Midnight snacks are never a good thing when you’re a food blogger.

Not because of the time of night, because honestly I’m always up for a good midnight snack! But it’s the food photography that’s less than desirable at that time of night — and really, any time after sunset.

Food always looks the best in white light. It’s just a fact. However, this doesn’t mean that you should rush outside on a sunny day to take a million and one photos of your dessert. On the contrary, you should remain inside, in a well-lighted room out of direct sunlight, to snap your pics. Why? Well, have you ever noticed that all the reflections bouncing off a swimming pool on a sunny day? These reflections will be oh-so-present on your food if you photograph it under direct sunshine.

Not to mention, if it’s anything relatively cold, it’s practically guaranteed to melt before you can take a decent pic!

Cloudy days may otherwise be a downer, but they’re absolutely perfect for food photography. No glare, all the white light you can imagine: it really doesn’t get any better.

Unfortunately, no matter how cloudy the day is, once the sun goes down you’re faced with the “glare” problem again. Except this time, when you try to photograph your food by the light of a lamp, you experience the bane of yellow light and dark shadows.

Not. Appetizing.

And today, I may or may not have experienced just that!

Returning home at 5PM, I was astonished to find that the sun had already set, and the world was draped in shadow. Meaning, when I tried to take a picture of my delicious banana and raspberry “Nice Cream” later, my photos were plagued with glares.

Believe me, this ice cream is “nice” to your body, your health, and your digestive system.

But the one thing it’s not very “nice” to is this photo!

Raspberry Swirl “Nice Cream”

• 2 large bananas
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• small handful of raspberries

Slice bananas and place in a tupperware or plastic bag. Freeze overnight. Once frozen, add to a food processor and blend until smooth. Add vanilla and blend for another 15 seconds. Scoop out half of the mixture into a bowl, then add raspberries to the food processor. Blend until smooth. Scoop remaining nice cream into the bowl and swirl into the first ice cream. Enjoy!

Nutrition Information (from myfitnesspal.com)

Calories: 89

Fat: 1g

Carbs: 31g

Protein: 2g

(Yields 2 servings)