There aren't any guidelines to exploring Baking Mommy. It is my ultimate goal that you leave this community inspired! There are, however, a few guidelines when it comes to how and what you can submit to Baking Mommy.
Who can submit? Contribution is open to anyone who is a member of the Baking Mommy community.
What can I submit? You can submit any picture, recipe, blog post, craft item, etc. that you would like to share. However, every submission is viewed and approved/denied based on the following criteria:
You are allowed to submit UP TO two external links per post. If you submit more, the entry will be rejected.
The links need to be specific… if you are borrowing a recipe, the link should go back to the source of that recipe (if available). If you blogged about your submission on your personal blog or website, the link needs to refer back to the specific blog post, not your general blog address.
If you submit pornography, profanity, spam, or anything else that we find offensive or demeaning, it will be rejected. Period.
How does one submit? Please join the community before you post!
You are free to copy or link to images from another photo site or post links that go to a specific blog post (permalink), news article, video, or other detail page, so long as you are not violating someone else’s privacy or copyright protections.
Submit and be patient while we moderate and publish.
Baking Mommy is an ‘eat with your eyes’ community, so the quality of the image is important. Images should have good lighting, be sharp, have good color, and represent that subject you are describing.
Tips for GREAT food photography:
Try to use natural light: That means turn off your flash! When using natural light, you can sometimes get a 'warm' hue or a yellowish tint. Don't be afraid to fix this using your photo editing program. You can alter the white balance, remove some yellow from the saturation, add blue, etc. Be sure to play around with it! The ultimate effect you are going for is a ‘cooler’ shot, which basically means there is more blue in the overall hue.
Get close! Get as close as your camera will allow… then make sure you are focused on the center of your subject.
Sharp is the goal! If you are familiar with photography, try using wide aperture… or a lower number aperture. I take most of my pictures with a 1.8-2.8 aperture and my ISO at 100.
Think out of the box! Try and get a shot that you haven’t seen before. Get really close. Or place your subject on the floor and take a picture from directly above. Use props. Add a fork or a pretty cake stand. The sky is the limit!
Make sure you submit your own work. If I find out an image is stolen I will remove it and immediately ban you from the community. I do not take thievery lightly! I am going to offer a very special option to Baking Mommy community members. If your post is rejected for photographic reasons, you can submit the picture to me for re-editing. Just email me at manda2177@aol.com. This will be on a first come first serve basis, so please be patient.
Editorial Content: When describing your photo, please make sure your summary is clear, concise, and informative. If you have a recipe, include it or offer a link to it. Use descriptive words! People are more likely to click on "Succulent roasted chicken wrapped in crisp green lettuce and lightly seasoned with fresh organic ground pepper and sea salt" than "salt and pepper chicken."
Tips on Submissions: Size matters. Images have to be larger than 250x250 pixels, but should be no larger than 500x500 pixels to avoid breaking on friends pages. If you have larger images, please post them under a cut. I will try to approve/deny your submission within 48 hours, but it can take longer. Please be patient with me! I will get to it. There are a LOT of submissions, and I want to make sure we are getting the best into our community! I will be offering as much feedback and help as I can. If we turn down a submission, we will let you know why and invite you to resubmit if possible.
A few final words… Baking Mommy is only as beautifully delicious as we, the community members, make it. Not every picture has to be of a six tiered wedding cake make from white chocolate ganache. Even the most ordinary of foods can be beautifully unique… lets always challenge ourselves to submit the best we can do. And knowing you, that is going to be pretty amazing!
