Social Media Foodography 101

It is two days away from Thanksgiving. What I love about this holiday is seeing and eating lots of food! Which brought to my attention how I am seeing more and more of my friends posting food photos on their social media walls especially on Facebook.

For those that had the honor of dining with me in the past, I am that person who will whip out my camera and take photos of my food before I even eat whether we are in a restaurant or at a home. Why may you ask? I like to share my food experiences with others without having to verbally explain about the food. The photos speak for themselves.

However, I do not flood my social media walls with pictures of everything I eat. I only select the ones that will give my viewers something to salivate over while generate stories and conversations.

Here are a few reasons why posting food pictures will add some spice to your social media walls:

Carne Asada Fries on Jen's Facebook Wall

To gain entertaining comments, I purposely post photos of food that I know will bring back memories to certain friends. As you can see from the photo example (right side), I strategically posted a photo of carne asada fries on my Facebook wall. Anyone from San Diego knows that carne asada meat with french fries is our version of meat and potatoes. No other city or country in the world can duplicate the flavors of this San Diego’s mexican dish. Therefore, this photo grabbed the attention to my friends that are currently living outside San Diego as they expressed of wanting some carne asada fries too.

In addition, each photo should have the name of the dish and where it was cooked. Giving creditability to restaurants, eateries, or the cook / chef is highly suggested. Providing information to hungry viewers is much appreciated in case they want to experience the food themselves on their own time. Or perhaps a friend will strike an interesting conversation about his or her experience at the specific eatery mentioned in the photo.

2.) Give your taste buds a more worldly adventure.

My world traveler friend, Badri Narayan explained to me how he loves to experiment with new and unusual foods along with authentic local versions of popular ethnic dishes that may have been changed to reflect the American palate. I believe everyone should explore different cuisines outside of their hungry comfort zone. What better way to introduce an exponential amount of friends to a new dish by displaying a picture on social media! Advertising is the way to go if you want open a new cuisine world to your friends. Photos can stimulate the mind to where one’s mouth starts to drool. Obviously, trying to get the same reaction verbally is not that effective.

Ahi Poke is a raw fish salad. It is an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine.

And even if you cannot persuade a friend to try a new or unusual cuisine, at least your social media wall will be filled with funny replies. My friend and fellow Yelper, Mika Hill from Hawaii states, “Sometimes I take pictures of things that people may not even like. For example, natto or fermented soybeans. Just to see the reactions.” Just like Mika, I think it is comical reading the first reactions of my friends responding to food that are foreign to them.

3.) Share your home cooked meals!
Why not share your creation with others by putting your cooking skills on blast?! Not only will you entice your audience with what you are about to chow down on, but you also present ideas to another one’s menu for the day or week. A few of days ago, my sister-in-law Dannah recently posted a picture on her Facebook wall of home cooked Bulgogi, a Korean meat dish, that my older brother made for her when she came home from work (see photo below). Let me tell you this, my mouth was salivating and I went to a local Korean market to pick up some bulgogi the next day. See how photos can motivate other people’s decisions??

My sis-in-law posted a pic of home cooked bulgogi (a Korean dish) made by my older brother.

4.) Highlight the beauty of food. Food is not only delicious. Food is art!

Any food that is vibrant in color or has unique textures deserves to be photographed and to be exposed in the social media world. Sometimes you are giving an entree or a dessert that is too beautiful to eat! Instead of creating a mental picture of the food, photograph it so you can still appreciate its beauty after you gobble it up! Badri explained this reason in a great perspective, “Foods that are very colorful and presented masterfully will always make it onto my wall or blog. It is imperative to get these imaginative ideas out so others may reproduce them and try to live the same experience!”

Banana Creme Tart from Extraordinary Desserts in San Diego CA

Are you enthusiastic to photograph food and post it online for your friends to see?

I hope my blog encourages you to photo shoot your food and share it on your social media walls. If you need advice on how to jazz up your food through your camera lens, here are some tips from my friend and professional photographer, Ranz Navarro who showcases his photography, style and creativity with food:

Always do a close up shot. Do not shoot from afar. When you shoot from a wide angle, there’s too many things around it that will take the viewer’s attention away from your subject.

Have fun and be creative with angles. Shooting 3 dimensional gives the viewer a better perspective of your subject.

Composition is very important. Remember, rules of thirds. Putting your subject off center let’s you make use of space in a creative fashion.

Editing. Let your imagination go wild, in a subtle way. Not too crazy. Rice is meant to be white, not purple. So watch your hues and saturations. You want your image for viewers to say, “that looks so cool!”

Please feel free to post your food photos on my Beyond PhotoJENic facebook wall. I would love to see the food that you or your friends make. In addition, I am always looking for new eateries or cuisines to explore so please make my mouth water! And for that, I will thank you for my future food adventures and photography.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!