One of the fastest ways to ruin your food photos? Leaving the restaurant’s ceiling lights on. Here’s why pros turn them OFF every time: � Mixed Color Temperatures – Those yellow/orange bulbs fight with your flash or window light. Result? Weird skin tones, muddy food colors, and hours wasted in editing. � Double Shadows – Overhead lighting throws harsh shadows from the top, while your key light tries to do the opposite. Your image looks messy instead of intentional. � Loss of Control – Good photography is about controlling light. If you don’t know where the shadows and highlights are coming from, you can’t shape the mood. � Instead, kill the overheads. Use one controlled light source (I shoot 90% of restaurant work with a single strobe + softbox). That way you decide how the dish looks — not the ceiling lights. If you want some ambience from the restaurant, capture a few natural light shots before killing the lights, then switch off and take the hero images with your setup. Best of b...