Cameras Before Eating! How Foodstagramming Has Changed Food
- Full Circle
- Apr 23, 2019
- 6 min read
Updated: May 23, 2019
by Celine Woon
Technology has become so advanced that cameras eat food first instead of humans.
You are probably thinking how on earth could this happen and that whether did humans actually invented a camera that can actually consume food like how we humans tend to shove food into our mouths.
Of course no. This is not a story of a man-eating camera. What we are referring to is this somehow ritualistic behaviour which has plagued many people worldwide, especially among the millennial generation.
Foodstagramming; a new word made from the combination of ‘food’ and the social media application, ‘Instagram’. This is a real term used to describe a new global phenomenon where people are beginning to snap photos of their food before digging into their meals.
It feels not long ago when people would usually gather around the table and say their thank you prayers before starting the meal. This scene would probably be in the history books as it has been replaced with a rather bizarre pre-meal tradition of having the picture of the dishes taken and uploaded to social media before truly commencing a meal.
But isn’t it just food photography? Technically, yes but in this case, photos of the food taken either using smartphones or cameras are uploaded to the social media typically on Instagram. Nevertheless, foodstagramming is more than just sharing pictures of food. The act of creating food blogs and forums have created a bond between social media and food, like a marriage. It provides a platform for people to learn about the cuisine and at the same time allowing a business to advertise their products.
A study by Italian chef Alessio Mecozzi and communications company Klaus Davi where they study images posted on Instagram. It shows that out of 300 million food photos uploaded to Instagram, 17 million contain the hashtag ‘pizza’. Imagine having 17 million photos of slice-pulling action shots!
Although having 300 million food photos certainly proves that foodstagramming is a thing, why take pictures of food?
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern Carolina and Yale University claim that the act of photo-taking during meals makes a person feel happier. This is because eating is regarded as a positive experience. The research also shows that a longer delay between the photo-taking and food-eating increases a person’s pleasure anticipation.
Another research published in the Journal of Consumer Marketing also concludes that taking a picture before eating makes the food taste better. Consumers that know that others are eating healthy food when taking a picture of healthy food before eating will have higher evaluations of food. For example, looking at Instagram photos of fruit smoothies, salads and quinoa are able to trick us into enjoying this food more than we normally would.
This is because the increase interaction with the food; from setting the angles, lighting and plating of the food heightens up the anticipation. With all the efforts placed in making the food look ‘Instagram-worthy’, we tend to get excited to actually taste the food and hence provides satisfaction in the actual eating.
So back to the main question. How has it changed food?
Michelle Young, the owner of Bakes & Inks, an online business selling cakes and cupcakes thinks that foodstagramming has made photography and food visuals to be an important aspect in luring potential customers.
“As my business is Instagram-based, I try my best to take pictures of my cakes in the most attractive way. This is because people are usually attracted to food that looks delicious in pictures. So, visuals come first in my business.” Michelle said. She also notes that when she uploads photos on Instagram, she only has a short time to capture her customers' attention as there are many photos of food popping out on social media. So, she needs an eye-catching engaging photo.
“Because of that, when I design my cakes, I try to use ingredients that will give vibrant colours to my cakes. I try to maximise the colours within a single Instagram post. Also, I take the photos from an angle that accentuate the looks of my products the best.” she added. Michelle is not a professional photographer hence she enlists help from her husband who is more well-versed in food photography.
Meanwhile, Mrs Lee, the owner of Java Flava, a cafe in Kuantan describes foodstagramming to have paved an opportunity for her to increase her cafe’s appeal to her young customers. “The millennials love to dine at places that look pleasing to cameras. This is why we refurbish our cafe to look ‘Instagram-worthy’.We play around with the table settings and lightings to help our customers to take the best looking photos of our food.” she explains.
“We have also trained our baristas in the latte art and that has become one of our cafe’s main attraction because people love taking photos of the latte art. Normal drinks like iced coffee and cappuccino no longer attract customers. We need drinks that are aesthetically pleasing” Mrs Lee added.
Latte art is a method of preparing coffee by pouring microfoam into a shot of espresso. This creates a design on the surface, similar to like drawing in the top layer of the foam. Apart from latte art, the cafe has also tried to follow the latest food trend by serving Belgian waffles and frappe drinks.
When asked whether how much has foodstagramming changed the food industry, Michelle thinks that it has made eating food to be more of an interactive experience and encourages businesses to prioritise food visuals than just the taste of the food. “I think foodstagramming has made cafe and restaurant owners like me to put more effort and money into making our premises nice not only to the eye but also the camera. We also have to continuously experiment with new creations to remain relevant in the market.” Mrs Lee said.
However, for those involved in the culinary industry like Yuan Feng Yuan who is a culinary arts students of Taylor University, foodstagramming threatens the food industry. “Everyone wants to create food that looks good. This defeats the purpose of cooking. Food is not meant for the camera but for ourselves. I have tried much Instagram-worthy food but mostly do not taste good at all. It just gives a bad name to the food industry.” he said.
“However, we cannot deny that food presentation is an important aspect of culinary arts. People ‘eat’ with their eyes first. Photos of food provide publicity to businesses. Nevertheless, people are just taking it over the limits like those rainbow coloured food and cheese in everything” Yuan added.
Meanwhile, for foodie and photographer, KY, foodstagramming is a huge thing on social media not only because food is relevant to everyone but also because they are easy to produce especially when almost everyone now owns a smartphone with a decent quality built-in camera. He has an Instagram account known as ‘kyspeaks’ with over 19k followers that is entirely dedicated to food photos. He tries to post at least a photo of his food daily on Instagram.
“I don’t think it is wrong to constantly share photos of food. Foodstagramming is a way for people to share their food experiences,” he said. When asked whether he thinks that people posting food photos are just trying to seek validation from their peers, he said “Maybe? But I think most people just want to enjoy looking at food photos and to be part of the foodstagramming experience.”
Frequent Instagram users like Sue Anne who usually post photos of her food daily thinks that foodstagramming in just another trend like posting selfies which used to be a huge thing on social media. “I think it’s better than posting selfies. At least the photos are of a different kind of food every day. Also, it’s not that I am obsessed with sharing photos of my food but I like to document things I do in my life through social media.” she said.
On the other hand, university students, Nur Sarah Razak and Aimi Aqilah do not think that foodstagramming is actually beneficial. “I just feel guilty to post food photos because I am afraid people might think I am showing off. Also, I think I might hurt the feelings of my followers who might not be able to taste the food I am having” Nur Sarah said.
“It just feels weird to be snapping photos of my food in public space. Maybe I would do that if I were at home. But I think unless the food is really special, taking photos of just food that you have daily is a waste of time.” Aimi said.
“However, if the person is able to create a really good photo, I don’t mind looking at them. But still, I think millennials are just too into foodstagramming like they take a long time to take the photos and by the time they are done, the food has already turned cold”. She added.
Through foodstagramming, we see an increase in photographic masterpieces across social media. From rainbow ice cream to towering burgers and extra stretchable cheese, it is amazing that a digital photo is able to draw our hunger out and make us salivate. Food binds Malaysians together and this explains to why many Malaysians are into the foodstagramming trend.
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