Perspective & height
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Aerial: shoot flat lays straight down

Straight down. Flat lay, plates, desks — the subject in the middle, and the plate or table edge drawn when the camera finds it.

What it is

The overhead or flat-lay view turns a table into a flat, graphic surface. With the phone pointing straight down, depth disappears and shapes, colours and spacing do all the work, which is why it suits plates, bowls, desks and arranged objects. Centring a single subject gives a calm, deliberate picture, and a round plate becomes a clean circle. The angle has to be close to 90 degrees, because even a slight tilt shows the sides of things and makes the layout look lopsided.

When to use it

Pizza, salads and bowls on a table
Flat lays of clothes, tools or stationery
Desks and craft projects seen from above

How to shoot it

Stand over the table and point the phone straight down, parallel to the surface. A chair or a step helps for a big spread.
Camera Grid draws a centre cross and a target circle in the middle, plus the plate or table edge when the camera finds it.
Move until the filled marker for your subject sits in the circle. If the coach says “Look further down”, tip the phone closer to flat.
Zooming to about 1.5× to 2.5× lets you hold the phone higher, which helps keep your own shadow off the table.
The ring locks green with a tap once the angle, the centring and the size are right.

Common mistakes

Holding the phone at a slight angle, which shows the sides of cups and makes the layout look tipped.
Casting your own shadow across the table with the light behind you.
Centring one item among three or more, when a triangle or a pair would say more.

Questions

How do you take a flat lay photo with an iPhone?

Use soft, even light, arrange your items on a plain surface, and hold the phone directly above them, parallel to the table. Keep the edges tidy and leave some space around the group. Camera Grid reads the phone's angle and tells you when it is close enough to straight down.

What is the difference between Aerial and Table-Top 45°?

Aerial is shot straight down, so the scene becomes flat shapes. Table-Top 45° looks down at an angle and shows height and a bit of background. Camera Grid reads how you are holding the phone and offers the one that matches your angle.