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FAQs

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets – My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions

Over the last couple of months I’ve received a few emails from people who loved my Lightroom presets but also had a few questions about its usage and functionality. I’ve collected the most common questions and put together a little tutorial with screenshots. I’ll cover topics like “Why do my photos look orange or yellow?”, “How can I reduce the brightness and intensity of red, orange and yellow elements in my photos?” and “Why do my photos turn out so bright/dark?”. If you have any other questions or are facing any problems with my presets, please do not hesitate to contact me under the ‘About Kati’, on Instagram or via emailblackwhitevivid@gmail.com.

Why do my photos look orange or yellow?

Depending on the time of day, your geographical location (Dubai vs. Stockholm), the season, the set-up/scene and the room you’re shooting in, the light is always different. Below you can see two different photos, both were shot in my flat in Istanbul. However the light one was set up in my kitchen in summer and the dark one was set up in my office in winter. It’s not just the light that was very different on both days but also the color of props and the food.

When I applied one of my presets to the light photo, it turned out completely orange. However when I applied a preset to my dark photo, the colors were great. So what’s the difference between these two? The White Balance!

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
before
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
before

 

You might have faced the same issue. You applied one of the presets and the white balance was totally off, meaning the photo was most likely to look orange. Again, for some photos the presets work without any further adjustments from your side. But there are some scenarios where you just need to tweak one tiny thing. The White Balance in your Lightroom Develop Settings.

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
before
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
after – preset: Matte Soft Yellow Green – White Balance: Custom

 

Simply find the White Balance dropdown menu, identified by the WB in the Basic section of your Lightroom Develop bar. Click on “Custom” and a dropdown menu will appear. Now choose “Auto” and see magic happening. The photo will now look less orange. If you still feel like you want it to look a little colder or warmer, all you need to do is shift the Temp (Temperature) bar to the right (warmer) or left (colder).

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
White Balance: Custom
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
White Balance: Auto

 

The first before and after set turned out way to orange as the White Balance was set on “Custom”. After I changed it to “Auto” the second before and after set looks great now.

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
before
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
after – preset: Matte Soft Yellow Green – White Balance: Auto

 

Again, sometimes you don’t need to do any adjustments on the White Balance (like shown on the before and after set below) depending on the preset, styling, setting and light.

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
before
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
after – preset: Extra Matt Warm – White Balance: Custom

 

How can I reduce the brightness and intensity of red, orange and yellow elements in my photos?

For me moody and magical food photography is all about bringing out the reds, yellow and oranges. However that does not always work, especially when you shoot on white background with orange props and food. Depending on you personal taste, you might actually like the brightness and intensity of the orange soup in the photo below. Yet, if you want the photo to look a little more balanced you can decrease the saturation and slightly change the hues of the reds, oranges and yellows.

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
before
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
after – preset: Matte Bright & Cool
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
after – preset: Matte Bright & Blue – Hues and Saturation changed

 

In Lightroom on develop mode you find a menu bar on the right. Scroll down to section “HSL” and klick on “All” to unfold the color bars for Hue, Saturation and Luminance. These color bars help you do adjust specific colors only without effecting the whole image. You can either shift the colors manually, for example, turn the red hues a little bit more towards orange (right side) or go to Saturation and decrease the orange a little (shift to left side). or you can click on the small circle on the upper left corner of each section and bring it to a spot on the photo with the color you want to change. In my case I activated the circle (see close up photo, the circle has now an arrow on top and button) and placed it on one of the orange bowls. Don’t click or press enter, just use the arrows on your keyboard and go up and down. This is all about testing. Once you finished one section (e.g. Hues), go to the next (e.g. Saturation) and click on the circle again, place it over your preferred spot on the photo and use arrow keys to adjust the color.

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets

As for my photo with the orange bowls, I changed the Hues of orange and red and made them a little more yellowish. And I also decreased the saturation of my oranges and reds.

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets

Why do my photos turn out so bright/dark?

I always underexpose my photos a little and sometimes a lot. That’s just my personal style and there is no right or wrong of how to do it. However I noticed that most people do slightly overexpose their photos which can lead to a very bright photo with blown out highlight when you apply one of my presets. Luckily, the solution is super simple and does not do any damage to the quality of your images.

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
before
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
after – preset: Matte Blue & Color

 

All you need to do is to increase or decrease the Exposure on the Basic section of your Lightroom Develop menu. Again, there is no right or wrong and it all depends on personal style and case. You can increase or decrease the exposure of your photo until you are satisfied.

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets

Exposure: -0.25

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
before
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
after – Matte Blue & Color – Exposure -0.25

 

As mentioned before I generally underexpose my photos and thus need to almost always increase the exposure on my images a lot. As you can see from the images below, the quality of the photos usually does not suffer.

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
before
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
after – preset: Matte Blue & Color

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets

How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
before
How to take full advantage of my Lightroom Presets - My Answers to your Frequently Asked Questions by Kati of black.white.vivid. - food photography, food styling, editing, photography filters, food filters, food presets
after – preset: Matte Blue & Color – Exposure: +1,10

 

If you have any other questions, comments, feedback, need help with your Lightroom presets, just send me a DM on Instagram or sent me a message via emailblackwhitevivid@gmail.com.

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black.white.vivid is a seasonal food blog with plant-based recipes from home and away.

A love story between images and words, my travel adventures take readers to unknown places, local eats and my kitchen in Dubai.

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Shop on inbetweendetails

food styling and photography shop

Launching in summer 2018, an online shop for food styling and photography props. Discover gorgeous goods by my favourite makers as well as vintage finds. Shipping from Europe and Dubai. Register now to receive shop updates and dates for pop-up sales in Europe and Dubai.

I‘m really not back in the Instagram groove yet. I‘m really not back in the Instagram groove yet. Even though I‘ve already prepared 20 or so new images to post and that were supposed to make the transition from my Instagram break easier, I keep forgetting posting on my feed.  Although I‘ve come love sharing images and short videos on my Stories all the more. I just uploaded a few of yesterday’s happenings in Malmö. I had delicious coffee, ate too much food and met Malin of @goodeatings ✨ Happy days!7

Oh and this is probably my favorite photo yet. I shot it the other day in Dubai where it’s still summer and melons juicy and sweet. I simply love the light and colors. Endless summers can be so pretty, too. Though I’m also enjoying Malmö‘s autumn cold at the moment 💛  #lifeandthyme #foodandwine #appetitejournal #theartofslowliving #eattheworld #cntravelereats #kinfolklife #gatheringslikethese #teamcanon #mycommontablefood
Weekend Mood on a Wednesday evening! Because I li Weekend Mood on a Wednesday evening!

Because I literally can’t wait for this work week to be over because I’m heading to Europe tomorrow with stops in Germany, Copenhagen, Malmö and London.

I also can’t wait for autumn. I secretly wish that it will be moody and rainy and maybe even snowing, though the weather forecast is mostly sunny and snow at the beginning of October is probably wishful thinking too. 
Either way, I’m just quite excited for the food I get to eat, friends and family I get to see and magical moments I get to experience. 📸 Edited with my newest preset bundle „Mellow Cream“ (link in profile @blackwhitevivid )  #lifeandthyme  #theartofslowliving #seasonalfood #plantfueled #bevisuallyinspired #shareyourtable #breakfastinbed
Lately, I’ve been on a self-investment journey. Lately, I’ve been on a self-investment journey. I briefly talked about it in my last post. This summer I started learning how to be a good cook. There is no better investment than in yourself and even though sometimes others benefit from it too (like @fevonos who gets to eat pretty great dinners for a while now), often times it’s just for yourself. 
A while ago I made a list of things I wanted to invest my time in. Number one for me will always be photography and styling. It’s something I love and will consistently focus on. While it’s smart to surround yourself with people that are extremely good at it (like @linda_lomelino who styled this gorgeous scene), I also realized that thinking out of the box, improving a skill in one field to become better in another area, is an option too. So I decided to take up handwriting/calligraphy classes.

For the longest time ever I disliked my handwriting. And even though we live in a digital age and I hardly use pen and paper nowadays, my ugly scribbles have always annoyed me. Soon I’ll be taking an online handwriting class, so that my grocery and to-do lists, my journal entries and my Christmas cards finally look pretty. I don’t do this to become crafty or sell cute cards (though you never know where life takes you) but simply because I know I’ll be happy every time I write something down. And it’s a subject that boosts your creativity one way or another (I hope you’re as excited as I am for gorgeous flat lays with handwritten letters 😋). Anything you always wanted to learn or improve?

Happy Thursday and Happy Weekend to all folks here.
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#flowerflatlay  #underthefloralspell #proventiallife #persuepretty #darlingdaily #smallthings #untoldvisuals #seekthesimplicity #teamcanon #floraldesign #floralstories #flower_daily
Guess how long I’ve been delaying this very firs Guess how long I’ve been delaying this very first post after my four-months Instagram break? 
3 weeks! It’s been sitting here for 3 long weeks and I somehow didn’t have the courage to post it. Do you know that feeling? 
Like when you didn’t go to the gym for the past year (true story) and dread the exhaustion and sore muscles and therefore decide to maybe wait a little longer. Just until you feel super fit and ready. Guess what, ready never comes and you won’t get fit until you start exercising again. 
Or when you didn’t sit behind a steering wheel for the past 10 years (also true story) but now live in Dubai and nothing is fun without driving. It’s scary at first and you have way too many self-doubts but then you wonder why you thought you would be bad at something millions of people do each day. 
Or the time when you didn’t see and haven’t really talked to a (back then good) friend for 8 years and are afraid the chemistry won’t be the same. And then it feels like it was only yesterday you saw each other the last time. 
Those were all moments that felt scary or at least uncomfortable at first. But they all had a somewhat happy ending (if you consider feeling stiff and aching a happy moment 😋). So I just hope that I’ll also survive this post (I heard a lot of things have changed again on Instagram). But I’m mostly excited, I’ve done some soul searching, mood searching and subject searching. The result is a bunch of new photos, new content and new inspiration. It’s all been sitting here for 3 long weeks too. For now I’m just happy I’ve finally shared my first post again and I’m finally back (true story 😉).
I’ve been dragging myself through life lately an I’ve been dragging myself through life lately and I’m dying to get out of that dark hole again. I’m not very good with handling those phases, though I know they are important and necessary to progress and evolve. I usually don’t share these kind of feelings on Instagram, all I do is stay away because I’ve learned that forcing it makes everything worse. So I don’t do photo shoots and share images I hate anyway but I put my phone away and have screen-free days or hours. I go on long evening walks (even when it’s 37C / 99 F outside), bake cakes and sit on the balcony doing nothing. Have you tried that lately. It’s so hard in the beginning but doing nothing other than maybe thinking has been one of the best exercises to clear my head. Since this week I’m seeing light again at the end of the tunnel. I picked up my camera again, started writing for my blog and came across some pretty amazing podcasts that gave me the right pep talk at the right time. If you like podcasts and want to feel inspired and motivated I can highly recommend listening to @onegirlband_ and @local_milk latest episodes. What are the books or podcasts or accounts or blogs that inspire and motivate you?
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 #saveur #lifeandthyme #onthetable #appetitejournal #theartofslowliving #kinfolklife #gatheringslikethese #cntravelereats #tablesituation #documentyourdays #gatheredstyle #vzcomade #makeitdelicious #seekthesimplicity #teamcanon #shareyourtable #thatsdarling #makemoments #dubaieats #untoldvisuals #pursuepretty #click_vision #smallthings #ourplatesdaily #darlingdaily #persuepretty #finditliveit #f52grams
Spring Skillet Pizza with asparagus, sugar pea sna Spring Skillet Pizza with asparagus, sugar pea snaps, edamame, pesto and basil - the first attempt of many more to come. Have you ever made skillet pizza? It looks super easy but mine collapsed when I tried to put it into the hot cast iron pan. But the taste is still super delicious. No need for a pizza stone 💁🏻‍♀️😄
🎨Edited with „Scandinavian Blue“ bundle & „Moody Darkness“ Preset (link in my profile @blackwhitevivid )
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 #foodandwine #lifeandthyme #eattheworld #veganfoodporn #plantbased #beautifulcuisines #plantfueled #vegantreats #plantstrong #diaryfree #veganfoodlovers #realfood #wholefoods #veganfoodshare #bestofvegan #cleaneats #healthyliving #vegansofig #tablesituation #dubaifood #teamcanon #dubaieats #gloobyfood #thekitchn #feedfeed #bhgfood #whatveganseat #huffposttaste
Slowly trying to get back into my routine after ou Slowly trying to get back into my routine after our 2-week vacation. It’s harder than I thought. During the first few days of my holiday I needed a lot of time to just relax and sleep. And then when my mind was well rested, it started working again. New ideas, new projects, new goals. But I didn’t act on them, I didn’t judge, I just let them come and go. That’s the hardest part because I always feel like I need to sit down the next minute and start working. I just knew that I needed a few more days off and that I should really take some time for myself doing something other than work. So being back home I have all these ideas and thoughts accumulated in my head and it’s such a big mess that it rather paralyses than motivates. Does that sound familiar to you? Maybe I should just take another day off, have some pear rosemary galette and write everything down before I start putting it into action. 😊 And just a little reminder, my favorite Lightroom Preset bundle is still 50% off until tomorrow (link in profile @blackwhitevivid). Just saying 🤷🏻‍♀️😊
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 #veganfoodporn #wholesome #appetitejournal #beautifulcuisines #plantbased #plantfueled #vegantreats #plantstrong #wholefoods #diaryfree #veganfoodlovers #seasonalfood #realfood #dubaifood #letscookvegan #cntravelereats #veganfoodshare #vzcomade #healthyliving #eattherainbow #bestofvegan #sugarfree #cleaneats #bbcgoodfood #vegansofig #teamcanon #dubaieats #gloobyfood
I‘m back to the desert and its slightly warm spr I‘m back to the desert and its slightly warm spring weather (37C/ 99F). I took an unplanned break from posting on my Instagram feed though I hope you liked my Stories from Réunion and Mauritius. It’s quite a change in scenery, I really enjoyed the lush and jungle-like landscape, though I’m really looking forward to some sandy time in Dubai now before I head off to a longer Europe trip mid May. Also, I just wanted to let you know that my favorite Lightroom Preset Bundle is 50% off for the next three days (link in profile @blackwhitevivid ). Happy Editing & Happy Sunday 💛
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#saveur #foodandwine #lifeandthyme #onthetable #theartofslowliving #beautifulcuisines #kinfolklife #gatheringslikethese #seasonalfood #mycommontable #cntravelereats #tablesituation #bevisuallyinspired #gatheredstyle #diewocheaufinstagram #documentyourdays #myeverydaymagic #seekthesimplicity #makemoments #chasinglight #shareyourtable #teamcanon #untoldvisuals #pursuepretty #foodphotography #foodphotographer
Emirati Sweet Dumplings with Coffee Syrup. Another Emirati Sweet Dumplings with Coffee Syrup. Another photoshoot in the desert, another favorite set of photos. Not just because I‘ve grown fond of the sand dunes but also because I‘m joining @terminatetor‘s #virtualcoffeeparty2018 - where other food bloggers from all over the world share a coffee-inspired recipe. The recipe for these dumplings, also known as Luqaimat, is now on the blog (link in profile @blackwhitevivid). I‘ve tagged everyone who participated this year, so if you need an extra dose of coffee this Friday, check out their posts too 😄
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#eattheworld #veganfoodporn #plantbased #beautifulcuisines #plantfueled #vegantreats #plantstrong #wholefoods #diaryfree #veganfoodlovers #appetitejournal #letscookvegan #realfood #veganfoodshare #mycommontable #dubaifood #seasonalfood #bestofvegan #cntravelereats #eattherainbow #cleaneats #vegansofig #teamcanon #gloobyfood #huffposttaste #dubaieats
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A Quick Travel Guide to Dubai and Beyond by Kati of black.white.vivid. // travel photography, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Dubai desert, Dubai food, Dubai restaurant, Dubai cafe, Dubai coffeeshop, UAE travel, food photography, restaurant photography, city photography, Lightroom presets

A QUICK TRAVEL GUIDE TO DUBAI

A Quick Travel Guide to Malmö Sweden by Kati of black.white.vivid. // vegan Malmo, vegan Malmö, vegan food guide Malmö, food guide, Sweden guide, Sweden travel guide, Malmö city guide, Lightroom presets

A QUICK TRAVEL GUIDE TO MALMÖ

Vegan Blueberry Tart inspired by my summer in Europe - a vegan recipe by black.white.vivid.// food styling, food photography, French tarte, French recipe, French cuisine, Vegan food, Vegan french recipe, vegan cake, vegan tart, Swedish recipe, Scandinavian recipe, Blueberry cake, Swedish blueberry

VEGAN BLUEBERRY TART INSPIRED BY MY SUMMER IN EUROPE

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