing/sketching

This is the most basic of mediums, all you really need is some pencils, paper and an eraser. The problem lies in a lot of people trying to sketch and draw with their trusty No. 02 pencil, using the eraser on the end of it and whatever paper is available.  This seems to be no problem for someone that already has some aptitude for drawing but for the newbie it could be both the beginning and end to a successful drawing career. I would suggest buying an inexpensive pack of pencils with different lead hardness. An eraser that won’t tear your paper or leave behind a residue or dye (like the pink eraser does) and a good sketching pad. These simple tools are a meager investment and can make a world of difference! If you follow any good drawing how-to book (here’s a fave) it should go over shading, having a soft pencil at your disposable makes it effortless to do so.

Modern Calligraphy

I can’t even tell you how many bad supplies and wrong nib types for what I wanted to accomplish. When I started exploring no one was sharing their supplies. It makes such a world of difference results wise and may even be the difference between quitting and pursuing further (we hope always that you do the latter).

//RESOURCES//

Drawing pencils

Drawing pencil set in case

Erasers

Metal pencil sharpener

Sketch pad

Travel sketch notebook

Modern Calligraphy Supplies

Modern Calligraphy Set (beginner)

Modern Calligraphy Set (intermediate)

Watercolor set with brush

Watercolor set in pans

Watercolor tube set (great gift set!)

Watercolor postcards (such small real estate, you can have so much fun tackling such a small project!)

kit shown Belle Calligraphy Kit

Author / Miss Tristan B

Miss Tristan B. is the co-creator of the world’s best + easiest product photography editing tool-Foto Rx | Shopkeeper’s Helper and one of the writer’s of this delightful blog. Her lofty goal here is to make this a creative resource repository and to inspire you to fall truly, madly, deeply in love with your life.