Photo Etiquette

Apparently my food pictures have caused a bit of controversy. It’s not what you might think. I didn’t have Chef Corry, Hayward, Evans, Kern, Matthews or even Desjarlais complain about me taking pictures of their dishes. It wasn’t their front-of-the-house staff either. It was a little-known blogger from Saco.

As reported by Portland Psst! and Portland Food Map, the Saco Blogger has crafted a new word to describe my picture taking. Evidently cynicism has replaced our normally witty discourse in the Maine Food Blogsphere.

So, to set the record straight, here are a few of the rules I follow for snapping food photos when eating out:

1. Dine off hours, not on a busy Saturday night
2. Ask for a corner table (booth is preferred), or to be seated away from other diners
3. Only take a few pictures and don’t stress if the picture isn't perfect
4. Obtain permission before taking pictures of the kitchen or staff
5. If it's busy, and the tables are close together, forget the pictures

Here are a few examples of how I follow these rules:

This is a picture at Prezza that didn’t make the blog:

Note that the restaurant was empty due to a snow storm that night. We were in a corner table, with the dining room to ourselves. That is reason why I was able to capture so many pictures.

At Lotus I snapped a bunch of dishes because we had lunch at 3:30 pm -- our corner of the dining room was empty.

Click over to the Fresh! post, and notice that no one is sitting at the bar. There is a good reason -- we had lunch at 2:30 pm that day.

Following my self-imposed rules, I haven’t taken any interior shots at a number of restaurants, such as Bresca and Ribollita. On the nights we dined, these places were packed, so I only took pictures of the outside - and the leftovers we enjoyed at home the next day.

Even if I didn’t follow my own rules, camera flashes are not uncommon at fine dining establishments. Many people dine out to celebrate a special occasion and bring along a camera. At our most recent visit to the White Barn Inn, there were at least three other people taking pictures, with waitstaff volunteering to help. My picture taking didn’t turn a single head.

If you're the type of person who won't ask your waiter to turn down the music or turn off a blaring television, then likely you won't feel comfortable snapping photos of your meal. If your self confidence is strong and your discretion is intact, then pay the chef a compliment and click away.