Food Photography Tips on White Balance
Here’s some more photography tips that I hope you might find useful. In this post I’d like to focus on White Balance.
What Is White Balance:
White balance is the process of removing unrealistic color casts, so objects which appear white in person would show white in your photo. Different light sources have different colour temperatures. These variants can give a blue or yellow cast in a photo. For example daylight is blue while incandescent light is yellow. If the camera is set to auto white balance sometimes it gets mixed up. The result is that photos have unwanted colour casts on them. This tends to happen more when there are mixed light sources or the light is changeable.
Below is an example of two shots taken within moments of each other with the White Balance on Auto. Notice how one looks more blue than the other.
Light Colour Temperature Difference
Camera White Balance Settings
Most cameras come with different white balance presets. On an SLR camera look for the WB button or menu setting and adjust for the correct lighting conditions. There are usually different options for bright sunshine, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent and flash lighting. While these presets can be helpful they are not perfect and results can vary.
It’s a good idea to learn how to take a manual white balance with your camera. This is done by taking a reading using a white or grey card. You can buy photography grey cards quite cheaply in photography stores or online. Take your camera into manual white balance mode and take a shot with the grey/white card next to the food on set.
Working with Natural Light
Natural light is very beautiful, but it’s also quite tricky. It has a tendency to change frequently. The colour temperature will change throughout the day. Varying with the hour and brightness of the sun. If you are working indoors next to a window, remember to turn off the electric lights in the room. Take regular white balances during the shoot, especially when you notice the light changing. I always tether my camera to a laptop so I can see clearly the picture I have just taken. It helps me to see right away what is happening with the light.
Check out my other Food Photography blog pages for more Photography tips and tutorials
Please leave relevant comments and questions below.
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