Food Photography: Correcting your White Balance

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Let me start by saying I am no authority on food photography. I am such a novice in fact that I am currently enrolled in an Introduction to Photography class and I have only actually attended one class to date! That being said I have worked really hard to start learning more about my camera and how it works vs. how light works. I’m confident that even though I am not the best photographer, I take photos that are appetizing and appealing. Of course with the class I am hoping that my abilities/knowledge continues to grow so I can take better and better photos. Then maybe I will work my way onto the top page of foodgawker instead of landing somewhere in the middle of the group like I normally do.

So let’s be more clear about what I mean about correcting your white balance.

This is a photo taken in my photo studio with my lightboxes at 1:00 pm on an overcast day. IMG_0616

Yikes. I mean. Wow, that is pretty bad. Not the worst of course. I am still using a photo setup, have professional lightboxes and a great camera after all. 🙂 But yeah, there is some serious blue action going on in this photo.

Now lets add the white balance filter to the camera and set the white balance to a custom setting based on it.

IMG_1490
Completely unedited, the lighting already looks MUCH better. Here is the final shot of the Sprinkles Birthday Cake Cookies after about 10 seconds in Photoshop…Chewy, crispy delicious cookies that taste like a delicious birthday cake covered in sprinkles! A perfect treat for a birthday lunch or a birthday party dessert table, these cookies will put a huge smile on your face.
My only adjustments I made in this photo were to adjust the Shadows in the photo and added about 4 points of contrast. The most important thing to note here is no blue tint anymore. Getting that blue out of the photo in Photoshop is a huge task. When I have been rejected from Foodgawker, every single one has been for lighting/exposure issues. I HIGHLY suggest if you are working on your photography, getting something to help you set your white balance so your whites are actually white.

The White Balance Filter is actually super easy to use and quick to add to your camera settings. You hold it up in front of your lens as you are focused in on your shot. Take the picture. Turn your camera settings to a manual setting. Then in your camera’s menu, go to white balance settings. Select custom and “set” according to the photo of the filter. DONE! I was nervous before it arrived it would be difficult to use. It turned out to be SO EASY. I keep it in my camera bag at all times now.

While we are at it, I thought I would give you guys a quick rundown of what my setup actually is!

  1. Card Table
  2. Wood Planks
  3. Marble Tiles
  4. Limostudio Lightboxes
  5. Posterboard Backdrops
  6. Heavy Duty Clamps
  7. Dolica Tripod
  8. Canon Camera t5i
  9. JJC White Balance Filter
  10. Canon 50mm Lens
  11. Reflectors
  12. Camera Remote Control
  13. Padded Canon Camera Bag

As I write up more posts about my photography setup and learn more about using my camera, I will definitely go into more detail about these items. If you have any questions about any of these items, please feel free to email me or leave a comment below! I am happy to answer any questions I can.

Hope that helps! Tune back in tomorrow for another recipe! Until then, I hope you are having an amazing long weekend and you are going to fill up on lots of BBQ eats tomorrow!

Sabrina

 

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

    1. My pleasure! I was so excited about it after my first shoot I bumped this post into place instead of the one I had planned for today!