Food Photography Tip of the Week |13|

Your clothing + surroundings cast colors onto your food!

This is a simple tip to think about whenever you’re photographing food. I encounter clothing color issues numerous times per week because when I first wake up in the morning I’m not thinking about the color of my shirt. Also, I typically wear workout clothes throughout the day and the tops tend to be pretty vibrant.

The colors from your clothes basically bounce right onto your subject because you’re standing so close. Just like when you use a white board to bounce light or a black board to enhance shadows. If you’ve ever noticed your photos having a strange tint when you go to edit them it could have been due to what you were wearing. And while it is possible to color correct in Lightroom + Photoshop, it’s difficult—and sometimes impossible—to fully fix the photos.

However, it’s not only clothing that can affect the color temperature of your photos but your surroundings as well and sometimes even props. If you’re shooting close to or on the floor and you have yellow-orange color hardwood floors they will definitely throw color onto your subject. What about the color of your walls? Remember how in my kitchen the bottom half of the walls are a clay-orange color? Well, if I don’t have my photo table higher than that orange part of the wall my photos will 100% of the time have an orange hue. It’s amplified even more if I used a wood surface to shoot on since the wood has natural warm tones to it.

Example time.

Above: I was wearing a hot pink tank top that added a pink/purple hue to the white surface. It also added more orange/red saturation to the coconut and caramel.

Below: In this photo I was wearing a grey tank top which eliminated the oversaturation of the coconut and helped keep the background whiter.

Above: I was wearing the same pink tank top in the photo above which you can really tell by the white surface and the first 2 doughnuts.

Below: With a gray top the colors were much more natural. Scroll down and then back up to compare these two photos.

Above: In the photo above I was wearing a bright pink and slightly shiny workout top. It threw even more color than the matte pink tank top I was wearing in the previous photos. Check out my reflection in the spoon!! The tea towel is also glowing quite a bit and the pasta also has more of an orange tone to it.

Below: In the photo below I was wearing the same top but stood a bit further away when I clicked the shutter to take the photo. It’s not as bad but you can still see my reflection in the spoon and a bit of pink on the towel.

Below: In the photo below I draped a white kitchen towel over my shirt, which is my go-to fix when I don’t want to change what I’m wearing. My pants/shorts are usually pretty neutral, so I typically just need to cover my top. Check out the spoon, napkin, and pasta color and scroll to the two photos above. It’s a huge difference!

This tip may seem simple and obvious but it’s something I didn’t think about until I realized our orange walls were affecting the way my photos looked. Have you ever encountered this issue before? While you still may have to do some color correction when you go to edit, this tip will definitely help make that process easier.

Don’t forget!! It’s Doughnut Week!! And this week only you can find my book, Baked Doughnuts For Everyone 35% off on my publishers website. Just use the promo code below when you order! As always, thank you so very much for your support!!

Promo Code: doughnut35 – enter this in the “promotion/coupon code” field after clicking “add to cart”

More doughnuts coming soon!

Ashley