Why do we take photos of our food? To feel fulfilled
By: Mariyam Haider
Tags: Millennials, Life, Food, Psychology, Photography

Why do we take photos of our food? To feel fulfilled

The act of taking one’s meal photos is a display of emotions than just the contents of the plate

Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash

“You make these excellent meals and then post pictures of them on Instagram, but never bring them to the office,” my manager joked with me earlier today. He was saying that after having seen my photo upload of coconut Thai curry and coriander rice. Unsure of an answer, I said it was too little to bring to work. “Well then make more,” he persisted. I smiled to take time for response, finally conceding, “I’ll make dessert for the office next time.”

Later this afternoon, I watched a man take photos of his lunch that consisted of a regular meal of french fries and burger, at a hawker centre. He spent a couple of minutes holding the phone at a ninety-degree angle, enough to get the full spread and no shadows. As I left, he had finished the meal, with a few lonely fries sunk in mayonnaise and ketchup, like dead fish onto the plate.

Tonight, my dinner was the most basic meal reminiscent of my home in winters— plain parantha cooked in ghee with a sprinkle of salt, along with a hot cup of milk tea. As I sat by myself for dinner, I observed how each bite of the parantha tasted just like it does at home, the saltiness surprise in every bite to a rather bland piece of bread. Adding to that combination is a gulp of tea, that mixes in with the chew, eventually going down together. For the next 10–12 minutes, I was back in my parents’ dining room, having breakfast on a cold winter morning.

What’s common amongst all episodes? The act of taking photos of the meals.

We take pictures of objects we cherish, but we eat food every day, why is it necessary to document it? Social media is one, but that’s not the cause. The term ‘food porn’ is another manifestation of our deep-seated relationship with something as natural as feeding our bodies. Our eyes widen and mouth waters, at the sight of delicious meals, but perhaps, more important than that is the basic tendency of feeling fulfilled: and the easiest way to do that is eating.

I think when we take photos of our food, we are trying to capture the joy that the meal brings more than the satisfaction of having it.

From the moment of taking that right shot to the moment of having the first bite, is a fleeting sense of happiness that neither the photo nor eating the food can capture. However, as always, we try to register, to document, to seize that one instance that we know we feel, but cannot explain. Everything that happens after posting a photo, or eating the meal, is simply validation. Our minds are filled with Instagram likes and comments, our stomachs are filled with the food — and that moment in between, gone.

Which brings me to the next realisation: how can one then manifest that moment time and again? And the simple answer is generosity.

Photo by Eaters Collective on Unsplash

Cooking for oneself is liberating, cooking for others is fulfilling.

Over the past five months, I have been religiously working on testing new recipes every weekend (blogs of which are due), I take countless photos of ingredients, processes and plating up, but never of sharing the meal with others. The reason being, that the act of documenting that moment, takes away the moment. Quite a paradox, but true. I simply let my family, friends savour the meals I make for them, allowing me and them to remember the moment with all its flavours and emotions that emerge while tasting my recipes.

Chef and author, Samin Nosrat mentioned this too, that cooking is by far the most generous way of communicating and spreading joy (if I remember correctly). Eating food is only the final step towards feeling fulfilled, and taking pictures of it is a chance to remember that feeling of completeness. But cooking a meal and sharing it with others, is what allows us to relive the joy again and again.