Taking photos of your food

[Merlin5]

For those of you who like myself take pics of our food in a restaurant when it arrives, how are you now feeling about doing that given Heston's recent comments? It makes me feel a bit silly and childish. If I'm out with my mum she's come to accept it but thinks it's a bizarre habit

The 53-year-old added that while he too enjoys taking photos to look back on, it is important to “be in the moment”.


“Social media is such a big part of our lives, our sight has become almost the more important sense rather than smell or taste,” Blumenthal said.

While taking pictures of meals has become a key part of eating out for many people, it could actually be ruining the dining experience.

According to US researchers, photographing food can make it less enjoyable to eat.

“When we Instagram, we inherently must focus our attention on the item in the picture, even for that very brief moment. This can have a range of effects on later enjoyment,” co-author Professor Joseph Redden previously told The Independent.

“If we spend too much time repeatedly viewing such foods, our paper suggests this can lead to pre-satiation. That is, you’re already a bit tired of the food before you even start eating it.”

 

[Craig1981]

I know it’s a silly habit, but I like it. I don’t think it ruins the dining experience in any way.

 

[Zefan]

Unless it is a once in a lifetime visit to an otherwise too expensive place, or something you specifically want to show someone in the future, I have no idea why someone does this.

 

[One More Solo]

Unless it is a once in a lifetime visit to an otherwise too expensive place, or something you specifically want to show someone in the future, I have no idea why someone does this.

Pretty much this, 99% of the food pictures I see are terrible, and the vast majority of restaurants will already have pictures of their food available online if you want to show someone a particular dish (or you can just pinch one off a tedious Instagram obsessive). There’s a reason cookbook writers recruit professional photographers and “food stylists”.

Moreover, this need to document or track every single aspect of our life is tragic, just get on with it.

How many hours did I sleep last night?
What did I eat?
How many calories have I consumed?
Have I met my macros?
Was that beer a 3.5 or a 3.75?
How many steps have I done?

Don’t get me wrong, presentation is an important part of the eating experience, but it should be a complement to it and not something to be carved out and stuck on the internet (eg ridiculous stacks of food that are impractical and annoying to eat but photograph well). The best looking dish I’ve ever had was a dessert at which appeared to be a round cheesecake but was actually a wafer thin meringue shell filled with other stuff. It was genius, but the presentation only really made sense when you cracked into it and ate the thing, which is surely the point. Before that point, it just looked like a very nice cheesecake. A picture would have done it no justice.

 

[Merlin5]

I know it’s a silly habit, but I like it. I don’t think it ruins the dining experience in any way.

I agree, doesn't ruin it for me either. Also, it's just nice on a forum like this to capture what others are experiencing at any given moment. It's all a bit of fun and often gives rise to more food conversation.

the vast majority of restaurants will already have pictures of their food available online if you want to show someone a particular dish (or you can just pinch one off a tedious Instagram obsessive). There’s a reason cookbook writers recruit professional photographers and “food stylists”.
.

True enough. Though I think amateurs photographing their food can often show a more realistic image of what the food really looks like rather than a super polished glossy photo taken by professionals on behalf of the restaurant or book.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

Why would you?
Just eat your dinner for God's sake
Is there anything sacred from social media nowadays?
Do people video paint drying and post that too?
Probably still get people wanting to watch it if they did
Too many people wanting to live vicariously from watching people's videos /photos instead of actually experiencing life for themselves getting to the point where some people say oh I can't do that because X on Y social media channel doesn't
Some things fair enough if it's something you may never be able to experience personally
But totally mundane things why not just go do it for yourself
I have no interest in looking at what other people are going to eat
If the foods rubbish fine just use the old fashioned way and say so
A photo doesn't say anything about whether it actually tastes any good

 

[jpaul]

We like pictures of your cakes and homemade stuff, these are inspiring,

Many of everyones, now eating, pictures are often unhealthy food, and the images attempt to give some normalization that this represent a regular diet, it's like glancing at the Daily mail, tabloid newspapers, or visiting the zoo.

Restaurants should, like the (non)smoking sections of old, have a separate photography section for those pariahs, who want to share their (millenial?) experiences.

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

Take a picture if you want, I can't see how it can have a material effect on anybody else. Even if they Snapstagram it

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

Take a picture if you want, I can't see how it can have a material effect on anybody else. Even if they Snapstagram it

If sitting at next table
Seeing someone start photographing their food
Going to make me think
Oh god did they find some foreign object in there?
And please say they ordered different stuff than I did.

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

I imagine there would be an obvious difference between someone taking a photo of their food for Instachat and someone taking it as evidence of the huge, man-eating spider in the soup. Facial expressions, gasps of horror, recoil, etc.

 

[Mr Badger]

Mock all you want. I've taken pictures of every single Pot Noodle I've ever eaten (obviously different flavours for different meals, I don't usually have a Bombay Bad Boy for breakfast!) and one day my body of work will receive the popular and academic acclaim it so richly deserves.

 

[Liquid_Entity]

Is this the same Heston that has a new channel 4 program Crazy Delicious coming out this week that is "Inspired by the vibrant and viral world of #foodporn, the competition challenges the cooks to create dishes that are both a taste sensation and a feast for the eyes."

Bit of a joke saying one thing then doing this.

 

[Begbie]

Pretty much this, 99% of the food pictures I see are terrible, and the vast majority of restaurants will already have pictures of their food available online if you want to show someone a particular dish (or you can just pinch one off a tedious Instagram obsessive). There’s a reason cookbook writers recruit professional photographers and “food stylists”.

Moreover, this need to document or track every single aspect of our life is tragic, just get on with it.

How many hours did I sleep last night?
What did I eat?
How many calories have I consumed?
Have I met my macros?
Was that beer a 3.5 or a 3.75?
How many steps have I done?

Don’t get me wrong, presentation is an important part of the eating experience, but it should be a complement to it and not something to be carved out and stuck on the internet (eg ridiculous stacks of food that are impractical and annoying to eat but photograph well). The best looking dish I’ve ever had was a dessert at which appeared to be a round cheesecake but was actually a wafer thin meringue shell filled with other stuff. It was genius, but the presentation only really made sense when you cracked into it and ate the thing, which is surely the point. Before that point, it just looked like a very nice cheesecake. A picture would have done it no justice.

Bad examples really. Overweight? Want to lose weight, count your calories.

Feel like crap every morning, maybe checking how many hours you sleep and making a change in your lifestyle could help you.

Counting steps can make people more aware how lazy they are and make them do more.

I agree though, I don't like social media and it's constant need for attention. But there is advantages to counting stuff.

 

[Semple]

I know it’s a silly habit, but I like it. I don’t think it ruins the dining experience in any way.

I agree. What a load of rubbish about it ruining a meal. I could understand if someone snaps a photo and spends the next 10 mins editing and uploading it to various social sites.

I tend to take a single photo as I use them on Google reviews. Takes me a second, then I put my phone down and enjoy my food.

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

Yep, whatever floats your boat. I take pics in Michelin places I go to and post them in the La Cuisine\Restaurants thread. I don't really get the bile towards social media either, nobody is obliged to view any of it. We should celebrate our differences. It would be a dull world if we were all the same.

Unless we were all like me

 

[Mrs Seabiscuit]

I don`t think taking photos of food changes its taste/appearance. What a load of rubbish.
However we like taking photos of food we eat but that`s just for us and to show to my mother in law who likes pics of food.

I do think as others have said its rude if people take a photo and then spend ages editing it.

Just snap and eat

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

I do think as others have said its rude if people take a photo and then spend ages editing it.

Rude to the person/people you are with, but not diners on other tables.

 

[Cleisthenes]

Unless it is a once in a lifetime visit to an otherwise too expensive place, or something you specifically want to show someone in the future, I have no idea why someone does this.

This is my opinion too.

If I'm eating out, and in particular at somewhere rather nice, I'll make an effort to not touch my phone at all. I love getting lost in the menu and discussing the food with whomever I'm with and I think looking at my phone takes me out of it. I also find that if those I'm with are taking pictures or whatever that it takes me out of the experience.

 

[One More Solo]

Bad examples really. Overweight? Want to lose weight, count your calories.

Feel like crap every morning, maybe checking how many hours you sleep and making a change in your lifestyle could help you.

Counting steps can make people more aware how lazy they are and make them do more.

I agree though, I don't like social media and it's constant need for attention. But there is advantages to counting stuff.

I agree to a point but those tracking apps have replaced common sense, using your brain and listening to your body. It’s usually pretty obvious if you’re not getting enough exercise or aren’t sleeping properly, but people aren’t willing to self assess have to offload everything to an app. And there’s a big question mark over what they actually do with the info they’re given.

Back on topic, eating and drinking is one of the few things where doing it mindfully, and sharing the experience and memories with the people your with, massively enhances it. Constantly whipping your phone out distracts from that and spoils it for me.

I stopped using Untappd to track beers I liked for that reason, it constantly took me out of the moment I was enjoying with friends.

These days if we go out for a special meal and there’s something I want to remember, I ask for a copy of the menu to take home. Most places are usually happy to oblige and it’s a miles better souvenir than a **** iPhone picture.

 

[Jasoncmor]

I don't really use social media, so don't take photos of my food, I have no need to, I just eat it like a normal human being.