# Top-down (flat lay)

Camera / Angle / Height. Checked 2026-10-13.

Turns a table into a layout: objects become shapes in a graphic arrangement.

- Use when: Food, products laid out, unboxing, a workspace.
- Phrase: top-down shot, the camera straight above the table looking down, the objects laid flat on the surface
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/angle/top-down
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/angle/top-down.json

## Watch out

- Counts of named objects and positions on a grid land (three cups, the plate in the centre). Margins and spacing in numbers do not; fix exact layout in the edit. (measured; Director Chair field notes on image prompting)

## Prompts

### Nano Banana Pro

```
[your subject] in [your setting]. Capture the scene from a direct top-down, bird's-eye perspective, flattening the depth to emphasize the geometric arrangement of the elements below.
```

### Nano Banana 2

```
[your subject] in [your setting]. Capture the scene from a direct top-down, bird's-eye perspective, flattening the depth to emphasize the geometric arrangement of the elements below.
```

### GPT Image 2.5

```
A photograph of [your subject] in [your setting].
People and framing: top-down shot, the camera straight above the table looking down, the objects laid flat on the surface
Exclusions: no extra text, no watermark, no logo.
```

### Seedream 5

```
[your subject] in [your setting]. Top-down shot, the camera straight above the table looking down, the objects laid flat on the surface.
```

### Seedance 2.5

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
First frame: top-down shot, the camera straight above the table looking down, the objects laid flat on the surface
Shot 1 (0:00 to 0:05): one continuous shot
```

### Seedance 2.0

```
Scene: [your subject] in [your setting].
First frame: top-down shot, the camera straight above the table looking down, the objects laid flat on the surface
Shot 1: one continuous shot
```

### Kling 3.0

```
[your subject]. The scene is [your setting]. Top-down shot, the camera straight above the table looking down, the objects laid flat on the surface.
```

### Veo 3.1

```
Top-down shot, the camera straight above the table looking down, the objects laid flat on the surface. [your subject] in [your setting]. Framing and subject stay as in the start image.
```

## Look further

- https://shotdeck.com/ : real film examples of this angle (paid, link only)
- https://flim.ai/ : film, ad and music-video stills of this angle (free tier, link only)
- https://aicameracontrol.com/ : a free 3D stage that sets this value and writes it into the prompt

## Goes well with

- High angle: https://directorchair.ai/angle/high-angle
- Bird's-eye view: https://directorchair.ai/angle/birds-eye-view
- Insert shot: https://directorchair.ai/shot/insert-shot

## Source

Own words, from the first Director Chair spec and Director Chair field notes on video prompting; pitfalls from the sources named per pitfall

Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.