Confident creativity starts with your phone. Simple, powerful ideas to help you grow your phone photography skills, tell visual stories that matter, and unlock your creativity in everyday life. One weekly e-mail at a time.
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Week 27: The Secret to Gorgeous Flatlay Lighting (No Fancy Gear Needed)
Published 27 days ago • 2 min read
LEVEL UP YOUR PHONE PHOTOGRAPHY
WITH GABRIELLE TOUCHETTE
•••
Welcome to Week 27 of 2025!
In today's e-mail, you'll get:
TIP OF THE WEEK: An Advanced Lighting Lesson
PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Waiting For The Decisive Moment
RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE: A Visual and Sound Feast in Paris
TIP OF THE WEEK
Manipulating Available Light
I think you're ready for a more advanced lighting lesson today.
I'll show you how to control natural light so you can create the exact look you want for your flatlay photos.
First, let's see if you can spot the difference:
Photo 1
Photo 1 has natural window light on the right. Notice the dark shadows on the left of the pastries and cutting boards. This creates deeper blacks and a higher contrast look (moody).
Photo 2
Photo 2 also has natural window light on the right, but a white reflector was added on the left to bounce light. This brightens up the shadows and creates a more even lighting across the pastries.
Neither Photo 1 or Photo 2 is better than the other. It's a matter of deciding what kind of lighting you want for your photo.
If you stick with one light source (for example, just one window on the side) you'll get a moodier, higher contrast lighting like in Photo 1.
If you add a second light source (like a white reflector) on the opposite side of the main source of light, you neutralize some of the deeper, darker shadows and create a more uniform light across the image like in Photo 2. This brightens things up and makes it less high contrast.
I used dollar store white boards and taped them together:
Photo 2 was taken with these white reflectors.
This is a great way of manipulating available light without having to use studio lights or finding locations that have multiple windows.
Next time you're doing a flatlay, bring your subject close to a large window and try these reflectors. Experiment with them in and out, and see which lighting results you prefer!
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
The Decisive Moment
One of my favourite photographers, Henri Cartier-Bresson, is known for his incredible ability to capture "the decisive moment". This is the precise moment when all the visual and emotional elements in a scene come together in a split second to tell a powerful story. His photos have a lot of impact because of this.
I try to incorporate "the decisive moment" in my photos as much as I can, and I hope this inspires you to try it as well.
Next time you're taking photos of a scene, think about waiting a few seconds to let the story unfold, and at just the right time, take the shot.
This might be waiting for someone to be mid-air in a jump. Not standing on the dock, not in the splash, but just before.
RESOURCES YOU MIGHT LIKE
When in Paris...
This is not a photo, but a video showing a stunning visual (and sound) feast! I know you appreciate visual arts, so when I came across this art installation, I knew I had to include it in today's e-mail. Absolutely stunning work by Céleste Boursier-Mougenot in Paris. I would love to go there to photograph it!
Hi I'm Gabrielle! I run a full time photography business in Winnipeg, specializing in portrait and commercial photography. This newsletter started with my passion for helping everyday people realize their full photography potential. With a bit of technical and creative help, you too can take better photos with the phone camera you already have.
Confident creativity starts with your phone. Simple, powerful ideas to help you grow your phone photography skills, tell visual stories that matter, and unlock your creativity in everyday life. One weekly e-mail at a time.
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