Why We Post Photos of Our Food

By Stacey Ross
I am not a foodie, or a chef. Heck, I do not think I enjoy food any more than your average person. (Well, unless it involves a good beer and sushi…or chocolate!) So why, on any given month, might a good majority of the photos in my social media streams center around food? Why are so many people compelled to tweet what they eat?
My personal view is that food is not that sexy, although I have been known to refer to some Japanese appetizers as “foreplay”! Typically, if I am playing a role in the branding process, I snap away to display a new camera feature, a hotel restaurant, or a favorite item from the menu. And even if there is no compensation involved, there is nothing like giving homage to a person or an institution – like a beer with the ballpark in the background – that you think is doing a great job. It’s just part of the social media culture!
I have found that a photo of a particularly appealing meal can be a valuable contribution to the inter-webs, particularly when accompanied with some descriptive words, recommendations, or geeky captions. I also take the opportunity to share bloopers. For example, my Facebook post sharing my burnt cookies was pretty well-received, likely because of the caption, “Warning: Mom Blogger Hazard!” The sentiment conveyed along with image becomes a unique form of storytelling, although a photo of a standard sandwich and French fries might not be all that compelling!
So why do others post their meals? I asked my colleagues and received a palate-full of replies.
Second nature for foodies
Freelancers, bloggers and foodies all click away ritualistically like they are foodarazzi. Gina M. Ruiz, a food blogger and a freelancer, hangs out a lot with a Michelin-starred chef, so taking photos of food for her blog Dona Lupe’s Kitchen is imperative. The same applies for her inspiration, Chef Gianfranco Minuez, who is documenting his dishes for a future book. For Gina, sometimes she is “just impressed with the beauty and color or the plating style,” and at other times she is developing a recipe.
My Facebook friend Kimberly Edwards shared that two of her friends must photograph before they eat and that some of her friends regularly post on the review site Yelp. They make a habit of reviewing restaurants before they even open and are often the first to document their experiences – all with their handy cameras!
Images of inspiration
Lifestyle blogger Abby N Lili contributed, “I do not consider myself crafty or artistic, but I can cook. Taking pictures of food and sharing it on BabyBirdsFarm is my creative outlet. I like to believe it is useful to others too. Hopefully, they want to try the recipe, learn something new, or are just inspired to cook fresh, healthy good food.”
Another Facebook friend Lucretia Madden Pruitt added, “I like looking at other people’s food pix because it: a) stimulates my own appetite, b) gives me ideas for dishes to make or try, c) is artistic and aesthetically pleasing, and d) lets me share that moment with them.”
A conversation starter
When shared creatively to celebrate not only the food itself but the experience surrounding it, the “foodographer” can tell a story. I would be doing a disservice to you by editing the response of Faryl Zaklin a social media wizard, friend, and blogger at fearlessblogger.com, so here is all she had to say on the matter:
“I’m not a fan of foodie pics on social media but I can tolerate it if: it’s for accountability; the meal presentation is just beyond words; you’re in a different country and the cuisine is unique; you hunted, slaughtered and cooked part of the meal; it’s moving or has eyes; any part of it is flaming (intentionally or unintentionally); your kid made it; you did an especially good job at making it and you’re proud; you’re sharing a recipe for the photo subject; or you did such a bad job preparing it, words fail you.”
Melinda Kruse DiPerna also hits the nail on the head: “It’s a way of sharing beauty, flavor, color, fun. No different than [photographing] a great flower. Occasionally funny or a warning.”
Food as the great connector
Whether we post photos of our hamburgers for branding purposes or for sensual pleasure, we can’t deny that food serves as a great unifier and conversation starter. When we have family and friends over or even meet someone for the first time, we tend to organize the gathering around a culinary experience. Virtual or not, what is on the dinner table brings people together.
A news anchor at NBC 7 San Diego, Jodi Kodesh, shared, “I do it nearly every time I cook, because I NEVER cook! I’m horrible. When I do make a pretty plate, I want a little bit of praise for the hard work I put into whatever meal I’m showing.”
A firefighter for the U.S. Marines, Ace Torres, knows that ladies love food (and we know firefighters are notorious for having their way in the kitchen!), so he figures that sharing food that he has either bought or cooked himself on his stream might “entice a date by showing girls what they could be eating if they go out with me.” And he makes sure to point out “I don’t use Instagram filters on my food pics.” Ace wants to be sure to portray accurately what a lady can expect. Smart move!
Food remains one of the most talked-about topics on social media and, with the advancement of technology, practically anyone who can aim and shoot can take a delightful photo. As Cari Bee, lifestyle/entertainment blogger behind BusyBeeBlogger.com, reminds us: “Food is inherently communal. Even if eating alone, we feel compelled to share our experience.”
I’ll chew to that!
Stacey Ross is an online consultant, social media enthusiast, freelancer and owner of SanDiegoBargainMama.com. A former teacher and middle school counselor, she is now a mom of two who researches and freelances about lifestyle topics involving family and well-being.
Excellent post.
Kadın iş yerinde çalışan erkekten çok hoşanıyordu.
Evli kadın o adamı düşünerek masturbasyon yapar fakat konu gerçek sekse
gelince eşini ve cocuklarını düşünüp. 1080p
Porn, Amcık.
Sahte, Kaçak veya Yasal Tedarik Zinciri Dışına Çıkmış İlaçlar Hakkında Kılavuz” tarihli ve E- sayılı Makam Oluru
ile yürürlüğe girmiştir. İlgililere duyurulur. Ek: Sahte, Kaçak veya Yasal Tedarik Zinciri Dışına Çıkmış İlaçlar
Hakkında.
Hello theonlinemom.com admin, You always provide useful tips and best practices.
To the theonlinemom.com owner, Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Hello theonlinemom.com owner, Your posts are always on topic and relevant.
Dear theonlinemom.com administrator, You always provide valuable information.
Hello theonlinemom.com admin, Your posts are always a great source of knowledge.
To the theonlinemom.com admin, Your posts are always a great read.
To the theonlinemom.com administrator, Your posts are always well-delivered and engaging.
Hello theonlinemom.com webmaster, Your posts are always well-referenced and credible.
Hi theonlinemom.com owner, Your posts are always informative and well-explained.
Dear theonlinemom.com owner, Your posts are always well-written and easy to understand.
Hi theonlinemom.com admin, You always provide great resources and references.
To the theonlinemom.com owner, Great job!
To the theonlinemom.com webmaster, Thanks for the well-organized and comprehensive post!
Dear theonlinemom.com webmaster, You always provide great examples and real-world applications, thank you for your valuable contributions.
To the theonlinemom.com administrator, Thanks for the educational content!
Hello theonlinemom.com administrator, Your posts are always well-supported by research and data.
Where to buy Acarbose online without prescription Diabetes meds for sale online – no prescription necessary.
I’m ready to order!
The ultimate guide to finding the best online pharmacy for diabetes meds.
because you can’t be bothered to do it yourself.
Is there a way to bypass the prescription requirement and get Metformin delivered to my door?
Dear theonlinemom.com admin, You always provide useful links and resources.
Hello theonlinemom.com webmaster, Keep up the good work!
Hi theonlinemom.com webmaster, Thanks for the well-organized and comprehensive post!
Hi theonlinemom.com administrator, Your posts are always well-written and easy to understand.
Hello theonlinemom.com webmaster, Your posts are always well-written and engaging.
Hi theonlinemom.com administrator, Well done!
Dear theonlinemom.com owner, Your posts are always informative.
To the theonlinemom.com admin, Keep sharing your knowledge!
Dear theonlinemom.com admin, Your posts are always well written.
Hi theonlinemom.com administrator, Nice post!
Dear theonlinemom.com administrator, Your posts are always interesting.
To the theonlinemom.com admin, Your posts are always well received by the community.
To the theonlinemom.com owner, Your posts are always well-supported by research and data.
Hello theonlinemom.com admin, Your posts are always well-structured and logical.
When someone writes an article he/she retains the thought of a user in his/her
brain that how a user can understand it. So that’s why this piece of writing is great.
Thanks!
Hey there would you mind letting me know which web host you’re using?
I’ve loaded your blog in 3 completely different web browsers and I must
say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you recommend a good web hosting provider at
a honest price? Many thanks, I appreciate it!
Hello this is somewhat of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs
use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML.
I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience.
Any help would be enormously appreciated!
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It if truth be told used to be a amusement
account it. Look advanced to far introduced agreeable from you!
By the way, how can we communicate?
This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am genuinely impressed to read all at alone place.
Hey there, You have done a great job. I will definitely digg it
and personally suggest to my friends. I am sure they’ll
be benefited from this website.
Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you
penning this write-up and also the rest of the site is also really good.
Thanks for the auspicious writeup. It actually used to be a entertainment account it.
Look complex to more brought agreeable from you!
By the way, how could we keep up a correspondence?
Howdy! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against hackers?
I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any recommendations?
I think this is among the most significant information for me.
And i’m glad reading your article. But wanna remark on few general things,
The website style is ideal, the articles is really
nice : D. Good job, cheers
Hi theonlinemom.com admin, Your posts are always well organized and easy to understand.
Hello my family member! I wish to say that this post is awesome, nice written and include
almost all significant infos. I’d like to see extra posts like this
.
Great article.
My brother recommended I might like this web site.
He was entirely right. This post truly made my day.
You cann’t imagine just how much time I had spent for this information!
Thanks!
hi!,I like your writing very so much! percentage we
keep in touch more about your article on AOL?
I need a specialist on this house to resolve my problem.
May be that’s you! Having a look ahead to peer you.
I used to be suggested this website via my
cousin. I am now not sure whether this publish is written through him as nobody else recognise such detailed about my difficulty.
You are wonderful! Thanks!
Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it’s truly
informative. I’m gonna watch out for brussels. I
will be grateful if you continue this in future.
Many people will be benefited from your writing.
Cheers!
I absolutely love your blog.. Great colors & theme.
Did you create this web site yourself? Please reply back as I’m
planning to create my very own site and want to learn where you got this from or exactly what the theme
is called. Many thanks!
I do accept as true with all the concepts you’ve introduced on your post.
They are really convincing and will certainly work.
Still, the posts are too brief for starters. Could you please lengthen them a bit from next time?
Thank you for the post.
Hello, Neat post. There’s an issue along with your site
in web explorer, would test this? IE nonetheless is the market
chief and a big section of folks will pass over your
great writing due to this problem.
My family members every time say that I am wasting my time here at web, but I know I am getting familiarity
every day by reading thes good posts.
Aw, this was a very nice post. Taking the time and actual effort to create a top notch article… but what can I say… I
hesitate a whole lot and don’t seem to get anything done.
Great post. I was checking continuously this blog and I am impressed!
Extremely useful info specifically the last part 🙂
I care for such info a lot. I was looking for this particular info for a very long time.
Thank you and best of luck.
Hi! I could have sworn I’ve been to this web site before but after
looking at many of the posts I realized it’s new to me.
Nonetheless, I’m definitely happy I discovered it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back frequently!
Tremendous things here. I’m very satisfied to peer your article.
Thanks a lot and I’m taking a look forward to touch you.
Will you please drop me a mail?
I have been surfing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours.
It is pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all webmasters
and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will be a lot more useful than ever before.
After looking into a number of the blog posts on your web site, I really
like your technique of blogging. I saved as a favorite it to my bookmark webpage
list and will be checking back soon. Take a look at my web site as
well and tell me how you feel.
Having read this I thought it was extremely enlightening.
I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this informative article
together. I once again find myself personally spending a lot of time both reading and posting comments.
But so what, it was still worthwhile!
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my site thus i came to “return the favor”.I am trying to find things to improve my site!I
suppose its ok to use some of your ideas!!
Hello, Neat post. There’s an issue with your site in internet
explorer, may check this? IE still is the market chief and a large portion of folks will omit your great
writing because of this problem.
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your articles as
long as I provide credit and sources back to your
webpage? My blog site is in the exact same area
of interest as yours and my visitors would truly benefit from
a lot of the information you provide here. Please let me
know if this alright with you. Thanks!
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this
website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for
you? Plz respond as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to know where
u got this from. cheers
I was pretty pleased to uncover this great site. I need to to thank you for
your time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely really liked every bit of
it and I have you book-marked to see new things on your website.
First of all I would like to say awesome blog! I had a quick question that I’d like to ask if
you don’t mind. I was curious to find out how you
center yourself and clear your head before writing.
I have had a difficult time clearing my mind in getting my
ideas out. I truly do enjoy writing however it just
seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes tend to be wasted just trying to figure out how
to begin. Any recommendations or tips? Kudos!
Normally I don’t learn post on blogs, however I would like to say that this write-up very pressured me to try and do so!
Your writing style has been amazed me. Thank you, very nice post.
Hey excellent blog! Does running a blog similar to this take a massive amount work?
I have no knowledge of coding but I had been hoping to start my own blog soon. Anyways, if you have any suggestions or tips for new blog owners please share.
I understand this is off topic however I simply had
to ask. Thank you!
Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article.
I’ll make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful info.
Thanks for the post. I will certainly comeback.
Your style is very unique in comparison to other people I have read
stuff from. I appreciate you for posting when you have the opportunity,
Guess I’ll just book mark this site.
I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills as well
as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself?
Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a
great blog like this one today.
I truly love your site.. Very nice colors & theme.
Did you make this site yourself? Please reply back as
I’m hoping to create my very own blog and would like to learn where
you got this from or what the theme is called. Appreciate it!
I am genuinely grateful to the holder of this web page who has shared this great post at
at this time.
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about this, like you wrote the
book in it or something. I think that you could do with a few pics to drive the
message home a bit, but instead of that, this is excellent blog.
A fantastic read. I’ll certainly be back.
This article is truly a good one it helps new
web viewers, who are wishing for blogging.
Hi there! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new
iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading through
your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the outstanding work!
It’s really a great and helpful piece of information. I’m happy that you just shared this useful info
with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thank you for
sharing.
Just want to say your article is as astounding.
The clearness in your post is simply spectacular and i could assume you are an expert on this subject.
Well with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep updated
with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please keep up the enjoyable work.
fantastic issues altogether, you just received a new reader.
What might you recommend in regards to your put up that you simply made
a few days ago? Any sure?
Hello theonlinemom.com administrator, You always provide clear explanations and definitions.
Thanks very nice blog!
Excellent blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What host are you using?
Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my web
site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
This post is worth everyone’s attention. When can I find out more?
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you may be a great author.
I will make sure to bookmark your blog and will come back sometime soon.
I want to encourage you to definitely continue your great posts, have a nice holiday weekend!
Hi, constantly i used to check weblog posts here early in the daylight, as i enjoy to learn more
and more.
Hi theonlinemom.com admin, Your posts are always well received by the community.