First world problems eh? Meanwhile millions are starving.

For the last 5+ years restaurants have more or less begged their users to check in with FourSquare, Yelp, then FB, rate them and share their experience with friends and family. Much of that also included photos, since most mobile apps allow for the addition of them. Now they don’t want that? Will someone be calling me out for not slurping my ramen properly too?

For one, I agree with Michaelp42 … this is such a first world problem it’s ridiculous. But secondly, a restaurant is a public place, and you CANNOT ban photography from a public place. That is a first amendment issue. However, they can refuse you service and ask you to leave…

Restaurants are private spaces though.

You may shoot on private property if it is open to the public, but you are obligated to stop if the owner requests it. (e.g. malls, retail stores, restaurants, banks and office building lobbies.)

Private property owners can prevent photography ON their property, but not photography OF their property from a public location.

It’s a high-end restaurant. Having word go round that people stand on chairs and use flash in that sort of restaurant will lose you business, not gain business. Don’t be daft.

You mean you don’t take a photo of your reflection on any possible surface?

..so you mean substitute my peking duck for ‘duckface’?? ¬¬

It seems the biggest problem is it’s distracting to others that are dining. Maybe an approach like what was first done years ago with smokers, a separate section to be used by photographers only so their flashes/strobes don’t bother the other diners. Maybe even for an extra couple of dollars might make it even more appealing to the restaurant owners to make this concession. If you don’t they’ll simply deny access to anyone with a camera, post signs at the doors, like they do smokers and possibly have their cities pass laws banning camera equipment in restaurants.

Well obviously, im not suggesting people whack out softboxes and tripods and start metering their steak but to shame someone in a restaurant for taking an iphone photo just makes you seem like an asshole.

Oh god, that’s awful.

All of this comes down to the likelihood that a few bad apples ruin it for everybody else. I have no doubt that at some point, some idiot came to a $100 a plate restaurant with his DSLR or worse yet brought a minisoftbox and made a big production out of it and ruined the dining experience for others. Or perhaps there are unflattering pictures of the food that don’t really help the place because non-photographers just took snapshots.
I think it’s their right to decide what goes on in their place of business.

By the way, if you like food photography, there are plenty of other opportunities for it. Yelp for instance has private parties for their “Elites” where they encourage photography of everything in some very snazzy places. There are other foodie type gatherings too.

The point is, don’t be a jerk.

Feel free to YouTube my Damien Hirst meal at Ilfracombe!

To be honest, some people are just knobs. We went to The Fat Duck, and the table of four behind us spent three hours taking photos of everything and texting/facebooking them. Constantly.

Maybe it’s just me, but when you are paying two thousand bucks for a meal, you should probably just enjoy it.

Restaurants are private property, champ. Of course they can ban photography.

Jerky control freaks. They want people to appreciate things in only the way they want such things apreciated. If someone wants to take a photo of something they have essentially purchased then it’s their right. If I’m ordering a meal i can smear it all over my head if I want.

And legally they have no right to stop me photographing what I want.

and i’m the troll? irony much? ;-)

IMO, there’s really nothing wrong with taking pictures of the food you ordered, but you do it without causing disturbances to others. It’s called being considerate.

I’m ok with this. I feel no need to take pictures of my food, and I have no interest in others posting what they had to eat. Its the restaurants call.

I’m not sure what objectively qualifies as a troll, but considering your comment got three random people objecting to it, and his only got you to respond, your comment is certainly more of a troll.

You probably intended a tongue in cheek joke to highlight the irony of people getting upset about food photography. Unfortunately intent doesn’t matter and impersonal writing, like photography, is harder than it looks. Saying things that gets people riled up is the result of trolling, even with the best intentions. Your broad choices with difficult tasks are to learn from feedback and grow or to shut down feedback and stagnate (whether you are in the right or not).

You want to take a photo of your Big Mac while next to me in McDonalds? Go ahead. You want start using a flash at the next table in a small, dimmed restaurant? I don’t think so. Unless you’ve discovered a way to make a camera flash completely unnoticeable in a darkened room. I can’t believe that people have brought up their “right” to photograph in a restaurant. What about their “responsibility” to other patrons to be civilized diners?

Actually they do have the right to ban photography. You are on their property. I’m assuming you are in the USA.

I wouldn’t worry about it. They’re not going to have computers or iPhones on which to read this.

Maybe the food speaks for itself. Nothing worse that having someone take a bad photo of your product.

Thank god..I’m so sick of seeing food photographs on every poxy facebook and instagram page.