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What do you think about people who take pictures of their food in restaurants? It's a question that was raised last week in The San Francisco Chronicle in which bloggers were asked to weigh in with their opinions...
Mentioned in the Article:
Bunrabs.com creator Edie Ichioka is a discreet yet prolific snapper in a wide range of dining establishments.
Alice Yamada of Epicurean Debauchery finds that the Asian restaurants she frequents are very welcoming of amateur food photographers.
Pim Techamuanvivit of Chez Pim didn't actually say she feels a sense of entitlement about photographing her dinner because, she "paid to eat the meal", as she was quoted in the article. What she actually said was "even though I love to photograph my food, I will always follow the wishes of the restaurant because -and this is my exact quote- ultimately I pay for the privilege to EAT the food, not to take photograph of it".
And I admitted that my trip to Wylie Dufresne's New York restaurant WD50 was inspired by a picture of his food I spotted on Fatemeh's blog, Gastronomie. It's kind of ironic because Dufresne allegedly isn't keen on food bloggers despite the positive knock-on effect they have had on his business. The reason Fatemeh ate at WD50 in the first place was because she, too, had read about Dufresne's unusual cuisine on another blog where the poster had been encouraged to try it, you guessed it, yet another blogger.
The article raised some commentary from other bloggers...
Other bloggers weigh in on the subject of Photographing Food:
Liz from Good Stuff shares her first thought:
"...photographing a meal is something you don't do on a special occasion- a first date, a birthday (unless you're also taking group photos to share), an anniversary, etc. Those are times you want to focus on the other person and not, as another poster put it, getting that perfect shot of a butter pat."
The Passionate Eater remarks that there is an unspoken etiquette rule of "sometimes it is inappropriate to take pictures". Etiquette aside, she points out other reasons to keep the camera hidden in the bag:
"Although I have no shame in taking pictures of food, sometimes, I am hesitant to snap pictures in a group setting, because I have to explain why I am taking pictures of food (which inevitably garners scattered laughs) and also be "the person" who stops hungry people from immediately digging in when the food arrives on the table."
Erin from Erin's Kitchen puts the question out on Food Blog S'cool:
"I've gotten less wimpy about taking pictures in restaurants, but still somewhat dislike doing it, especially in a quiet, dark spot (and then the photos don't turn out anyway!). Also, sometimes I just want to focus on enjoying my meal and my company--though I'm often with my husband or close friends, I worry it's a bit rude to my dining companions if we're not as close."
Erin's post garners some great responses in the comments section (you should take some time to read all of them) including this one from Johanna, The Passionate Cook:
"I also don't think I've a right to take pictures and defend it over my dead body, but I also don't really understand why they shouldn't allow us bloggers to take pictures? after all, we're not using them commercially, so what's the problem? and if it's about distracting other patrons from their food, are they going to ban couples from having an argument? or what about people with verbal diarrhea? They put me off my food much more than any camera could!"
Blogher Contributing Editor:
Sam Breach, takes far less photos in restaurants than she used to when she first started blogging over at Becks & Posh. She finds it embarassing, to tell the truth. Unless she is on vacation, when anything goes and her camera is glued to her side, you are more likely, these days, to see Sam illustrate her restaurant review blog posts with a simple picture of the establishment's calling card.
