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Table Manners
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Put Away the Darn CameraHow to politely photograph restaurant food |
Dear Helena,
What is the etiquette around food photography? Are you supposed to only do it in low-end restaurants? How many stars should a restaurant have in order for it to be too trashy for you to take pics? Should you ask the waiter first? Also, it seems like some people overdo it. Maybe sometimes they should just be in the moment? —Cameras Off the Table
Dear Cameras Off the Table,
It can be tiresome when you’re dining out with a friend who insists on photographing every course before you can dig in. Maybe looking like a tourist makes you cringe. Or maybe deep down, you feel it’s narcissistic for your friend to post a picture of every meal he eats on his blog.
But whipping out a camera at a restaurant is common dining behavior nowadays. You might not like it any more than you like it when your friend interrupts a conversation to look up something on his iPhone. But complaining about it just makes you seem out of touch.
Joe Catterson, general manager of Chicago’s Alinea, says many diners are compulsive shutterbugs. This is unsurprising, given the elaborate presentation of dishes there, but people take it to ridiculous extremes. One couple showed up for a reservation, then realized they had forgotten their camera. “They got in a cab, went back to their hotel to get it, and then came back for dinner 45 minutes late.” Another group forgot to photograph one of the courses on the tasting menu. They waited until the dish was delivered to their neighbors and asked to lean over and photograph theirs instead.
For the most part, restaurants are OK with patrons snapping their dinners, since these days if someone is taking a picture the odds are he plans to share it, whether on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, or all three, which can be free publicity for the business. Catterson explains, “Some of it has been fantastic advertising—the quality of some of the pictures is amazing.” This attitude seems to be shared by high- and low-end places alike. Simon Dang, who posts pictures of meals on Plate of the Day, a blog he shares with friends, says restaurants generally don’t mind his camera, whether the place in question is Per Se or a taco truck. (Of course, not everyone is a talented photographer. One person can make a plate of lamb shanks look like a miniature work of art, while the next can make it look like prison food.)
But though photography may not bother staff members, it can annoy other patrons. If a photographer keeps using his flash, or stands up to get a better shot, it’s distracting. This can be annoying in any restaurant, but it’s much more noticeable in a high-end place with dim lighting and a hushed atmosphere than in a crowded burger joint.
If you do take photos, you need not ask the server’s permission, but it’s polite to follow these simple guidelines: First, don’t take multiple shots from multiple angles, kneel on the banquette, or rearrange the table. Jeffrey Porter, cowriter of the blog Drink Eat Love, says he limits himself to “four or five shots.” Besides creating an unnecessary disturbance, your dinner might get cold. At Alinea, one dish, called Hot Potato Cold Potato, has contrasting temperatures. By the time a diner has snapped the dish from every angle, it might as well be called “lukewarm potato.”
Forgo the flash, as Chowhounds advise. At Alinea, when diners have complained about other parties’ obsessive photography, it’s the flash that has bothered them. (Also, says Dang, it washes out the food.)
Finally, know when to put the camera away. On some occasions, your focus shouldn’t be on your plate—like on a special date, for instance. It’s not very romantic if one of you is obviously using the excursion as a way to get new fodder for a blog.
taking pictures of food is fun. it's advertising and it's a form of art. it shows that you truly appreciate the presentation of the food. i agree that flash can be bothersome, but taking random shots of food shouldn't annoy most people, unless you're in a severely pretentious restaurant, where people are easier to annoy.. whatever, i think pictures are a form of free advertising.. people usually talk about how they enjoyed the meal if they're gonna take a picture of it, which'll get their friends to go too maybe. if you can't handle people taking pictures at a restaurant then you're probably a really stressed person and just need to relax.. maybe get a camera yourself and see how therapeutic the whole thing could be. or have another drink. live life and let people live theirs.
I was at a fine dining restaurant in Paris with my boyfriend, trying to enjoy our dinner, when the people at the table next to us decided they needed to document every moment of their experience. Having a flash go off every few minutes is distracting and rude. Put the camera down and eat!
It's not just food photography. People celebrating events, groups that only get to see each other occasionally, etc. Flash! Flash! Flash! It's all annoying.
I agree it is annoying, almost as much as people talking on their cell phones at nearby tables. I love photography and travel but I do not want to wait until I get home to see the pictures of where I have been nor the food I have enjoyed. I am trying to learn to be in the moment and still sneak in a few pictures without becoming a pest. It is a balance that is not easy to achieve. I do enjoy taking photos of cast iron cookware dishes, usually in our kitchen, to share on our URL and Blog.
The flash IS annoying, but most digital cameras can be set so that it is not needed, except in the darkest of restaurants (where it is, obviously, the most intrusive). I don't mind waiting to dig in until my fellow 'hounds have taken the shots for their blogs, and I've been known to take a few snaps myself, if the food is especially well presented and I happen to have the camera with me. Since I seem to be the only one in my circle of friends who DOESNT blog about food (yet) taking pictures of my food isn't a big part of my dining experience, but unlike other, more bothersome restaurant situations (obnoxious children running around, or inebriated/rowdy patrons/birthday parties at the next table) I can tolerate the occasional flash of a camera for the sake of recording culinary events.
Hell, I barely take any pictures of my kids, let alone what's on my plate. I know people who can't go 5 second without whipping out the camera to document every bit of minutiae, interesting or not. I prefer to live life, not catalog it. However, if someone is being unobtrusive about taking pics in a restaurant, it's really not a big deal.
usually, when I go out for dinner, I try NOT to take a camera. Then, the last time I went out for a fancy tasting menu at my favorite ritzy spot, the Host asked me, with hurt in his voice, "Why didn't you bring a camera?" This meal was one I had set up a month in advance, they'd done a special menu for me, and I was seated in the CHef's table room-a private room.
I realized that I would have been hurting no one by bringing the canon and getting some great shots. I could have given them great advertising in a tough economic period and thanking them for my meal and all the hard work they'd done.
NExt time I'm in a similar situation, you can bet I'll bring a camera. I'll just have to remind my husband that he has to take every picture within less than a minute, not do the whole deal he does that taked for ever (he's a perfectionist).
But, if I were in a crowded place, I'd probably leave the camera at home.
It's a judgement call. A new place trying to get ahaead, bring the camera and post online! An established place where the tables are close together? Leave it at home!
Micky D's Well, I never go in. If it is an event with a large group, maybe a camera is called for.
The best thing is to ask if it is OK over the phone whilst reserving the table.
I agree that it's the flash that's the biggest problem. My newest camera has all sorts of settings to choose from, including a "Food" setting which sets it to no flash. I'm amused, but I also figure it's a good thing if it helps the clueless make the right choice.
Your camera has a "Food" setting? OMG! THIS will be my next camera for sure!
And now that I think about it, photography in restaurants CAN be more intrusive than we think. I have a relative we affectionately call "Aunt Flash" due to her love of the camera. She is the one who will wait until we all have our food in front of us, THEN hand the waiter her (disposable) camera and make him take our picture. Other people end up in the background, willing or otherwise. Since she refuses to stop taking OUR picture when we dont want to be photographed, we also can't seem to make her understand that strangers don't WANT to be in her pictures either.
How about photo printers? Are those allowed in restaurants? A silly question, you would think, but we were at a high end restaurant for our anniversary and a group of about 8 came in. They were taking picture after picture. Many of those photos probably have me in the background looking really grouchy.
Then one of them pulled out a small photo printer and plugged it in to an outlet right beside out table!! Unfortunately, they were friends of the owner, but luckily the waiter was able to move us to another table.
I take photos all the time of my meals. I post them on Chowhound quite often. I am a photographer.
I never use flash for anything hardly and never in a restaurant. it washes out the colors and textures. I Shoot in manual mode and do without the flash.
I also only take photos of the food when it comes out to the the table,I don't pose, get different angles etc. I just shoot it as soon as possible and that's it.
When the restaurants want to pay me to take photos of their food then i will get creative in angles and posings and such, but for my own personal, good enough.
I love Cheflambo's posts. He makes me laugh and think. Neither are bad.
My old camera died a few months ago, and it was really too bulky to haul around to take pictures of food. I am getting a new one, which should be here in a couple days, and it is so small! I will be trying it out at some restaurants in the near future, but will also heed the advice given here! I have eaten with Cheflambo before and she is very discreet, but if you saw any of the pictures when we ate together, you would get a good shot of my chest in the background!
I'm not trying to be facetious or snarky, but a question for food photographers--do you actually save these and revisit them years later, opening up the photo album (or file folder on the 'puter) and thinking, "Yeah, that was one awesome halibut"?
(Again: No offense intended. I'm just not a photo buff).
JohnE: yes. I also share them with my mom and occasionally other food people around town, who seem to be intersted in such things.
As far as the flash goes, it's really impolite to use the flash in any indoor setting, and some outdoor settings. You should always consider whether the flash could be annoying to somebody else before using it, wherever you are.
Thanks, Danhole -- yes, your appearance in our foodie photos is well documented. And thanks also for "defining" me as a foodchick (note to Castiron Man). Im delighted to know that I make people laugh AND think. Its all good.
So, does YOUR new camera have a "food" setting? We'll have to take it for a test drive soon ....
I worked as a biomedical photographer for over 35 years. .A lot of that was PR- related, Honestlly, I have no paparazzo in me and I think if somebody took more than one or two flash photos in a dimly-lit restaurant near me I would complain bitterly and loudly to both the flasher and the management..
Don't get me wrong, my flash has a separate battery pack that I wear like a shoulder bag (Metz 60-series for those who know them), but I wouldn't dream of setting it off in a social setting where it wasn't expected. Otherwise, sure, as long as you don't encroach on my table or make a lot of noise or light, photograph YOUR stuff to your heart's content. Just be aware, if you get way too into it, you're going to be setting yourself up for ridicule, because you most likely look like an ass rather than a photographer.
Paparazzi? Most of them should be thrown in jail. Maybe all of them.
New word, "Foodarazzi".
Or "Dinerazzi"
Or maybe, "Chowerazzi"
"Gustarazzi"
"Gourmandarrazi"
Sometimes these chowhound posts remind me of the lamo "Food Warrior" IN one of Reichel's books.
There is a good and a bad way to be a food lover. Good-you joyfully love food and seek out new flavors and places to explore. You love to take others to great places, be they high end or hole in the wall.
Bad- you see each new dining experience as a "score" or "notch on your belt". You push the chef and staff to the limit. You seek out what you read online and in books as "the best" You brag to others about your"scores" and snarkily insult any food love not your own that you feel is not a "true foodie spot". Others hate to dine with you, as your attitude and competitive behavior when dining out is annoying, dull, or just discomforting. Places you've been before shudder when you reserve again. You take others out to "Show off" your "knowledge."
That kind of thing. The "Food Warrior" is number two. Was it "Sapphires" that story was in? I forget.
I've been taking food photos for several years for my blog, and rarely needed a flash with my digital Point and Shoot Canon 850 camera.
For best results:
1. Turn flash off, and set ISO to Hi, if light really is low.
2. Set camera to "MACRO" or "Close up" setting.
3. Set it on HI resolution- you'll need it esp. if it's in low light.
4. Book dinner early, sit by a window or under a light, and you'll have enough natural looking light for your photos.
5. Dont' draw attention by standing up for a food shot, I get 95% of my photos while seated, shooting at a ~45 degree angle to the plate. Study the plate, figure one best angle, and, only then, take 1, maybe two shots, max.. Directly overhead shots are not as interesting as ones at 45 degrees, and modify to show height of food, etc
6. Brace yourself, take a breath, and slowly squeeze the shutter button. to get sharp, in focus results.
7. The process should take 10 seconds per plate shot, max, with practice. I take ~5 seconds. That way, food's hot, not tempers, and you've got a great photo. If dining with 4 people, my friends know to clear stuff from around their plate, rotate it to face me, and it stll takes less than 10 seconds-they know me well! I still don't need to stand up to take photos of their plates.
4. People still notice when a camera appears, and are politely curious, rather than upset. I've seen the clods with annoying flashes, and, when I look at their photos, their food looks "flashed", flat and colors are off. It's distracting, and their behavior bordes on inconsiderate, taking 10-30 flashes during a meal for 4 people. Take similar flash-less photos of your companions (delete later) and people figure you're just having a good time. And they will too.
Proof? My photos/blog below.
http://aninsatiableappetite.blogspot....
i would love to snap a picture of my shrimp scampi at my favorite restaurant. the only thing that stops me is my fear of looking like a mooron.
Welcoboy, ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances.
Just dont use your flash.
A "mooron"? Welcoboy, are you of the bovine persuasion?
If I ruled the universe, use of cameras and cellphones would be forbidden in all but the most casual restaurants (READ: Pizza Hut and MacDonalds). Texting devices annoy me too, but they're somewhat less intrusive.
As husband and I eat out often, love discovering new restaurants and enjoy trying all the best and all the trendy, I would love to be able to take pics of the dishes to post on my blog with a review, but husband refuses. He says that if I ever try it, he will get up and leave! He believes (and maybe he is right) that we go to a good restaurant to eat, savor, enjoy and concentrate on the food and the experience. Taking photos only distracts and takes away from the dining experience. Oh well...
I'm less annoyed by people taking photos of their food than by people taking photos of each other. At least the people taking photos of their food aren't aiming their flashes around the restaurant at eye level.
Just just bought a new camera and it actually has a "manners" setting (no flash, no sounds)! I tend to be paying attention to what's going on at my table and ignore what's going on at others, but I guess excessive flashing could get annoying.
Have the decency to either: not do it, or use a 'fast' lens and/or high ISO. Using direct flash will make the food look like ass, anyway.
I have been known to photograph food - my own - or on occasion my spouse's. But I think the flash should be left off! And as for bringing a plug-in printer........
I have never had the displeasure of someone at a neighboring table taking pictures of their meals. However, if I were at Alinea, Per Se, French Laundry, Alex, etc. and somebody did that, I would complain to the manager and expect something to be done. Taking photos at Arby's is fine, but I'm not paying $500 a head to be in a three-hour strobe-light funhouse. If the manager failed to react, I would warn the people taking the photos. If they continued, I'd take their camera away. If they came after the camera, I'd knock them on their ass. You can see where this is going. Pray... you don't take photos when I'm around. It would be bad.
We photograph our meals when we travel (from low-end to high-end restaurants), and our friends say that they love our blogging about it, although many have admitted to needing a snack while they read.
It is not a choice of either/or with regards to enjoying the food and being in the moment, or documenting for later enjoyment. We really enjoy the food while we eat, and the photos actually help us to relive the experience whether we end up posting it or not. There have been many times when I get hungry again as I write up the experience.
We've also frequently run into other people doing it, and have struck up conversations which resulted in connections and good food recommendations.
But we do try to be discreet, and never use a flash. In some cases, like meals at El Bulli (http://bacn.me/86z) and Fat Duck (http://bacn.me/86y), we were with friends who also like to photograph, and the restaurants also seemed to enjoy it - they know that it will be free marketing. We also try to not hold up service with photos, although we've certainly held it up with questions about the food. Fat Duck, Hibiscus, Per Se, EB, and others go out of their way to explain dishes when we ask. But, again, we do try to not disturb other diners, and just use available light. The photos may suffer, but our memories fill in the detail.