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Do you really eat like that? – The question I get all the time.
Today I have something very special for you.
I think we all know, that what we see on the internet and especially on social media is not exactly the reality, but I feel we also easily forget about it. Perfectly arranged plates, beautiful fresh microgreens and flowers on every dish, scattered ingredients around the food….Is there anyone who actually eats like this? I definitely don’t. And to prove it to you here’s a lovely collection of all my ugly foods, yay!
Food Photos vs. Reality
So back to the original question: Do I really eat like that?
For a long time I always answered yes to this question, simply because I thought people meant if I’m really vegan and if I really don’t eat animal products ever (no, I never have ‘cheat days’). It never even crossed my mind, that people actually ask, if my everyday food really looks like it’s on my pictures….
You see I grew up with a photographer dad, who often had food photography jobs. Since I was small I knew that most things you see on billboards, in TV or even in cookbooks are not real. I remember my dad using fake plastic foods, random things like paint to color the food, or even glue to hold things together. He had a massive collection of dishes, backgrounds and props, which we were not allowed to use, those were just for pictures (because of course those were the prettiest things). He often had a team of chefs and stylists to put together one fancy dish, other times my mom had to come up with creative ideas how to make the food look real good. Because of all of these, to me it was always obvious that commercial (food) photography is never really what it seems like.
Then a few months ago I realized that many people think that the things I show on my blog or on Instagram is the reality. First I didn’t even think that it’s a big problem, until I met a woman who told me how bad she feels, because her food is never as pretty as mine. I was totally shocked and also heartbroken….the last thing I ever wanted is making anyone feel shit because of my pictures….
I explained her that food photography is my job, and that my blog/Instagram became a way to show my work to clients. But it’s all very far from the reality. If I don’t take a picture of my food I eat just like a ‘regular’ person: things are messy, dirty and 99% of the times not very appetizing.
So to answer the question: No, I don’t actually eat like this.
Okay, so how does it look like in real life?
- When I eat I don’t have all those ingredients around my plate. After I took the pictures I collect all those beans, spices and herbs, and put them back in the fridge/pantry. The smaller the ingredient the more annoying to collect it…
- I also don’t serve my food in a new, clean dish (you know the ones, where the food fits just perfectly). I just put the dirty pot on the table, and sometimes even use the dirty dish from the previous meal.
- In reality I rarely ever serve sauces and dressings in cute little individual bowls. Most of the times I just use the dish or jar I mixed things together in – yes, it’s usually pretty ugly.
- Also, it’s usually a looooooooooot more dressing than what you see on the pictures. I only use a few little drops of dressing to keep the food visible for photos, but the truth is that I love to suffocate my food with sauces!
- I always mix together my food. Yes, buddha bowls look amazing. But once I’m done with the pictures I mix together everything vigorously. I want a bite of everything at once!
- Same goes for all things avocado. Avocado roses and thin slices are beautiful, but I actually always mash them.
- For pictures I use large and whole herbs, but in reality I prefer to chop them finely and mix with the food. Plus I keep my nice looking herbs for pictures, so I usually just eat the slightly dry and unattractive ones.
- There are a lots of dishes that aren’t as vibrant in reality as on the pictures. I often use raw or partially raw ingredients to keep their color pretty and green. That’s usually the case with broccoli, green peas, green beans, zucchini, etc.
- Most of the dishes and props you see on my pictures are just photo props and I don’t use them in real life. Either because they are rusty and dirty, or because they are too fancy (I’m afraid of breaking good plates).
- Most of the surfaces you see on my pictures are fake too. I don’t have 100 different beautiful tables, but I have about 100 different homemade or store-bought backgrounds. Tricky, right?
So that’s the reality and all my ugly foods. I hope you enjoyed them. And please, if you ever feel bad seeing other people’s life, relationship, food, etc. on social media, just remember, it’s 99% all staged. 😉
Oh, and as a bonus, here are more extremely appetizing pictures of random things I ate in the past months:
I am very sure they all very delicious! They might not look as bright and beautiful, but definitely not ugly. Thanks for sharing, Evi.
Thanks, Angie 🙂
Thanks, Evi! This is one of the best posts I’ve read in the past year. Now we can all breathe a sigh of relief and just enjoy the good food.
Hahaha, I’m so happy you liked this Mari 😀
I was asked the same thing too. I should make a post about it. For me is a bit different, I would never eat from a plate I’ve used for a previous dish. Also, the pans never leave the kitchen (unless for photos, but not too often). Even crisps/peanuts are served in a nice white small bowl.
The thing is you work so hard to make the food, why wouldn’t you show it in the best possible way? Being a food blogger is as much about beautiful photography as it is about the meal.
Hahaha, then it seems like you are a lot better than me 😉
I try to make my food look good all day long, so after it all I just can’t bother anymore and grab the first thing I see…and yes, it’s sometimes even dirty 😀
But I’d love to see such a post on your blog too! It’s always so interesting to see how others ACTUALLY eat.
This is such a refreshing post! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Thank you, Flora, I’m glad you liked it 😉
Such fun to read! It is exactly the same in my case. Pots on the table, I would never even consider making an extra bowl dirty just to serve the potatoes or stew. And when it comes to salads, bowls with grains and veggies or whatever, everything gets vigourously mixed in a large bowl, together with the dressing, that ends up smearing the bowl all over. 🙂 And if I take pictures before we eat, I either end up eating the cold food on the picture plate or (the better option when possible) I throw everything back in the pot and make the food warm again.
Hahahah, exactly like that here too. 😀
Food is either cold or warmed up (all mixed together) in a used pot…
I enjoy reading this 🙂 that is all i want to say for this post 🙂 btw you should share some photography basics(tips and tricks as well ):) it would be beneficial for the newbie food bloggers
Thanks, Priya! I’m actually planning to do a post about photo tips for ages….I’m just too lazy to make it 😀
Haha, I do like this kind of “behind the camera” post and your sence of humor. Agreed 100% with it. Usually, once I’ve taken pictures, I transfer the food from my precious props (cause who would use props for a real meal, right?) into our regular plates and bowls…and well I don’t need to describe how it looks when ready to be served 🙂 And those (about) 100 backgrounds – I’m so jealous right now!
Hahaha, exactly! It’s either totally cold dishes or reheated, not so fancy ones 😀
PS. Don’t be so jealous, lot of backgrounds are not so great to have in a tiny flat 😛
I just found your IG page 2 days ago and I love all of your recipes and can’t wait to try them. This post was so refreshing. Although I’m sure most ppl know this is stage when you are bombarded with 100’s of beautifully arranged plated and bowls of food there comes a weird pressure. You feel like you can not post anything you possibly make if it can’t stand up to those post on your feed. Thank you so much for sharing. Fyi your players didn’t look ugly and I’m sure taste just as good if not better!
Hi Virginia,
I’m so happy you are here! 🙂
That’s exactly how I feel sometimes…not showing/posting perfectly delicious food, just because the picture and setting is not as amazing as images on the internet. We really have to learn not to misinterpret the pictures we see, and just enjoy them for what they are (mainly fake, hahaha).
Hope you have a great weekend!
Such a fun article, I love your honesty! Some pictures on food blogs can end up looking so so fake! I find that people loose interest when everything looks so perfect; recipes need to look and feel accessible to everyone!
I’m happy you enjoyed this article 🙂
And totally agree with you, accessibility is so important!
All food blogs have this same photo look to them, something about the colour or exposure or something – everything looks too perfect, too fake.
It turns me off. When I find a blog that shows me a typical phone camera picture of what they’re doing? That’s the one I’ll trust – because they aren’t trying to cover anything up at all.
Hahaha, I don’t know, I actually prefer blogs with beautiful pictures 😀
I mean I know it’s all fake, but I personally really appreciate the work some bloggers put into their presentation and photography. But I can totally understand you too, sometimes it’s nice to see how the food will actually look like at the end without hours of food styling 😛
Love this article!
Hahaha, happy to hear that 😉