“We can look at pictures of food all day, but we can’t taste it through our smartphones.” – Chef Greg Reeves

If you’ve ever whipped out your iPhone camera and snapped a picture of #FoodPorn while dining in a restaurant, you aren’t alone.

Many diners (myself included) have been guilty of food photography in Boston’s restaurants. After all, when you order a dish that looks divine, it’s hard to resist sharing it with the world and thus, making every one of your friends hungry (and #SoJeal).

And while neither my friends nor I have ever been reprimanded for taking pictures of our glorious dishes (at least, not yet), I have heard that in some restaurants staff and chefs are none too happy with food photography.

BBC recently reported that the crackdowns are even occurring in France, where one chef has gone as far as adding a “no cameras” logo to his menu. Another chef makes the claim that “it is poor etiquette to take photos of food” and whenever his dishes appear on social networks it “takes away the surprise, and a little bit of my intellectual property.”

It’s certainly food for thought, which is why we decided to ask local chefs and restaurant industry folks about their thoughts on the food photography debacle. Most seem to be quite okay with all of the Instagramming going on around them. Here’s what they had to say on the subject:

Paul Turano, Chef and Owner at Tryst and Cook Restaurant

“Posting food images to social media is basically a way of spreading the word about our food. That’s why we post pictures of our food to Cook and Tryst’s social media pages too, people might see an image of something they like and come in to try it. We’re not trying to surprise people, we’re just here to serve good food.”

Brian Poe, Chef and Owner at Tip Tap Room, Poe’s Kitchen at the Rattlesnake, Estelle’s

“I don’t mind when customers take photos. I find it flattering and if it gets Tweeted, Re-Tweeted, Instagram-ed, Tumblr-ed, Facebook-ed, Pinned, put up on your fridge at home, or shared with friends, it’s all very good for spreading the word about restaurants and their food.”

Anthony Caturano, Chef and Owner of Prezza

“I hate the term ‘food porn’ more than I hate certain aspects of food photos in Prezza. I don’t mind people taking photos without a flash but sometimes, I don’t like how they turn out. When they get shared on social media, it can compromise the quality of what we are actually putting out.”

Hannah Huke, Marketing Manager of The Briar Group

“We love when guests take photos. It’s like word of mouth marketing, but instant and more widespread. Not only that, we can take the extra step to thank guests for coming in after they’ve posted. At our newest restaurant, Gather, we have our Twitter and Instagram accounts on the wall as soon as you walk in.”

Greg Reeves, Executive Chef at Pier 6

“Food and photography have changed a lot recently because of our new demand for instant news, knowledge and expression. In regards to food… Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are great ways to share pictures of menu items and specials. Does this ruin the surprise? I say no, all pictures posted to social media are more like a trailer to a movie than a spoiler. We can look at pictures of food all day, but we can’t taste it through our smartphones.”

Bottom Line: The hashtag #FoodPorn might be dumb, but it shouldn’t stop us from snapping a food photo (or two) of our dish.

Image via firstwefeast.com