Created by Aram Hong, Beini Weng, Shuai Dong
Camera has been becoming popular as if the
things indispensable to life. Photographs and Social Network Service are
considered together, some social issues are occurred frequently. One of the
issues is to photograph dishes in restaurants.
Is it rude to take a photo of dishes in restaurants?
“It’s reached epic proportions,” a spokesman
for a number of New York City restaurants told the NY Times. “Everybody wants to get their shot. They
don’t care how it affects people around them.” The writer also says that One of
the celeb chefs he reps is David Bouley, who says that when people pull out
their cameras — some even going so far as to stand on their chairs to get a
bird’s eye shot — “It’s a disaster in terms of momentum, settling into the
meal, the great conversation that develops… It’s hard to build a memorable
evening when flashes are flying every six minutes.” (Morran, 2013) .When dishes are eventually arrived at table, it
should be taken a picture by people from time to time without any consideration
of companies. Some say “Hold on! I need to take a picture. Don’t touch!” and
after few minutes, they say again, “One more shot, please.” Than the other say
“I am hungry and food is getting cold.” The attitude towards food has been
changed and it irritates not only company but also people around them.In addition, some chefs don’t want them are
just insecure about their dishes (Clay, 2014) .
Marketing strategy of food business
It disrupts ambience and makes hard to spend
memorial time in restaurant. However, it is a strong effective marketing method
for restaurant and also a way to get an idea for individuals. With sharing and
distributing photos of great foods, the restaurant can get reputation.“These days restaurants court bloggers and
tweeters as social networking is a valuable marketing tool. So shouldn’t chefs
be celebrating the free publicity that a Twitter or Instagram photograph gives
them?” (Clay, 2014) .Moreover, business needs to chase how
customer’s needs are changed by trend. People want to share right then their
instant gratification.
The
way to avoid being rude
Moe Issa, the owner of Chef’s Table at Brooklyn
Fare, said he banned photography several months after opening when it became
too much of a distraction to the other diners at his 18-seat restaurant (STAPINSKI, 2013) .While Chef’s Table banned taking a photo of
foods, Chef Bouley came up with another way to satisfy customers and keep the
ambience of the restaurant at the same time.Chef Bouley is trying to appease food photogs
and keep things civil in his dining room. He tells the Times that he’ll
sometimes invite people to take photos of their meal in the kitchen. He’s also
working on a system that would provide customers with pics of their food before
they finish eating (Morran, 2013) .Many people say ‘no flash’ need to be a first
rule in restaurant. The flash makes food ugly and distracts people.
New trend for Food-graphy
It is obvious that marketing strategy should
make good use of the growing trend for food-graphy.The most important factor for the Picture House
is to invent the payment method by taking a picture on Instagram, then upload
it onto social media and create a fun dining environment, which is an
interesting and fresh way to customers as well as to other competitors in the
industry. Food-graphy becomes popular eating style; Howerer, how to catch this
new trend and turn it into a selling point is worth considering.
Questions:
1. Is it rude to take photos in restaurant? Or
fine? If it is rude, what should people do with taking photos?
2. Why people want to take photos of the food?
Why it is being trend?
3. Is it a good marketing method? If yes, how
can it be developed as a better way for marketing?
References used:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/dining/restaurants-turn-camera-shy.html?_r=0
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/restaurants/10648419/Is-it-wrong-to-photograph-your-food-in-restaurants.html
http://gorkana.com/news/consumer/case-studies/case-study-picture-house-the-world-s-first-pay-by-picture-restaurant/
I personally do not think that it is rude to take a picture of your food, if the food looks good people want to capture it and I do not see anything wrong with that. When people hang out together many people want to take as many pictures as possible. For me I experience this quite a lot and I think it’s fine because I would rather have them take the pictures and send it to me instead of me taking the pictures. So for me I don’t find it distracting so I think that it is fine.
ReplyDeleteHi Johlissa, thank you for your opinion, I think it depends on different situations and environments, for example, some are advanced restaurants. if customers open flash to take pictures , it will affect other people's meal time.
DeleteTaking photos of dishes in restaurants become familar in my life. And i do not think to take photo in restaruants is rude. Actually my friends really like to take photos before eating; moreover, take photo just cost several seconds, who care about that. Most of them just want to record their life and want to remmber some moment, it is not a fait. On the other hand, it is a good way to advertise the restaurants if they are really nice. So i think it is fine to take picture before eating.
ReplyDeleteYao Li
Hi Li Yao, I agree with your opinion, it is a good way to advertise the restaurants, because there are more and more people see the photos of the food and dishes, which is a free and effective way to attract public's attention.
DeleteIt is a very interesting topic for hospitality industry, and it also can be a big problem for our field. Some restaurants banned taking photos cause it may affect other customers or ruin the dining environment, but if restaurants think it in another way, it maybe a good marketing strategy. By posting photos on social media like Instagram or Facebook, customers advertise the restaurant voluntarily. However, if they had some bad experiences, it also give public a bad impression. Therefore, restaurants must take care of their social reputation and follow the current advertising strategy.
ReplyDeleteHi Jing Lu, thank you for your opinion. One coin has two sides, like you said. Food-graph is a golden chance and new trend for the restaurants to follow. If company use use it wisely such as Birds Eye Picture House which is the first pay by picture restaurant in the world, it will become a successful marketing strategy.
DeleteTaking photos of food should be fine most places, but I do agree that fine dining restaurants with the lights on low can be distracted by flashing cameras. I don't take pictures of my food but my family will sometimes do it.
ReplyDeletePosting pictures of food on social media can be a big boost to an establishment's business. If people see it they will be more likely to go to a place to try and get the same quality food. I know I will do the same.
Hi Nolan, thank you for your opinion. I agree with you , it is not proper to take photos by flashing cameras because it will interrupt other people's dining environment. Customers should pay attention to their behaviours. Anyway, food-graph is a popular trend for the hospitality industry.
DeleteQuestion 2.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason why people take a photo of food is to remember the moment. Taking a picture is one of the ways to remember special moments. For the reason, when tasty and wonderful foods are served to customers, in order to cherish the appearance of foods and the moments most people take pictures of foods. In addition, as Internet and social media develop, most people would like to share their particular moments and lives with others. Through sharing their photo on social media, people communicate what they did with their friends, so taking pictures is being trend today.
Goeun Lee
Hi, Goeun thank you for your comment. Taking photos can help people to remember the nice moment, and it also
Deletea good way to help restaurants to promote their dishes or foods. You are right, taking pictures is being an awesome
trend today, so it is very important for company to combine it with marketing strategy.
Is it rude to take photos in restaurant? Or fine? If it is rude, what should people do with taking photos?
ReplyDeleteI think taking pictures of food in restaurants is only rude if it affects the food, establishment or other customers. In a fine dining restaurant the time you take to get the best shot may result in a meal that is not served to you as the chef intended; i.e., it’s cold or has lost its moisture. It is also inappropriate to hinder low lit establishments or restaurants that accentuate a particular atmosphere with offensive camera flashes. Taking pictures in fast food restaurants or well-lit, less formal locations is not rude though as it would not be discourteous to either the patrons or the business. If a person feel particularly compelled to have a picture of their food they could ask to take a picture in the kitchen or inquire if they have any on their website.
Dear Michelle, thank you for your comment. I agree with your opinion about the analysis of taking photos of foods. Actually, different people have different position. As professional chefs, they aim to offer the best food to the customers and hope them can focus on the meal it self. However, customers want to share the dining moment through posting pictures on social medias to other people. Regarding to marketing aspect, it is a good way to help company to attract public's attention. Therefore, this is an interesting phenomenon which is worth thinking and analyzing.
DeleteIs it rude to take photos in restaurant? Or fine? If it is rude, what should people do with taking photos?
ReplyDeleteI think taking pictures of dishes in a restaurant is fine, because it a free way of advertising the restaurant. People take pictures because they admire the way dishes look, if its pretty and tasty of course they want to take a picture of it. It a way for people to preserve the memory of that dish. I don't fine it rude, because you are taking pictures of your own dishes, its not affecting the people around you. Therefore, I believe its fine for people to take pictures of their food.
3. I believe it is a good marketing method because it enables the company to have a bigger audience. Taking pictures of your meals is a great way for advertisement, because when they post it on their social media, all of their friends see it, and can go and try out your restaurant, and they’d do the same, and so on and so forth. It’s an on-going cycle, causing new customers to come in and try your dishes. If people are being disturbed or feel it’s ruining the ambiance, maybe you should suggest no flash, and for it to be done in a certain section. Perhaps, before the food is brought to the table, they can set out the food outside the kitchen, for you to take a photograph, and then it’d be brought to your table. It wouldn’t disturb any other customers, and you’d be able to get what you want, as well as enjoy your meal. It all depends on the setting of the restaurant, majority of restaurants don’t have a problem with pictures, so if need be, this could be a solution.
ReplyDeleteIn response to question #1:
ReplyDeleteTaking photos in restaurants have become such a normal thing in today's society. I have become so used to it that when around friends or family, you know to pause and wait for whoever wants to take a photo to finish. Because of that I don't think that it is rude to take photos in restaurants. Taking photos can help the company to market their food, and some restaurants actually encourage people to take photos of their meals. But, with that said there are times when people can take it too far. For example, to have multiple flashes in a restaurant that has a dimly lit ambience would be distracting because the flash would be very noticeable. I think that it is situational, because some restaurants enjoy having their products photographed while others prefer the customers just simply eat and enjoy their food. But, for the most part I think that it is not rude to take photos in restaurants.
1. I do not think it is rude to take photos in restaurants because I believe it captures the moment when experiencing good food. I think people take photos in restaurants because they think the food looks so good that people want to show off it off on social media. This allows advertising of the restaurant’s food which can be shared from a range of people from around the world. This will attract people to come to the restaurant and try that food they saw on social media, which gains more popularity and profit for the restaurant. I believe that when people take photos in restaurants, it compliments the chef for it’s creativity as well the restaurant’s reputation.
ReplyDelete#2 I believe people are taking photos in restaurants to share on social media the experience they had. It also gives a chance for the restaurant to build a reputation for their products. With social media being one of the biggest trends in todays society, its no wonder why everyone wants to show off what they are consuming. It also gives the restaurant the credit for having the best food ever in the social media and to gain more customers depending on what is heard about them. I think it is becoming a trend because everybody who does social networking would like to have bragging rights on the restaurants that they have gone to and provide feedback.
ReplyDeleteAnswering question #1: I do not think it is rude to take photos in restaurants when they are done in a way that does not affect the other customers. By saying this I mean that taking photos without the flash and taking them discreetly would be appropriate because it does not affect other patrons and it in fact is helping restaurants profit. It does this by advertising the restaurants foods online and attracting other customers to try the foods in the mouth-watering photos.
ReplyDelete