Strange for NOT taking pictures of food

So, someone posted a comment on one of my photos, calling me strange because I happened to have not taken pictures of the food at a recent gathering.

Me? Strange? Well, those who know me know that I am pretty strange. But usually I am called strange by regular joes when I DO take pictures of food...

Granted, recently I have stopped taking pictures of food when I am at dinner with friends, or when I want to focus on the people I eat with. When I am at a restaurant for the main purpose of the food, I will take pictures. But when I am on a date or want to catch up with friends, I leave my camera at home. Is that strange?

Any thoughts? Do you take pictures of every meal? Let's dig deeper... Why do you take pictures of food?

Is it strange of me to dwell so much on someone calling me strange? Is that strange? Is it strange that I am using the word strange so many times? Strange...

CrazyC who is thinking of changing her name to StrangeC...

Unless I'm with people who know and accept my strange proclivity to take pictures of food, I usually avoid it.

But, can you believe it? I've heard a rumor that some people actually use cameras to take pictures of people, and even landscapes. It's probably just one of those urban legends, though.

I was eating dinner at a restaurant on Saturday night when a very noticeable flash kept going off at the booth behind our table. I assumed it was a fellow food-lover shooting pics of his dinner (I don't use flash in restaurants but I know some people do). Anyway, when I turned around and learned that he was, in fact, taking pictures of his date, I suddenly became very annoyed by his repeated use of flash in the dining room.

Some restaurant habits are simply intolerable!

=R=

I only just started taking pictures of food, but I'd only do it with LTH folks. Other folks would indeed think I'm strange. Plus it takes away from snarfing if you make everyone wait until you're done with your photo shoot. Only LTHers seem to understand the importance of taking photos of your dinner! That way, it makes other people want to go there too, or avoid it, depending on the place. Food can also be pretty to look at and makes a nice screen saver. I have a paczki on my desktop.

Pie Lady wrote:I have a paczki on my desktop.

Love!

Forget about the actual photo taking, I get constant teasing about the number of pictures on my hard drive with no people in them, just food...tho I've learned not to shoot food in front of people who don't know or get my foodie tendencies.

This is what I mean... most people think I am strange for taking pictures of food. Not the other way around!

Sometimes people will ask me to take a photo of something other than the food - and I'll feel really sheepish, because I only know how to use my camera for food photography - there are a bunch of other settings, but I've never learned how to use them!

Of course, just try and take a bite of lunch at an Evanston Lunch Group outing before the photos are taken...then you'll get that side of the coin! What context was your gathering? I often feel the need to apologize to LTHers for forgetting to snap pix of food...

It's weird, because I am a photographer, but I just can't really bring myself to take pictures of food regularly. I'll do it when I'm cooking for step-by-step instructions, and I'll occasionally do it on a road trip, but I can only think of four restaurant meals that I've taken pictures of since I've joined this site. I don't know why.

I have a question for all of you LTHers who take pictures of food regularly, and not for professional reasons: why do you do it? Besides posting them here and/or on your blog, do you ever go back and look at the pictures? I'm honestly just curious. I don't think it ever occurred to me to take pictures of food I was about to eat. I just wanted to get to it and eat it.

I do take pix of food, and look back at them from time to time. If it's something I've made, it reinforces how I could better plate it next time. If it's from a restaurant, it can help me remember good times, and can also help me with plating.

I have tried to take photos of our meals for LTH posts but it prompts a pained look from Mrs. Davooda so I have refrained. BTW - the same look occurs when I imbibe a fine wine in the oenophile manner of swirling in the glass and drawing in air so as to fully taste all of the flavors. However, I suck it up and take the heat as I loves my wine!

I do not find it strange to not take pictures of food, I also do not think it is strange to take pictures of food. Different strokes.

Myself, I do not take pictures of the food I eat for the following reasons:

1) I want to dig into the dish as soon as it is served, not take time to set it up for a photo shoot.
2) I dont lug my digital camera around with me everywhere I go.
3) food pics would take up precious memory card space that are reserved for my photgenic daughter.

Being obsessed about food and being somewhat of a newbie when it comes to still photography, I take food pics for a number of reasons. Here are a few of them:

1) I love to see other peoples' pictures of food because they are usually extremely illustrative. On that basis, I like to provide my own images here because I figure that they are useful and appreciated by other LTHForum.com members. While many of LTHForum's contributors are extraordinarily gifted when it comes to food writing, I find the old saying about a picture being worth 1,000 words especially true when it comes to food.

2) I enjoy keeping a permanent visual record of the food I eat, cook and shop for. When you discuss food as frequently as I do, it's great to have visual records to refer back to, even years after the fact.

3) As a newbie-photographer, shooting food subjects 'on location' is great because the varying and relatively uncontrollable conditions help me become a more resourceful photographer. You walk into a space and must adapt to that space for the images to be captured successfully. I really enjoy that challenge.

4) At the end of each year, I create a picture-calendar that contains some of my favorite food images from the previous year. Assembling the calendar is great fun because I get to review my 'year in eating' and also because it's a fantastic way to share with family and friends some of my favorite eating spots. Since I'm often asked by folks to provide recommendations, the calendar is one way to provide them (of course, I also direct them here, to these forums).

=R=

Thanks for the considered responses.

I've been sticking my lens into my food for long enough that these days I don't do it every time anymore - and often forget these days even though my camera is in my pocket.

Some regular dining companions had gotten so accustomed to my habit that they wait for me to photograph their plate - I tell them that I only shoot my own food - but often they insist, since they'll get documentation of their meal.

Many times I don't shoot because of the conditions - the occasion, the lighting or the food. Brown lumpy stuff is going to look that way unless you set up a professional lightbox etc.

Although I'm a wretched photographer, I've gotten used to photographing food at the table as my RDC has a great food blog that she regularly updates, so it has become a habit for me. Yesterday, however, she was out of town for our usual Wednesday lunch date at Hot Doug's, so I took my husband and a couple of friends instead.

The crew at Doug's didn't bat an eyelash when I pulled out my camera, being used to this from me every week, but my husband and our friends were astonished that I wanted to take pictures of their dogs. They thought I was nuts and couldn't understand why I wanted pictures of our lunch. Eventually, they relented, but not without making some snide comments about being obsessed with food (which I chose to take as a compliment).

I, in turn, thought they were strange for NOT wanting to take pictures of our food. It goes without saying that I'm looking forward to the return of my RDC.

AndrewR wrote:why do you do it?

As much as I want to do it, I feel awkward pulling out a brick of a camera and start shooting in restaurants. It's just not for me.

I only take photos of foods I make. Aside from blogging, it's all about documenting results and figuring out which tweaks work, especially in baking where the smallest adjustments can make a huge difference.

ronnie_suburban wrote: At the end of each year, I create a picture-calendar that contains some of my favorite food images from the previous year.

I like that idea. Mind if I use it too?

Pictures of food are just plain comforting.

Pie Lady wrote:Food can also be pretty to look at and makes a nice screen saver. I have a paczki on my desktop.

Here is my screen saver. I like the idea of a paczki if I ever get tired of the biscuit.

A friend of mine was just telling me how he took his sister to a Michelin star-rated restaurant and the person over at the next table was taking pictures and they thought it was hilarious.

I take pictures of food ALL the time! Yes, I'm a food blogger, but I'm also just a person who likes to take pictures of pretty things. Food is often pretty, especially at a Michelin-star rated restaurant! I wouldn't think that was weird.

He disagreed.