Photos in restaurants- what's the big deal?

Question

Another poster appeared to be terrified to even ask if it was OK to have a family photo take in restaurants. She laid out her reasons and backed them up as if expecting people would flay her alive for even considering. In fairness everyone who replied said to not worry about it but it got me thinking about the whole topic.

Has dining out become so commonplace that no one understands that it might actually be a special occasion that someone may want to capture? 

I get it if a patron set up lights like their meal was wedding, stands on the chair or basically makes an on going scene but why get upset about the occasional flash of a camera? How does it bother you? Honestly obnoxiously loud drunks are more offensive than the flash of a camera.

Maybe I am the odd one out but I really don't pay attention to what is going on at the other tables unless they are making a scene. If someone asked the server to snap a photo of them or another guest stood to take a picture of the table I doubt I would even notice unless they were right next to me. And if that were case I would probably offer to take it for them. And if someone next to me took a quick pic of their food or drink I can't imagine getting my panties in a bunch over it.

So whats the big deal? If you are incensed by what others are doing around you why is that? What am I missing that makes taking a photo such an egregious act?

Answer

It's not people taking photos of diners who have people so anti-cameras-in-restaurants. It's the idiots who have to treat every meal like a photo shoot by taking pictures of their food. You've kind of gotten caught in the crossfire.

Answer

We were recently dining at a fine-dining restaurant, where a couple was at a near-by table. They had a photographer shooting every aspect of their evening. The flash went off maybe 100 times, in a dimly-lit restaurant. Nearly every bite was recorded.

At a UK 3-star restaurant, a couple asked us, and many others, to leave their tables, so that the photographs of their food, for their blog, would not have images of other diners. Yeah, right!

We refused to leave our table, glared at the camera, and asked the restaurant to move those diners to a table, far from us, so that they could do some Facebook, or similar, shots.

When I am dining, I do NOT wish to be intruded upon - by anyone.

Hunt

Answer

You haven't encountered the obnoxiously loud drunks WITH cameras? A truly enjoyable addition to your dining experience.

With cameras so ubiquitous and people so into sharing pictures, it can be taken to excess. Nobody objects to an occasional photo. It's the 20 people at a birthday party, all taking photos of each other. It's the food bloggers who have to take multiple pictures of each course. It's the food bloggers at birthday parties all taking pictures of each other meals. That many flashes, you can't ignore it.

Answer

I went out for supper awhile ago and the table across from us kept taking pictures, flash, flash, flash, flash, flash on and on it went through our entire meal. It became annoying, a picture or two is acceptable but entire photo shoots belong someplace else, it invades other people's quiet times.

Answer

Discretion is the better part of valor AND meal photography.
Snapping a quick shot surreptitiously with the iPhone before tucking in?
Not bad.
Asking diners to move/wait/pose, asking waitstaff to position plates, using a flash...all bad bad bad. 
The idea is that your fellow diners should have absolutely NO IDEA that your are taking a picture.

Answer

Usually I scan these photo threads, but don't feel compelled to respond. I have eaten at many "ocassion" restaurants and almost always there is one group/family that has a server take a flash photo of them. (Hell, I even have a few of these myself . . . mom's 80th, sis's 50th, etc). One flash, it's over, no big deal.

I have dined in places where I (barely) notice some non-flash food photography happening. I generally notice only because I am looking in that direction at the time. Doesn't bother me.

However, the other evening these photo threads came to mind. We were at a nice local Italian restaurant that has a main room and several smaller rooms. We were seated at a 2-top in the smallest of the rooms; directly across from us was a table of 10 with a mix of generations. At least 7 of the diners had camera phones and apparently the focus of the meal was to photograph their enjoyment of said meal. The constant flashes were like dining facing a strobe light. Not to mention, they kept moving around to take different group photos. I figured it would end when the appetizers arrived . . . nope, they munched as they moved. There were two other 2-tops in the room, and I could tell they were annoyed as well. 

So, I guess the moral of the story is: one or two flash photos: fine. Multiple discreet non-flashes: fine. Multiple flashes with lots of movement: arrange a private room for the party. (Now that I think about it, mom's 80th and sis's 50th were, in fact, in private rooms.)

Answer

I have dined all over California ( and other places of course). I have to say that I have never encountered a single diner taking pics. I have encountered it at large family blow outs......family weddings.....pot lucks....food stands @ Great America....food stands at the Asparagus Festival etc. but never inside of a restaurant. Weird isn't it?

Answer

I don't think most people can object to someone taking a quick snap of a group of people. Although I am firmly in the camp that taking a photo of your plate in a restaurant is as bad as putting elbows on the table while you are eating.

Mind you - even the London Mayor is at it. 

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/04/15/article-0-194DD39F000005DC-481_634x430.jpg

Answer

Normally, I'm right in line with the OP, but I had an experience this weekend that showed me how distracting photos in restaurants can be.

Saturday night, busy Manhattan restaurant with attractive dim lighting, and the table across from our 2-top had flash photographs going at least a dozen times in the course of an hour. It disturbed our normal sense of sight for most of the meal (felt like I had been staring at the sun!) 

 My dining companion and I made the best of it, but walking out of the restaurant felt like more of a relief than we'd expect from a good dining experience. 

In this case, there was no place for anyone to move - house was fully booked. It is a fairly intimate space, so even diners at the far side of the restaurant turned to look as the pictures were taken. 

Is this a situation to say something to management, even if nothing can be done? The only thing I thought of after the fact was if having brighter lighting in the room might have made the shock of the flash less jarring......

Answer

If t here's no flash, then I don't care. 

It is just boorish behavior. Disturbs every other table.

Don't say its less a problem than a loud drunk. Its also less a problem than a knife fight. Both are irrelevant.

Check your camera at the door.

Answer

I generally don't care. However there are limits. A couple of times we have been bothered. The last time was a table of 6 with one of the people with a large camera with a flash. He was getting out of his seat and walking around the table to take other's plates. Standing up to take pictures for an over-head view of his own. He probably took 25+ pictures and we weren't even there for their entire meal; thankfully they left about 1/2 through ours. 

We over heard something about his blog. Great, another self absorbed, "important" food blogger completely ignorant of other's dining around them. 

A couple of pictures no problem, no flash, no problem either. But there are limits and it must be getting worse because it seems that more restaurants are putting "no flash pictures" on menus.

Answer

Ahhh, the age old question, foaming up 'hounds since bacon and butter were still words one only spoke aloud when in the company of those who could be trusted.

Over time I've come to realize, being self-revealingly frank, it's not so much that I don't like people taking photographs as much as I'm pretty certain I often don't like the people taking photographs. I think that's why I'm ok when Dad snaps a shot of all the kids with Grandma at her seventieth birthday brunch, but wrankled by the guy rearranging the peas on his plate to frame a top down shot. At least, I can relate to the former, maybe grab a beer sometime. The latter, on the other hand, just seems like he's "missing the point".

Truth is, in the end, I prefer an anecdote to a memento. Reflection to preservation. The pleasure of the moment to the perfection of the memory.

Maybe I'm a misanthrope, but, I'm honest about it.

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Photos in restaurants- what's the big deal?

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