#1 Pick A Theme

#2 Backdrops Can Make Or Break

The right backdrop can make a huge difference to your clicks. The foundation of a good flatlay is the backdrop on which you create your composition. There are lots of items of daily use all around you that can make for great backgrounds for your flatlays - from wooden table tops and marble counters to throws & blankets or solid colored bedsheets. Not to mention rolls of chart paper, handmade paper or even newspaper.

Wooden furniture/boards add a dose of rustic charm to any flaylay. White backdrops - be it paper, fabric , marble or anything else - can make any product/props come alive. Pretty solid-colored papers are great for backgrounds, specially for product photography. Chunky knits, cardigans, fuzzy blankets, crochet throws are great backdrop options too. Choose colors that juxtapose the product & make it stand out. 

#3 Choose Props Wisely

What's a flatlay without the most appealing props??? Every flatlay will have the main products and a plethora of complementing props to create an aesthetic composition. From beauty products & jewellery to stationery & even food items, your own home is a treasure trove of pretty props if you know where to look! Try to have one main product as the focus and use other complementary props around it to create an aesthetic composition. 

The easiest and prettiest props you can add to any flaylay are touches of green through plants & leaves or bursts of color with flowers. If you are looking for glamorous flatlay products, you don't need to look further than your jewellery box. Cosmetics, toiletries and make-up products are commonly found in all homes and make for great props. Bags, pouches, sunglass cases & similar items can add a stylish touch to your flatlay compositions. Food items are aesthetic products as flatlay subjects - be it fresh fruits & veggies or nuts, cookies & chocolates or everyone's favorite tea or coffee! Also, all the gadgets you use in your daily life can double up as flatlay props.

#4 Give Importance To Styling

The aesthetics of a pretty flatlay depends highly on the composition and styling of the shot. The arrangement of the elements used is what makes the flatlay visually appealing. The ideal way to create the composition is to decide the primary product and then add the complementing props. Playing around with the position of props can give you variety in the composition. Even though there are no hard & fast rules, there are some techniques & arrangements like the Rule of Thirds & the Golden Ratio that ensure a balanced composition for photography. 

While clicking flatlays, you also need to give importance to the basic elements of photography like shapes, form, textures, colors and space. Harmony and balance play a big role in the aesthetic composition of your flatlays. While composing any flatlay, first try out various arrangements and see which one looks best to your eye. If needed, look at the frame through your lens - be it a phone or a camera - to understand how your final picture will look, and create the composition accordingly. The way you align the products, the amount of negative space you leave, the juxtaposition of colors - all contribute in the aesthetic allure of the final composition.

#5 Right Lighting & Good Editing

The right lighting makes a lot of difference to any flatlay shot. Most alluring flatlay pictures have soft & broad lighting which creates an overall brightness without casting very strong & sharp shadows. Natural light is one of the best ways of making sure your flatlays look bright & pretty. While clicking flatlays with artificial light, one needs to take care that the light source isn't too harsh or too close to the setup. 

If you don't edit your photos right, then you are not taking them to their full potential. From cropping your frames to get the right composition, to working on the brightness & white balance, proper editing is just what you need to give that perfect finishing touch to your aesthetic flatlay clicks. There are a whole host of editing softwares like Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom which you can use on your laptop of desktop to professionally edit your photos. Some of the most popular free editing apps are VSCO, Lightroom & Snapseed.

With the arrival of 2021, Durafits has brought in an entire range of shapewear products to enhance the beauty of women. The shapewear market is a very competitive one, and consumers can find a large number of choices. In such a situation, it often becomes difficult for them to make an informed decision. Due to a lack of technical knowledge about shapewear, they often find themselves in the dark while making a decision regarding the better brand to buy.

There are many factors that make a brand the ultimate place to look for shapewear. Some of them are:

• Comfort - The best shapewear for women helps them attain a body they had dreamt of. It enhances the beauty of their bodies and improves their sense of self-worth massively. But while doing so, how important is the comfort factor? If women are uncomfortable in the shapewear they choose, it most probably is a wrong choice. Shapewear is to be worn on a variety of occasions and compromising on comfort should never be a choice that women should make. Durafits shapewear beats the competition hands down when it comes down to comfort and this is one of the most important reasons why it is so preferred by women all around.

• Stretchability - A shapewear should be designed in such a way that it can accentuate the desired parts while hiding the excess fats. For it to be perfectly functional, shapewear need to have a high degree of stretchability. Lack of stretchability can lead to uneven body shapes and also increased discomfort. Durafits are experts in the manufacture of shapewear. Their technical expertise and knowledge have created some of the best shapewear in the market.

• Colors and Textures - Let us be honest here. No clothing item should be bland in color or uncomfortable in texture. Shapewear should be as attractive as the clothes you wear outside, both to touch and feel. Attractive colors are a must, given the fact that shapewear is worn by women on all sorts of occasions. Unattractive colors and coarse textures should be avoided at all costs when it comes to shapewear.

They are extremely comfortable to wear as well and available in a wide variety of colors and textures. They are also extremely useful for women who have just undergone surgeries as they are easy on the skin with high levels of stretchability which provides comfort.

Shapewear is a necessity for women today. As they enter into the workforce and become more independent, they have every right to want to look the best they can. And shapewear is the answer to their needs. 

There's something magical about ruins.

History has seeped in through each crevice and each crumbling stone tells a hundred enchanting stories about the past. 

I've always been fascinated by the beauty of those broken buildings that emit as much grandeur in their crumbling state as they used to do back in their day. Exploring ruins, touching those history-steeped surfaces, knowing more about the people who inhabited those walls when they were standing tall fills me with a sense of awe that very few things can.

So, when I went to Jordan (few years back), I was ecstatic to experience some of the most magnificent ruins all over the country! The ruins in Jordan vary in architecture & culture - from the Roman amphitheatres of Jerash to the rock-cut ruins of Petra built by the Bedouins to the holy Christian ruins at Mt. Nebo; there's a wide variety of history-rich monuments to explore and get mesmerized by. And so I thought, that these magnificent ruins deserve a separate post for my fellow travel enthusiasts & ruin-lovers out there.

1. Roman Ruins at Jerash

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Jordan, the Greco-Roman ruins in Jerash are sprawled over a wide area that can be explored by foot over 3-4 hours. The imposing Hadrian's Arch or Triumphal Arch, built AD 129, will welcome you into the ruin complex if you enter from the southern end. The central attraction of the site is the forum which is oblong in shape, with the paved limestone plaza surrounded by 56 Ionic columns that make for great photo-ops. 

The main thoroughfare of the old city runs on one side. It is a colonnaded street that still flaunts the original paved stones over which chariots used to run back in the day. There's also a small museum which showcases the history of Jerash and has an impressive collection of old artefacts from the site.

Tickets: 8 JD or free entry if you have the Jordan Pass

Guides: You can get good guides at around 20-25 JD near the ticket counter

2. Ancient Ruins of Petra

When one says 'Jordan', the first thing that comes to mind is the famous rose-hued archaeological ruins of Petra. Built more than 2000 years ago by the Nabateans, the ruins at Petra are not only a World Heritage Site, but also included in the list of the New Wonders Of The World!

Tickets: If you are staying overnight in Petra - 50 JD for 1 day, 55 JD for 2 days, 60 JD for 3 days
              If you are a day visitor in Petra - 90 JD

Guides: 50-100 JD depending upon what monuments you want to cover

3. Ruins of Ajloun Castle

The crumbling facade of the castle & the broken towers lend an aura of rustic appeal to these 12th century ruins. The medieval Arab military architecture makes this castle an interesting tourist attraction. The ruins are well-preserved and perfectly safe for exploration even without guides or local help.

The fascinating remains of the biblical structures can be seen, preserved by the modern outer structure of the renovated buildings - you can ogle at intricate mosaic floors dating back to 1400 years, marvel at the beauty of gorgeous stained-glass windows and get impressed by the well-preserved excavated ruins strewn around the complex. 
Even if you are not someone who is interested in holy pilgrimages or historical sites, you can still enjoy the stunning panoramic view of the Dead Sea & the Desert of Judah from the top of the mountain. 

The most prominent feature of these ruins are the Roman pillars of the Temple of Hercules which still stand strong & victorious through hundreds & thousands of years of history. You can walk around and explore the ruins, and even check out some of the underground caves/hideouts if you are feeling adventurous.

The Citadel also houses a small but impressive Archeological Museum, behind which lies another attraction - the Umayyad Palace. The ruins of these 8th-century royal & residential buildings have been excavated by archaeologists since the 1920s. You can see the majestic domed audience hall and an ancient cistern that used to be the source of water supply for the area in days of yore.

Love,
Anupriya