#Instaeats -Attitudes and Motives Towards Instagram Food Photography, Food Fetishisation and Trends

Abstract

Food as a plethoric embodiment of culture and values plays a crucial role in everyday communication, and recent years the internet and social media in particular has heightened attention to the visual communication of food. There has been an increasing trend on Instagram for users to document their dining experiences and eating habits via photographs of what they eat or locations. The current project therefore aimed to fill gaps in social media research related to the motives and attitudes towards food photography on Instagram. A mixed-methods approach of online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews revealed 1) positive correlations between respondents' viewing and posting frequencies of Instagram food photos, and their rated importance of food appearance in food preferences; 2) communicative affordances of Instagram promotes the motives of engaging in food photography, which influences users' attitudes and behaviours related to food photography and food aesthetics. Implications of findings were discussed in theoretical frameworks of Goffman (1959)'s presentation of self and Carey (1975)'s ritual view of communication.

Full text

#Instaeats – Attitudes and Motives
Towards Instagram Food Photography,
Food Fetishisation and Trends
Faculty of Humanities - University of Copenahgen
MA Cognition and Communication
Simone Wong Yum Mei
Empirical Methodologies II
Examiner: Andreas Lindegaard Gregersen
Number of standard pages: 36,073 (15.03 pages)
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Abstract
Food as a plethoric embodiment of culture and values plays a crucial role in
everyday communication, and recent years the internet and social media in
particular has heightened attention to the visual communication of food. There has
been an increasing trend on Instagram for users to document their dining
experiences and eating habits via photographs of what they eat or locations. The
current project therefore aimed to fill gaps in social media research related to the
motives and attitudes towards food photography on Instagram. A mixed-methods
approach of online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews revealed 1) positive
correlations between respondents’ viewing and posting frequencies of Instagram
food photos, and their rated importance of food appearance in food preferences; 2)
communicative affordances of Instagram promotes the motives of engaging in food
photography, which influences users’ attitudes and behaviours related to food
photography and food aesthetics. Implications of findings were discussed in
theoretical frameworks of Goffman (1959)’s presentation of self and Carey (1975)’s
ritual view of communication.
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Table of Contents
Abstract
1. Introduction
1-2
a. Food as Communication: Perfomatives and Aesthetics. 1
b. Instagram, Food Photography, and Fetishisation of Food 1
in Digital Age..
2. Theoretical Background
3-4
a. Goffman (1959)’s Presentation of Self, Personal Photographs 3
and Carey (1975)’s Ritual View of Communication
b. Hogan (2010)’s Exhibition Approach 3
c. Communicative Affordances of Mobile Media. 4
3. Research Questions 4
4. Methods
5-7
a. Quantitative Data Collection: Online Questionnaire. 5
b. Qualitative Data Collection: Semi-structured Interviews. 7
5. Results
8-15
a. Online Questionnaire. 8
b. Semi-strutuctured Interviews. 8
6. Discussion
16-18
7. References 19
8. Syllabus 20
9. Appendices
21-34

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Introduction
Food as Communication: Perfomatives and Aesthetics
‘Eating is an activity we freight with significance considerably beyond either the
pleasures it affords or the nutritional sustenance it provides.’ (Korsmeyer, 2012, p.3).
Food as a plethoric embodiment of culture and values plays a crucial role in everyday
communication, far surpassing its functional role as fuel. As proven in the long history
of still-life paintings, food can also act as building blocks of an artistic composition. The
saying of ‘the eye eats before the mouth’ stresses the importance of visual appeal of
food. Whilst our eating preferences shines light on factors like gender, ethnicity,
socioeconomics and moral values (Burton, 2016), the current study also aims to explore
our aesthetic appreciation of food.
Aesthetics of food extends beyond its appearance - our presentation of food and dining
practices a la table translate to the interaction we have with our social bonds (Alhelaili,
2015). Our brains and visual systems are evolutionarily engineered to seek for food.
Along with our naturally ‘hungry eyes’ that drives us toward food consumption, mass
media also constitutes to the pleasure we experience in viewing food. Recipe books,
cooking shows and travelling series on television invite audience to participate in the
gastronomic experience – both as a form of culinary tourism and directioning in
consumer tastes (Ranteallo and Andilolo, 2017; p.123).
Food Photography, Instagram and Fetishisation of Food in Digital Age
The internet has revolutionized the ‘world of food’ by providing virtual spaces to
accommodate the communication and attention to food (Rousseau, 2012). Both
professionals (chefs) and amateurs participate in virtual food communities with no
geographical proximity. Social media platforms allow ‘users to inform one another about
what they are eating, recipes, and preparation, as well as nutritional properties, with
direct influence to our daily food choices (Zilberman and Kaplan, 2014).
Instagram is one of the most popular mobile photo-sharing application where users
have the ability to post pictures and short videos with editing tools, as well as adding
captions and tracking the geographical locations. It has a community of over 500 million
users (Parker, 2016). Users may give and receive ‘likes’ and comments as a means of
opinion sharing and support. A common feature is to add hashtags to pictures as a way
to categorise one’s content and facilitate search - hashtags are any nonspaced,
abbreviations, or phrases that follow the # sign (Wang et al.,2011). With an always-on
internet connectivity, mobile phones have ‘insuate itself into moments of daily routine’

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as we ‘occupy, ritualize and dramatise mundane micro-moments’ (Frey, 2012). Eating is
easily one of the most captured and digitally shared moments of our lives.
There has been an increasing trend on Instagram for users to document their dining
experiences and eating habits via photographs of what they eat or restaurant locations.
Users share pictures of what food they have consumed as a record and archive of daily
routine, as well as a form of social sharing. By adding hashtags of certain food
categories such as #vegan, like-minded users with similar diet choices can easily look
for recipe ideas and restaurant choices (see Figures 1-3).
Figures 1-3 (left to right). Example of an Instagram post that features a photograph of a homemade
vegan pie. In the caption, the uplaoder promoted their recipe and included a string of vegan related
hashtags. Figure 3 shows the comment section where users can interact by tagging each other’s
account names. (Oakley, [@avantgardevegan], 2017)
What caused the current online food craze? It used to be that modifications,
rearrangement and decoration of food all to enhance its aesthetic appeal were practices
for food stylists, photographers and bloggers. Yet with the performative nature of food,
ubiquity and mobility of social network have also invited everyday, ‘amateur’ users to

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craft their daily eating practices to achieve higher imaging competence (Frey, 2012).
Ibrahim (2015) discussed the democratization of food imaging practices through
smartphones in the form of social exchange; specifically with a visual focus on content
creation, the domestication of aesthetic food photo shoots have promoted ‘food porn’ -
a term first coined by Cockburn (1977) in a cookbook review, refers to appetising
pictures of food ‘heightens excitement and also the sense of the unattainable’
(Cockburn, 1977; as cited in Mejova et al., 2016).
Food porn has deconstructed the private and public aspects of eating - aesthetic
appreciation of food, extended to online spaces where our daily life is mediated,
becomes an act of selective presentation and exhibition in order to capture and define
oneself. Whilst most studies focus on the economical factors of food and taste, there is
currently a lack of research exploring motives and attitudes towards food photography
on social media. The unique form of Instagram as a visual-centric communication tool
hereby provides study opportunities on how social media influences and facilitates food
representation as a form of self-expression and presentation.
Theoretical Background
Goffman (1959)’s Presentation of Self, Personal Photographs and Carey (1975)’s
Ritual View of Communication
Erving Goffman (1959)’s sociological theory on presentation of self has become
increasingly popular in recent years as a framework in explaining online interactions via
computer-mediated communication. Goffman’s dramaturgical metaphor of self
presentation as a performance on stage marked the dichotomy of front and back
regions (or stages per se) – actors tweak their behaviour and selectively give details of
self to the audience (impression management). Applied to online media, scholars have
discussed how images on social networking sites aligns to the notions of impression
management (Mendelson and Papacharissi, 2010). Online personal photographs may
act as an instrument of self presentation, and a means of visual autobiography if kept
consistently. Mendelson and Papacharissi (2010) addressed the concern that if ‘photos
are taken for the purpose of being displayed and tagged, does this render the
experiences and the social relationships presented more real?’ Personal photographs
are created by ourselves and largely for own use on social media; pictorial
communication as highly ritualised, is therefore limited by what is considered
‘conventional’ to be captured as a presentation of how ‘we wish our lives to be
remembered’.
Personal photographs ‘reaffirm culturally structured values’ (Mendelson and
Papachariss, 2010; p. 256) This also aligns with Carey (1989)’s classic ritual model of
communication as it is described as ‘extensions of mind’: a ‘symbolic process whereby
reality is produced, maintained, repaired and transformed’ (Carey, 2009, p.19). Sen

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(2016) explored the dyadic complex involving online and offline selves by reviewing
Carey’s model; the real self and the ‘socially networked self’ may have distinct
personalities, in a sense that it is constantly being constructed and publicly
broadcasted. The use of social media therefore involves constant construction and
maintenance of beliefs that constitute an online identity, which is used to exchange
ideas and information with other virtual identities. Goffman’s self presentation theory
and Carey’s approach provides a framework in understanding how communication on
social media involves the process of ‘distributing’ personal beliefs and values as a
means of ‘participation’, and its significance in social constructionism.
Hogan (2010)’s Exhibition Approach
Hogan (2010) commented that public social media profiles (e.g. Instagram) do not mark
clear borders of front and back stages, as third parties that were not the originally
intended audience could still be curated via data algorithms. He also suggested that
updates made on SNS are not performances of the actor, but an artefact that can be
replayed and reproduced. He proposed that online posts could be understood as
exhibitions or artefacts (data) held in storehouses (databases) in which they are not
limited by temporal or spatial restrictions; curator (site algorithms) can selectively
introduce them to particular audiences.
Communicative Affordances of Mobile Media
It is also of high relevance to consider how smartphones as the primary platform for
Instagram usage allow food photography to permeate daily life. Schrock (2015) took an
affordance approach to mobile-mediated communication by exploring how qualities of
smartphone devices can alter our communication practices and habits. He stated four
distinctive affordances of mobile technologies and media:
1. Portability – allows usage during commute, waiting, in workplace etc.
2. Availability – multiplexity (e.g. texting, voice call, SNS all in one place), increased
frequency, directness
3. Locatability – awareness of geographic location, formation of groups and
communities
4. Multimediality – multimedia platforms, image production, screen sharing, video
streaming etc.
Schrock specifically stated that multimedia platforms such as Instagram and Vine have
yet to be fully explored in current communication studies. This paper hereby adapted
the theoretical framework of mobile media’s communicative affordances to explore food
photography practices on Instagram.

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Research Questions
The current project aims to fill gaps in social media research related to the motives and
attitudes towards food photography on Instagram. The study hereby addressed the
following research questions:
1. How does the exhibition and engagement of Instagram food photography affect
attitudes toward food aesthetics and eating?
2. How do communicative affordances of Instagram enable and alter users’ dining
and eating practices?
3. What are the motives behind sharing of food photography on Instagram?

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Methods
A two-phase, mixed methods approach was used to achieve an all-rounded and deep
investigation into the current research topic. The first phase consisted of a quantitative
analysis designed to investigate any possible effects of Instagram food photography
habits on individuals’ attitudes towards food. Based on findings from the
questionnaires, second phase of qualitative data collection aimed to deepen insight on
Instagram users’ motives and attitudes towards food photography on Instagram.
In relation to RQ1 which explored how Instagram food photography affect attitudes
toward food aesthetics and eating, it was hypothesised that there would be a
relationship between respondents’ frequency in food posting and viewing habits, and
their ranked attitudes towards the importance of food aesthetics during decisions on
food choice.
Quantitative Data Collection: Online Questionnaire
Participants. Table 1 gave the mean and standard deviation of respondents’
age. A total of 124 valid responses were collected from the online questionnaire.
Ninety-five of them (76.6%) being female. Majority of (66%) respondents reported to
use Instagram everyday (n=82), with only 15% (n=19) reported to use the app for less
than 3 days a week.
Table 1.
Mean age and standard deviation of low, moderate, high usage respondents
Instagram usage
n
M
SD
1-3 days / week
Male
6
28.8
7.83
Female
13
25.5
5.11
Overall
19
26.6
6.08
4-6 days / week
Male
6
27.3
5.75
Female
17
26.8
5.22
Overall
23
27.0
5.24
Daily
Male
17
24.7
4.14
Female
65
25.3
4.83
Overall
82
25.2
4.68
Procedure. Invitation for Instagram users with public profiles to participate in a
self-completion questionnaire (see Appendix A) was distributed through 1) public
update shared on researcher’s personal Facebook and Instagram profile, and 2) through
word of mouth to invite friends of friends who also owns an account. The questionnaire

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was designed and hosted via Google Forms. Table 2 gives the sections and
corresponding functions.
Online questionnaire. Respondents’ demographic information, general
Instagram usage and food photography habits were collected, followed by their diet
type and frequency of meals. Lastly, the questionnaire asked participants to rank the
level of importance with six statements on a 5-point Likert scale. The items addressed
attitudes on food in relation to multiple factors of food choice (e.g. ‘It is important that
the food I eat tastes good / looks appetising / is nutritional’). Upon completion
respondents had the option to participate in a follow-up interview and could choose to
enter a cash prize draw of 300 DKK.
Table 2.
Main sections and corresponding questions of online questionnaire.
Section
Questions
Remarks
Instagram usage
Numbers of followers &
followings
Usage frequency
- Days per week
- Hours per day
Food photography habits
General posting and
viewing habits
Frequency of posting &
viewing
1- Post and View, 2- View
only, 3- Not interested in
both
5 point Likert-scale ratings
(1- Never, 5- Always)
Food attitudes and habits
Diet type (if any)
Number of meals per day
Food attitudes
- Nutrition
- Taste
- Convenience
- Appearance
- Cost
- Ethical
Optional response
5-point Likert scale ratings
(1- Not Important at all, 5-
Very Important)

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In food attitudes and habits, the critical variable was respondents’ ranked importance of
food appearance (“It is important to me that the food I eat looks appetising”.) and food
taste (“It is important to me that the food I eat tastes good.”) in their food decisions.
Qualitative Data Collection: Semi-structured Interviews
Participants. Table 3 gives the details of all six interview samples. Purposive
sampling method was used to ensure diversity in respondents’ diet, food photography
habits. Out of all questionnaire respondents who provided their contact details,
invitation emails to participate in a follow-up interview were sent to thirty individuals
selected from low and high engagement in viewing and posting food photos (as
measured by their combined score of reported viewing and posting frequency; e.g.
viewing (1) and posting (3) gives 4 points). Note that this was not to be confused with
their overall app usage, but instead indicated the posting and viewing habits of food
photos when using Instagram. All respondents reported in the questionnaire to be a
moderate to heavy user (four days a week or more). The samples consisted of two
Taiwanese, two Hong Kong Chinese, one Brit and one American, all of which either
spoke fully proficient English or is a native speaker. Only one of them were male
(Harrison).
Table 3.
Respondents of low, moderate and high food photography engagement.
Engagement
Respondent
Low (1-5)
Harrison (21): Male, Taiwanese, student
Katie (23) Female, British, student
Amelie (24): Female, Taiwanese, student
High (6-10)
Pearl (21): Female, Hong Kong Chinese, student
Cindy (23): Female, American, student + Instagram food
blogger
Clementine (22): Female, Hong Kong Chinese, student
Interview design. A semi-structured interview format was adapted for the study
with a written set of 9 questions (see full list of questions in Appendix C), although the
way in which questions could be presented semi-structurally when participants wished
to elaborate more on a certain topic.
Procedure. The interviews were conducted via Skype voice call over a time
course of three weeks. Due to time constraint, order of the interviews was conducted

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based on both the researcher and respondents’ availability. Participants were informed
and provided consent for audio records to be taken. A three-step thematic analysis as
guided by Braun and Clarke (2006) was then conducted. After interviews, recordings
were first transcribed to the computer into text files, then coded with important quotes
and keywords annotated (see Appendix B for full interview transcripts). Salient and
potential themes from transcripts were identified and noted. Themes were then
discussed and compared between participant with light and heavy Instagram food
photography usage, examining commonalities and differences. A finalised list was
formed, consisting of common themes within and across each group.
Results
Online Questionnaire
Food imaging habits and rated importance of food appearance. Spearman’s
correlation analyses were conducted to assess the relationship between Instagram food
imaging frequency and respondents’ ranked importance of food appearance.
A strong positive correlation was found between respondents’ frequency in posting
food photos and their rated importance of food appearance; this was only found in
participants who use Instagram more than four days a week (rs=0.47, p=0.03,
two-tailed) or daily (rs=0.48, p<0.01, two-tailed), but not those who use the app for
fewer than three days per week.
Similarly for food photo viewing habits, significantly positive correlations were found
between respondents’ reported viewing frequency and their rated importance of
appearance in making food decisions; a strong correlation was found in respondents
who use the app more than four days a week (rs=0.56, p<0,01, two-tailed), whilst the
correlation was found to be moderately strong for daily users (rs=0.27, p=0.02,
two-tailed). No significant correlation was found in light users. Both results regarding
respondents viewing and posting frequencies thereby rejected H0.
Rated importance of various factors in food choice. A moderately strong
positive correlation found between daily users’ ratings of food appearance (‘looks
appetising’) and ratings of ‘healthy’ (r=0.272, p=0.01, two-tailed) and ‘tasty’ (r=0.267,
p=0.02, two-tailed); no significant correlation was found in non-daily users.
Semi-structured Interviews
Three main themes were identified based on the six interviews: 1) communicative
affordances of Instagram, 2) factors and attitudes towards food trends and food
fetishisation, and 3) motives of Instagram food photography. Figure 4 explained the
relationship between the identified themes. See Appendices C-H for full interview
transcripts.

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Figure 4. Relationship of main themes and sub-themes found from interviews. The displayed
sub-themes in ‘motives of Instagram food photography’ were ranked according to their
relevancy in the contexts of a receiver (someone who view food photos) and as a sender
(someone who posts food photos) when using Instagram.

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Communicative affordances of Instagram. Participants talked about the
directness of using Instagram, with a heavy focus of being able to look for photos and
have their photos being found. For example, Pearl, who scored a moderately high
engagement score (6) as a daily user, talked about the convenience of photo saving
functions and how she could ‘instantly see how other people take photos of that (same)
dish’ through hashtags.
Participants also talked about portability and locatability in regards to photo capture
and viewing on Instagram. When asked about the food accounts she followed, food
blogger Cindy talked about how food trends that ‘pop up in different regions’ ‘could be
spotted’ from the app through geo-tags. Light user Katie also talked about using
hashtag function in spotting new food specifically during her travels (quote 1). Ease of
searching up new accounts allowed anticipation of trying new foods even prior to travel
(quote 2).
‘Multimediality’ of Instagram (apart from the camera) was also explored: this included
photo editing (filters, tuning), location tags, descriptions and hashtags. Harrison
described how a friend of his would engage in a food photo in numerous ways (quote
3).
Similarly, as a food blogger Cindy discussed how the comment section on Instagram
allowed interaction and discussions (quote 4). It was also mentioned that captions
could also be used personally instead of for social purposes (quote 5).

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Motives of Instagram food photography. Four sub-themes were identified in
the interviews in relation to respondents’ motives in viewing and posting food photos on
Instagram. One prominent factor of ‘culinary tourism’ was discussed by a number of
participants; most for them use the app to look for restaurants or interesting foods to try
during travelling or visiting a new country or place. In relation to the locatability of the
app, Pearl discussed how using location-related hashtags allowed her to not only
discover new foods, but to let others know she has done so (quote 6).
The focus on culinary tourism was particularly prominent for light users who do not
engage in food photography regularly, and so were more likely to look for special types
of cuisines during travel. For example, Amelie talked about the ability to discover new
foods on Instagram as she ‘pay attention to them’ so to ‘try out (new cuisine) while
travelling’. Some participants talked about how choosing foods based on what they find
on Instagram has allowed them to ‘feel’ and ‘experience’ culture of the visited country.
Alternatively, the ‘tourism’ factor seemed not to be limited by actual geographical
location, but also on creativity of recipes, or simply a food trend. Harrison talked about
how he appreciates when a food photo shared online displays a certain level of novelty
(quote 7). Food blogger Cindy brought the example poke bowls as a recent food trend
and how the geo-tags allowed her to track transitions of the poplar dish across regions
in America (quote 8).

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‘Social interaction and community’ was another strong sub-theme that appeared to play
an important role in the respondents’ motives to engage in food photography. ‘Likes’
and ‘comments’ functions on Instagram allow users to directly give feedback to other
users. Clementine talked about how sharing daily what she cooked has strengthened
existing friendships (quote 9). Recognition from users outside of existing friend groups
also played a role (quote 10).
The sub-theme of ‘diarising food habits’ were more prominent in moderate to heavy
users, compared to viewing food photos with the purpose of culinary tourism by light
users. For example, Clementine (who 70% of her following accounts are food profiles),
talked about her appreciation towards ‘mundane’ but ‘consistent’ updates she received
from certain following profiles. She talked about in particular, bento (lunch boxes)
making from Japanese households:
In relation to the participants’ own food imaging habits, regular food photos tended to
display consistency in positive ways, Clementine (who maintained a series of daily
cooking through a personal hashtag) also talked about how she started the ‘food diary’
as a form of self-appreciation in effort to make good food for herself and her boyfriend.
Self motivation on healthy eating also appeared to be a factor in keeping a food diary.
Participants mentioned factors of ‘trying to cook healthy food’, and adding related
hashtags (e.g. #cleanfood) acted as a ‘personal reflection and reminder’, ‘a way to
motivate yourself.

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For lighter users, however, the focus of documenting food intake tended to be on
special occasions. Katie, who normally only posts pictures of food whilst she travels,
talked about the occasional update of home cooking photos (quote 12). Similarly
another light user (Harrison) mentioned that whilst he would “send a photo (of what he
cooked) to his “girlfriend or friends”, he preferred posting something more “special and
less of like everyday” if it were to be shared on Instagram.
The third sub-theme was the ‘identity development’ through taking food photos; in
particular, the development of photographic style, expression of self, as well as the
importance of reinforcing satisfaction from ‘likes’ and ‘comments’. This theme was
mostly found in moderate to heavy users; for example, Cindy talked about the transition
of her personal account to a more ‘professional’, food-oriented profile (quote 13). Even
after the shift of focus, the food account remained as the most centralised platform to
express her personality; the use of a personal username reflected the balance between
Cindy’s vision of ‘food community’ and ‘self’ in her photos.
Food photography also expressed style; Pearl (who has a strong interest on general
photography) discussed the importance of receiving recognition from people with
similar photographic style (not necessarily restricted to the theme of food):
It was also discussed by some that eating and diet preferences were reinforced through
who you follow and what Instagram ‘chose’ to show you (‘echo chamber’ as described
by one participant), and that apart from discovering new cuisines, user would actively
follow those who have the same diet preferences as they do.
Attitudes on food trends and fetishisation. Three sub-themes were identified:
1) food aesthetic and styling, 2) food fetishisation, and 3) food photography trend and
trendy foods.

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A diverse range of factors on food aesthetics and styling were discussed. Some widely
mentioned qualities were ‘composition’ and ‘layout’, which were more related to general
photography. When asked to describe a ‘good’ picture of food, some participants
stressed the importance of vibrant colours and garnishes, and made ties into how they
‘make you hungry’. The act to ‘arrange them (dishes) in a good manner’ also was
stressed by multiple heavy users. Some participants described the content to be less
important than the end product as their ‘priority is that it looks good, rather than the
taste.’ (Pearl) The value behind the food or cuisine also was discussed; Clementine
talked about the ability to capture ‘the atmosphere and the temperature of the food’
(quote 15).
General viewpoints on the term ‘food porn’ were compiled to the sub-theme of ‘food
fetishisation’. All of them were familiar with the term and the associating phenomenon. It
was described by some that in order for a picture to be classified as food porn, certain
levels of indulgence, excessiveness and comfort should be induced (quote 16).
One example that a participant gave was ‘yolk porn’, where ‘people poke the yolk’ and
‘do closeup shots of egg yolk pouring out’ (Harrison). When asked about their attitudes
towards food porn, some thought that it promotes excessive and ‘irresponsible’ eating
(quote 17).
Views on food fetishisation was also related to attitudes on food photography as a
trend, and the concept of ‘trendy’ foods. A number of factors were discussed; one
participant talked about the importance of ‘having a style in taking food photo shots’ to
‘stand out’ (quote 18). Some talked about their experiences of making a dining decision
based on photos she found on Instagram. By taking ‘more photos’, it was even
described as an act to compensate when ‘the price is probably not worth’ its taste
(quote 19). Some talked about how a picture with the food as focus receive better
feedback than something ‘with yourself in it’.

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Overall as shown in Figure 4, communicative affordances of Instagram enable and
promote respondents’ motives of engaging in food photography, which influence and
are influenced by their attitudes on food aesthetics, trends and food fetishisation. Light
and heavy users of food photography both described functions and affordances of the
application in aiding photo viewing and sharing. Whilst light users’ less frequent food
imaging habits were mostly related to motives of culinary tourism, heavy users engaged
in food photography largely with motives of diarising their food intake, as well as part of
their identity development. This was also related to their concepts and application of
food trends in relation to Instagram specific affordances (such as adding hashtags of
popular food items or locations).

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Discussion
The current study looked at motives and attitudes behind the trend of online food
photography, in relation to the communicative affordances of mobile media (Instagram
app platform) and communication of food photos as a form of self presentation. The
three research questions explored were: (1) how does the exhibition and engagement of
Instagram food photography affect attitudes toward food aesthetics and eating?, (2)
how do communicative affordances of Instagram enable and alter users’ dining and
eating practices?, and (3) what are the motives behind sharing of food photography on
Instagram?
Quantitative session of the current mixed-methods study explored RQ1. The strong
positive correlation found between frequency in posting / viewing food photos and
rated importance of food appearance were only present in respondents who use the
app for more than four days a week. This may suggest that for active users, the more
often one engages in either posting or viewing photos of food, the higher one may value
the appearance of food when making food choices. Interestingly, when considering the
other factors that could possibly be interrelated (such as food cost and convenience), a
positive correlation between food appearance, nutrition and taste were found only in the
daily users’ ratings; meaning that the more important daily users found food
appearance to be, the more they found taste and nutrition to also be important in food
choice. This suggested that not only may visual exposure to food increase its
importance as a considering factor on food choice, it may potentially have an effect on
one’s judgement in food taste and nutrition. However, one should consider that due to
analysis being purely correlational, results could also be interpreted as a reversed effect
of food appearance judgements on respondents’ tendency to engage in Instagram food
photography.
One major limitation to the quantitative data was the imbalance in male (23.4%) and
female (76.6%) participants; as well as over 66% of all participants reporting to use the
app daily, reducing the light users’ sample size for correlation analysis. This was
however representative of Instagram’s general user statistics in 2016 where over 60%
users log in daily (Brandwatch.com) , with 65% of users being female (eMarketer.com).
To explore the second and third research question, semi-structured interviews
conducted with the six Instagram users deepened insight to how food choices could
potentially be affected by judgements of food aesthetics; communicative affordances of
Instagram also appeared to enable and promote respondents’ motives in food
photography. Closely matching Schrock (2015)’s framework, it was found that
Instagram’s interactive interface and its multimediality allowed users to easily
communicate between each others’ photos, as well as quickly locate one’s and others’

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images through geographical tags. The portable nature of smartphones allows
capturing of ‘in-between’ moments of dining, snacking and perhaps just seconds
before the meal begins. Direct communication with not only real life friends, but
communication with users through the same category of pictures or even the same item
of food (via hashtags), hereby expands users’ ability to express appreciation of food
pictures curated by the application algorithm. Instagram’s accessibility also facilitates
current online trend of food styling and ‘food porn’ fetishisation through photography,
enabling the exploration of different mentioned techniques of vibrant colours, capture of
atmosphere and temperature, as well as thoughtfully planned plating and layouts.
Whilst light users mostly reported that food photos shared on Instagram either reflected
their travel eateries (more so related to culinary tourism) or as occasional sharing of
novel dishes, heavy users treated food photography as a display of consistency and
hence a substantial part of their online presence. This could be reflected through some
respondents’ comments made on photographic style being a more important factor
than the food content itself, as well as their motive of receiving positive recognition and
appreciation from friends or strangers. Aligned with Goffman’s presentation of self
theory, offline dining experiences itself could be understood as a backstage region,
where Instagram users are able to ‘tweak’ the setting and arrangement of their item of
photography (food); Instagram profiles act as front stage of users where a global
audience on the internet are able to watch the performance of other users’ carefully
crafted self presentation. Authenticity of photos in reflecting the original experiences
became secondary; rather the consistent act of uploading and sharing online constitute
more to the idea of ‘impression management’.
Food being closely linked to social factors such as culture and taste, therefore function
as an effective but relatively effortless tool to represent one’s aesthetics, preferences
and overall lifestyle. Ibrahim (2015) described ‘food images as a cultural bridge’ but also
‘social media platform as a means for sharing the banal and the mundane’; offline visual
performatives of food (such as plating, rearrangement) could be extended online
combining with photographic skills (lighting, angles) as a form of self presentation. The
influence of offline and online performatives around food appear to be bi-directional;
users’ ability to discover new cuisine based on search of geographical location or
categorical hashtags prompt the motives of social interaction, as well as the positive
recognition of one’s own photography of trending and aesthetically pleasing foods; this
is further achieved by manipulation of real life presentation of meals, or even an
influence on dining decisions based on the trendiness and the level of
‘instagram-worthiness’ of a dish. Regardless of number of people around the table,
once an ordinary act of dining could become an intrinsic part of users’ online self
performance, allowing a form of identity development through photo grids of carefully
curated food documentations. In future, follow-up research would perhaps benefit from
an improved, extended quantitative data collection on participants’ attitudes towards

20
different statements on food photography practices and its reflection in real life eating
habits.
Why are food porn and food photography as popular as it is now? As common and
largely accessible to most people, it seemed that food as a photography genre satisfied
not only the natural instinct of the hungry brain, but is also appreciated by many with its
aesthetic form. This could be reflected through our diverse findings in the interviews
when asked about the qualities of a ‘good food picture’. At the same time, experiencing
the ‘trendy foods’ and documenting it online is a form of extended gratifications, where
moments of gastronomic pleasure could be elongated and reproduced in eye-catching
“#foodie” shots. Hence unlike other themes of photography (such as architecture),
images of food could be valued from numerous viewpoints, whether it conveys a sense
of consistency, patience of plating and display of culinary skills; or the very urgent
sense of ‘gastronomic indulgence’ through technical close-up shots and highly vibrant
colours. Appreciation of food pictures appear to cater not only those who who are of
genuine interest in photography and appreciate the aesthetic forms of food, but also
comes easy for more ‘amateur’ Instagram users to depict their daily life in a subtle, yet
attention-grabbing way.
Concluding remarks
Food as a universal, instinctual act provides fluid expressions of different cultures,
tastes and preferences. ‘Imaging of food elongates the performative, making food
inedible and imbuing it with non-perishable qualities…’ (Ibrahim, 2015). The current
study explored Instagram users’ attitudes and motives behind food photography and
the online craze of food porn through the theoretical frameworks of self presentation
(Goffman, 1959) and ritual view of communication (Carey, 1975). Communicative
affordances of Instagram and its effect on food photography trends were discussed. In
short, implications of current food photography trend and online food fetishisation are
yet to be truly explored. Everyday imaging of personal eats and sharing on social media
not only act as a consistent construction of online self that communicates with other
constructed identities, but with Instagram’s extended affordances of locatability and its
‘curator’ function, maintenance of self can also be taking place through ‘taste’ and food
preference reinforcement. Technological facilitations of social interactions and food
imaging have therefore formed a bridge between producing mundane visual artefacts of
dining, and a sensational invitation of gastronomic voyeurism.

21
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Digitally-Mediated Identities. p1-5. (5)
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Modernity. (60)
Hogan, B. (2010). The presentation of self in the age of social media: Distinguishing
performances and exhibitions online.Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society,
0270467610385893. p377-386. (9)
Ibrahim, Y. (2015). Food porn and the invitation to gaze: Ephemeral consumption and
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Korsmeyer, C. (2002).Making sense of taste: Food and philosophy. Cornell University
Press. p1-67. (67)
Mendelson, A., & Papacharissi, Z. (2010). Look at us: Collective narcissism in college
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community and culture on social network sites (pp. 251-273). London, England:
Routledge. (22)
Ranteallo, I. C., & Andilolo, I. R. (2017). Food Representation and Media: Experiencing
Culinary Tourism Through Foodgasm and Foodporn. InBalancing Development and
Sustainability in Tourism Destinations(pp. 117-127). Springer Singapore. (10)
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15-59. (44)

21
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18. p1229-1246. (17)

22
Appendices
Appendix A. Screenshots of self-reported online questionnaire (Google Forms)

23
Appendix A. Screenshots of self-reported online questionnaire (Google Forms)

24
Appendix B. Interview questions
1- How would you describe your viewing and posting habits of food photos on
Instagram?
2- How long have you been taking food photos and sharing them on Instagram? Why
did you start?
3- Do you run an account dedicated to food photography or does it constitute part of
your account?
4- Do you follow food accounts? What kind? Why do you do so?
5- What is a good food picture to you?
6- Do you like to take pictures of what you cook? Why?
7- Do you know the term ‘foodporn’? What does it mean to you?
8- What are some hashtags you are familiar with?
9- Have you discovered new foods because of Instagram?
10- Do you find yourself looking on Instagram when you want inspiration or you’re
hungry?
11- How much does your Instagram food photos reflect your real life eating habits and
food choices?

25
Appendix C. Interview transcript 1 - Harrison (21): Male, Taiwanese, student
(How would you describe your viewing and posting habits of food photos on
Instagram?)
Um..I post when I have a good photo. I don’t always have good photos to post. (When
you cook? Or when u go out?) when I cook I will send a photo to my girlfriend or my
friend. But for Instagram I tend to try and post something more special and less of like
‘everyday’. (do you view photos of food then?) Yea, Facebook and Instagram. I think i
have liked a food page on Facebook, and it always comes up. I actually use Facebook
more than Instagram. (How long have you been taking food photos and sharing them
on Instagram? Why did you start?) I’ve used the app since it came out, but I don’t use it
that often. Like once a while, perhaps maximum 2 times a week. I try not to use it as
often so I don’t get addicted. (What is a good food picture toyou?) Photo or video?? Or
both I guess. I think interesting content. Interesting food. Those that you don’t always
see. Creative cuisine. Like if someone invented a dish. (so it’s more on the novelty of
food that they make?) Yea.
(Like say when you cook and you want to look up something. do u look up recipes?)
yea, but not on social media. More like google it. Like food accounts give me
inspiration. But not really the recipe. (Do you know the term ‘foodporn’?
Whatdoesitmeantoyou?) Yea. Mm they’re taking the food or the cooking process.
And they make it really beautiful and it makes you hungry haha. (how do u think they
make you hungry?) umm..(like closeup shots??) i actually have no idea haha. (some
people told me like .. it has to be high calorie food because ith as to make them feel the
urge to have it. Or highly stimulating. Some people think that haha. And related tags like
yolk porn…) yea..and i think it has to be colourful and vibrant. I have a friend that is a
food blogger and he posts pictures of food, adds tags of the place. All of that. (that’s
cool. What do you think of that?) he tries to make it very descriptive. I like his
descriptions. (of how it tastes? Like reviews?) for example like gai dan zai. He would
write like 3 paragraphs for it. Very romanticized. Haha! (Have you discovered new foods
because of Instagram?) Yea. (new places to go? Or new recipes?) both. (Do you find
yourself looking on Instagram when you want inspiration or you’rehungry? Yea I
remember so our friend Justine, she posted a picture of cabonara and i was very
hungry and I saw it. And I went straight of the same restaurant and ate the same thing
hahha! (just because of the photo?) yes haha. (do you think it’s something unique to
social media? Or it can also happen on say newspaper or TV?) definitely can happen on
newspaper or tv and other media as well. One time I was reading the newspaper and
there was a huge photo of a bowl of ‘lo yuk farn’ (tawianese dish) and i ended up going
to that place twice in a week haha.

26
Appendix D. Interview transcript 2 - Katie (23) Female, British, student
(How would you describe your viewing and posting habits of food photos on
Instagram?) Um like sometimes, not that often. Or particularly when visiting a new
country and I want to see the food I will post and share with my friends. And I will look
up the geo-tags to find restaurants around that area. (How long have you been taking
food photos and sharing them on Instagram? Why did you start?) Like almost 1 year.
Yea, and I sometimes write blog post about food in different countries. So I do that
along with posting on Instagram sometimes. (Do you run an account dedicated to food
photography or does it constitute part of your account?) No not really. I think food is a
small part of my travel account. (Do you follow food accounts? What kind? Why do you
do so?) No not really. I don’t really follow lot of food bloggers or accounts. So … not
often. (What is a good food picture toyou?) Well I think it has to be fod that is well
presented. And it has to look tasty haha. Or kind of makes you want to eat it as well.
(Do you like to take pictures of what you cook? Why?) Yea, particularly when it is a hard
dish to cook. Or something I haven’t cooked before. (Do you know the term ‘foodporn’?
Whatdoesitmeantoyou?) Yes… to me it’s all about looking at images of delicious
foods. That’s all. I don’t use this hashtag normally. (What are some hashtags you are
familiar with?) Um.. food, local food. Or when you add the country’s name plus #food.
(Have you discovered new foods because of Instagram?)Yes! Once on a trip to Taiwan I
actually discovered the black pepper bun from Instagram. (Do you find yourself looking
on Instagram when you want inspiration or you’rehungry?) Um not really actually. (How
much does your Instagram food photos reflect your real life eating habits and food
choices?) I think it definitely affects my travel eating habits. The types of food on my
Instagram is the food I eat in each country.

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Appendix E . Interview transcript 3 - Amelie (24): Female, Taiwanese, student
(How would you describe your viewing and posting habits of food photos on
Instagram?) Ah um so I subscribe to clean diet recipes and some party snacks IDs for
reference. And from time to time I would post food photos. But it’s mostly desserts
cause I like them haha. (How long have you been taking food photos and sharing them
on Instagram? Why did you start?) It’s ever since I have an Instagram account. At first I
take photos of food to keep track on what I eat. But eventually like, now I post them just
because they look appetizing or pretty. (Do you run an account dedicated to food
photography or does it constitute part of your account) No not really. But it is part of my
account. Like one out of three photos I post would be food. (Do you follow food
accounts? What kind? Why do you do so?) Yea. Like party snacks, fitness recipes. It’s
for my own reference in the future actually. (So what is a good food picture toyou?) I
thinkit has to be with the right angle and right lighting. Should have no shadow, or
people messing in it. Focus on the food. (So do you like to take pictures of what you
cook?) Yes, I’d say sometimes even videos rather than photos. (Why do you like doing
it?) They’re pretty? Haha. No typical reason really! (Okay haha. So do you know the
term ‘foodporn’? Whatdoesitmeantoyou?) Yes. I think to me it just means pictures …
food pictures, that you browse on Instagram. And it makes you crave for it. (Okay. And
what are some hashtags on Instagram related to food you are familiar with?) Haha okay,
#tgif (thank god it’s Friday) #tbt (throw back Thursday) #girlsnightout #foodporn #yolo
(And have you discovered new foods because of Instagram?) Definitely. Like I pay
attention to them so I’d be able to try out while travelling to certain places. (Do you find
yourself looking on Instagram when you want inspiration or you’rehungry?) Sometimes
I do check for inspiration for example what lunch or picnic to prepare for. But never
actually check it when hungry, it’s foodora/ UberEat that you do when you’re hungry.
(How much does your Instagram food photos reflect your real life eating habits and food
choices?) Um…50/50 I’d say. Of course sometimes people post pictures to show off or
get attention but you probably wouldn’t post the pictures of you having an apple or a
banana after going to some fancy French restaurant, right? Haha, it’s human.

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Appendix F. Interview transcript 4 - Pearl (21): Female, Hong Kong Chinese,
student
(How would you describe your viewing and posting habits of food photos on
Instagram?)
I think I post food photos every day. Reason why I post them is to gain likes from
people. Not food everyday, but um I will post it when I go to a restaurant. I think when
the dish looks very good. (Do you look for the same photos? The same way how u post
them? What u post is the same as what you look for?) Actually not. Its more like I look
at what the trend of what people choose in Hong Kong. I will go to that place and take
photo of that food. (As in what is trendy at the moment?) Yea. (How long have you been
taking food photos and sharing them on Instagram? Why did you start?)I think for a
while already. Around 2-3 years. (How long have you been using Instagram?) I think I’ve
been using Instagram for like 4 – 5 years. (and you’ve just started few years ago to
share food pics?) Yea. (Do you follow food accounts? What kind? Why do you do so?)
Yea I do. I think I follow some .. like…healthy foods, food bloggers, HK bloggers. Or if
I’m gonna visit a place, I will follow food bloggers in that country as well. (so you’ll do
that whenever you travel? Or when you’re planning the trip you’ll look for
restaurants…places...in Instagram?) yes. (why?) um I think when I go to a place I would
want to look for interesting food, like local food to feel (experience) the culture of that
place. (do you normally do that more often on Instagram or you also do that outside of
other social media? Or would you say Instagram is the place to go) I think I do it more
on Instagram because it’s very convenient. You can just save a photo, like you can look
at the hashtag and the location and see how other people take photos of that food
(dish) usually to get inspiration. (To get a more authentic taste of the place maybe?) Yes.
I think mainly ..like you can gain likes from people, you can get inspiration easily, and
you can also follow the different style of how people take photos of food. (so styles of
how people take photos? Like what they eat? What they make or cook? Or eating out?)
Yea all of that. For example the angle of how they take the photo, or how people make a
nice composition of different foods together, or like the filters…(do you do that as well
for your food pics? When you try and take a photo of what you eat, do you think of
these factors as well?) Yea sometimes I will get inspiration from those account, and
then I’ll try and copy how they take photos of the food. (Do you think that’s important
for getting likes or getting followers? Is that why you consider these factors for a good
photo?) Yea yea. To maybe gain likes from people that are also interested in the style of
how I took the photos. (What’s your style?) Umm..I would describe myself as a
minimalist. /laughs/ (no it’s completely fine. I totally get what you mean. I think a lot of
people have the same approach.) Yea. (What is a good food picture toyou?) It must
have good lighting, a good composition, and a good filter. (And the content of the
food?) to be honest, I feel like it’s not that important, haha. As long as the filter and the
lighting…and everything looks good together. (so when you look at a nice food photo,
you don’t really consider like..’what is actually on the plate? Or what kind of

29
ingredients.. When you look at a food photo do you imagine how it tastes? Or would
you imagine how it’s to go there and actually have the food.) um.. i think taste is not my
first priority. I think it’s how the food will turn out when i take a photo of it. So when it
doesn’t taste good but it looks really presentable (yea? So is that also how you would
make your decision when you go out and eat?) haha yea.. most of the time. (most of the
time?) yea. Well also like the price of it. If it’s not that expensive I will consider if the
photo will look nice. But if it’s more expensive i will consider longer. I would prefer it
less if it’s costly. (doesn’t really affect whether you would share the photo right.. the
price of the food.) yea no. (it’s interesting that you think it doesn’t matter what the food
is or like the content. Do you think that’s something about taking a good photo or more
about how you express yourself.) i think it’s really personal thought. I think a lot of
people look at the food quality too..i mean imagine if you put something on Instagram i
will really prefer it ..like my priority is always that it looks good, rather than the taste.
Yea. (Is that something u actively think about? Whenever u eat out?) Um yea. (I think it’s
a big thing to share with people what u have on the plate. It’s important for lots of
people to consider how good it looks.) (Do you like to take pictures of what you cook?
Why?) Yea of course. (what normally do u take? Like snacks? Meals?) i think i will only
take picturs of food that i’m proud of and that i know if i upload them on Instagram
like..i will get likes and people will complement me hahaha. But like if i cook something
ugly i don’t usually post it. I only post it when it looks good no matter what meal it is.
(but im sure if u re cooking yourself its more important what u put in than how it looks at
the end. It’s different than going out. Or do you think even when u cook urself it’s
important how presentable it is?) i think when it’s on my own i consider more. Even
when i’m in the supermarket when im buying the ingredients i would already imagine
how it will look…compared to when I eat outside I consider less. (Do you know the term
‘foodporn’?) Yea I always hashtag that. Doesn’t really mean much to me really, just how
it sounds like. But when i add it I will get more likes so i will usually add all the
hashtags that are related to food when I’m uploading a food photo. (It’s always in
everyone’s photos. It’s kind of equating the sensation u get when you view
photography. So that instant rush of satisfaction when u see a photo of food?) oooh. (it
donest really mean much to you but you put in because u know people search for it?
Do you search for it?) Um i don’t really do. But I found that it’s one of the most popular
hashtags so I think that’s the reason why I tag it. I don’t really search for foodporn on
Instagram. (What are some hashtags you are familiar with?)Um… I usually type #food
then i see which one popped up as suggestions to be most popular (do u have any in
mind?) um..foodie…foodlike,foody….fat girl (why would you put there?) i don’t know.
It’s just when you put ‘fat it’s the most suggested one (why would u type fat in it?) ahha
i think because food is related to fat, like especially when i am kind of losing weight now
nad it helps me. i think its related. I think something like personal reflection and
reminder...to be honest it’s not really for the public haha. (do u also do this when u go
out and eat?) um..usually when i go out and eat i will add the hashtags related to the
restaurant. E.g. #japanfoodie..#japanfood… (and is that for self record of where you’ve

30
been? Or to share with people that you’ve been to a place??) umm… i think the firs
thought is i want people to know i ate that dish in japan…or i also want people that are
actually in japan at that time and they can come to my Instagram to like my photos. I
want to get more likes basically. And .. i just want the photo to relate to the hashtag. (so
its mainly for not only to share with people u know, but also people that are searching
like for japan. Or that restaurant.) yea. Well for restaurants too, when I’m with abunch of
friends picking a restaurant I will look through the geo tag and see how other people
take pictures of food in that restaurant but normally I rarely use the geotag function on
my own. (why would u think that if personally u don’t search for them u still put them?)
haha.. it’s the same reason. Just want to get a few more likes. If people have been to
that restaurant and they found the geotag, they might click on my photo. (but u don’t do
the same thing?) No. (You mentioned a few times that it has to do with gaining more
likes and followers on ur account. Do u think that’s specific for food photos or just a
generic thing. How much do u think ur food photos play into ur goal of getting likes..?)
mm.. I think um for gaining likes it applies to all sort of photos to my Instagram. But
then i realized one thing that if i upload a food photo there’s normally more likes than
my other types of photo. People mainly like food photos rather than photos of my
face… (so food photos are more effective?) yea. (do u sometimes wonder why??) mm..
i think because food is like...everyone is into it. Actually I think people don’t really care
about where you go if u have a face on the photo. People appreciate when u upload
something only with food. More than food pics with yourself in it. (so when food is not
the main point) yea. That’s not effective to get likes. (that’s interesting. I haven’t really
thought about whether having yourself in it would affect it.) (Do you know any food
accounts that are only posting food photos?) I know a few that are really famous in HK..
like they’re professional food bloggers, but I don’t really follow those accounts. I think i
follow ones that are taking more artistic photos of food rather than photos of food. U
know, decoration, composition, style. Those are the ones that I appreciate and would
follow. (u see it as art work rather than a record. Do u aim for it too?) yes. (do u try to
strike a balance between taking photos of food u like? Or those that are presentable?)
mmm.. um yea i think i care more about if I upload that photo whether or no I will gain a
lot of likes by how i decorate it or what effects I put on it.. rather than I upload what I
like to eat. (have u tried going to a place knowing that u wont like that food but u know
it looks nice and u will get a nice photo out of it?) yea. I have few experiences like that.
From seeing photos of others.. i would already know it probably doesn’t taste great. But
if I go I can take a nice picture, and i still went haha. (is that popular in hk?) yea,
especially among my peers. Lot of people do that. (do they all like acknowledge
something wont taste good?) yea. They would know and they would say ‘ oh the price
is probably not worth it. But just take more photos.’ Haha. (do u find it unique on
Instagram?) i think for me it applies more on Instagram because of the design and
layout.. and u can put effects.. it makes Instagram more unique. You develop a style. U
cant really do that on other platforms. (Have u tried making something for the photo and
not eating it..) i have to admit i’ve tried that a few times like i tried to copy how people

31
take photos. I just made the food for the sake of taking the photo but i ended up
wasting it haha. I didn’t finish it. I’ve thought of running a food account. But i never
started it. (because of.. reasons?) laziness…and sometimes i’m tired. I just don’t have
the time for it.

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Appendix G. Interview transcript 5 - Cindy (23): Female, American, student +
Instagram food blogger
(How would you describe your viewing and posting habits of food photos on
Instagram?) I run a food account. But it’s also my personal one. So my viewing and
posting habits of food on Instagram… they’re are generally foods that I would be happy
about eating. I tend to like overhead shots and spread shots, but also mix in close-up
shots. I like different foods with a lot of color that look unique. I know a lot of other food
bloggers like to add drizzle, have fried foods, and whatnot… but I personally don’t
enjoy eating those as much and tend not to post those.(And how long have you been
taking food photos and sharing them on Instagram? Why did you start?) Well I’ve been
taking pictures since college, although it was more of a personal account. That’s why
username, @mishxcindy. Which it wasn’t really catered toward the actual food
community. And I find it a good way to express myself. And it has just been a hobby
since. It didn’t get really serious until sometime around last year, as it’s when I took a
gap year before starting medical school. (Do you run an account dedicated to food
photography or does it constitute part of your account?) Yea I would say that my
account is basically all dedicated to food photography, although once in a blue moon I
will post a personal picture. Like I’ve tried creating a personal and food account
separately, but I always end up putting more heart and soul into my food pictures. So I
end up posting about those. It does constitute as my own account but I definitely pay
more attention to the food pictures. (Cool. And I’m sure you follow food accounts?) Yea
of course. (What kind and.. why do you do so?) They tend to be those that are in the
Boston area, that’s where I am going to medical school right now. However I’m from
Southern California so a lot of food bloggers I follow I have actually met through media
events and have gone on food runs with. Generally if I like the person's photos and they
have a relatively friendly personality. At least when they seem so. Then I will follow them
as well. Generally I like following people who engage with you in your photos, usually
with positive comments. Because it feels more like a community that way. (So what is a
good food picture toyou?) Um.. a good food picture to me. Baseline has good lighting
and is not blurry. I think that makes for all of the difference; before I didn't care about
lighting, and there is a drastic difference in quality and reactions. But otherwise I think
that a good food picture captures the quality and life that the chef put into the food.
And it makes the viewers want to come and try the foods that you have taken! (Do you
like to take pictures of what you cook? Why?) I generally don't really cook because a lot
of the times after I go out for a food event, I have a ton of leftovers and that last me for
several days. But I love making toast and eggs at home. And I like to take pictures of
those when I do cook. (Do you know the term ‘foodporn’? I’m sure you have heard of it
at least. Whatdoesitmeantoyou?) Haha yes. Foodporn means to me something that
we, as a foodie community, can look at and delve into. It is definitely something I just
sort of look at before I go to bed scroll through the photos and say “wow, that looks
amazing.” Haha. I would definitely say it's my guilty pleasure. (What are some other

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hashtags you are familiar with?) I also use them in my posts. Um. #eeeeeats #satisfeed
#infatuation #devourpower #tryitordiet #foodbeast #eatfamous #eatstagram #instafood
#foodbloggers #foodstagram #foodporn #foodgawker #foodgasm haha. (Awesome!
And have you discovered new foods because of Instagram?) Yes definitely discovered
new foods because of Instagram. I feel that I keep up with the trend of new foods
because I see so many different food bloggers posting about different kinds and when
they post them. And I also have the opportunity to see what foods pop up in different
regions at a time, as I recently moved form the west to east coast. For example like,
poke has already been a huge craze in California for almost a year, but it has just
recently started trending in Boston. It’s cool to see how the food trends migrate
throughout different areas. (Do you find yourself looking on Instagram when you want
inspiration or you’rehungry?) I find myself looking on IG mainly when I want inspiration.
Before I go into a restaurant to start taking pictures of food, I look at Yelp and their
Instagram to see what types of food I can photograph. I then think of ideas on how I
would like to take the photos. However, to determine what I eat, I generally have
personal cravings and eat those rather than looking to IG for ideas. (How much does
your Instagram food photos reflect your real life eating habits and food choices?) It
does reflect my eating habits. I try to choose foods that I would normally eat, and
photography is just a way for me to capture what I like to eat. I definitely eat
everything…or at least most things…on my IG, though I may have help from others. My
Instagram is really like a food diary.. But I would say that when I am not a food events I
am a pretty simple; I normally just eat salads or sandwiches because that is a good
balance to the types of foods I get at restaurants or events.

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Appendix H. Interview transcript 6 - Clementine (22): Female, Hong Kong Chinese,
student
(How would you describe your viewing and posting habits of food photos on
Instagram?)
Mm.. I used to post a lot of food photos on Instagram and but i no longer do it. I don’t
know what triggered me to stop. But interms of viewing i view a lot of them every single
day are food accounts. (most?) most of them. Yea maybe 70% of them. I really enjoy
seeing them but i no longer post them anymore. (why do u like viewing them?) i think
it’s how easy it is on Instagram. Like you just keep srolling down, and to see different
foods of different people. I mainly follow Japanese people. A lot of them post photos of
bento (japanes lunch or meal box) making so they are really aesthetically satisfying. And
i also appreciate how they treat bento as a thing, to do every single day. It’s also like the
story behind the maker. Mainly housewives. Those who make it. How they treasure the
everyday little things to satisfy their children..husbands..whoever..i just feel like this act
is really meaningful. It’s how they insist to do something everyday. To cook a beautiful
bento for ur family every single day. It’s just inspiring. (so u see the ‘effort’ that they
represent? For like satisfying the family. And the consistency right.) Yea. Exactly. (How
long have you been taking food photos and sharing them on Instagram? Why did you
start?) I think I shared what i eat food around two years. I post the food i make
everyday. Yea around two years. I did start because i appreaciate myself with cooking
for myself and my boyrfriend. So i did it. Want to share it to friends and more people. I
think i tried my best to arrange them in a good manner and to take the photos in a
beautiful way. I think that it’s a beautiful thing to share. And then i also could hashtag
as well. #安靜吃飯 (eating quietly or peacefully) to group my photos together like a
series. And that was really satisfying. I think i made some connections with people. Like
more and more friends told me ‘im really looking forward to ur feed and ur photos. I
appreciate that u did that. I want to taste the food that u make.” So i think i did that to
sustain some sort of friendships. Even if its just cooking..or eating.. like everybody
does..but they kind of treasure me for the photos that i took. (so u maintain a series.. it
is also like a self documentary of what u do everyday same time.. or habits. Do u
agree?) Yea totally. I just stopped as I no longer eat as regularly as before. Even though
i still cook everyday, im less interested in posting to share. Beause i didn’t have the
effort to make it as beautiful as before. (Does that happen after u go busier?) yea cause
of my studies. And another thing is i started to have a mindset of i shouldn’t of taking so
many pitures of food or things that i have. Rather than taking pictures i would try to put
the time to really treasure the food itself ..rather than taking pictures before i have the
food you know. My focus now is more like having the food with people. Especially when
i go to restaurants i just don’t take any picures like before tconsuming the food. I can
really enjoy the food and not have that distract me. (You think it’s a distraction? Would
you say it kind of ruins the experience of u eating?) a little bit. It depends. I mean if im
having food with someone who really likes taking pictures and we have ..like if they

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don’t mind me taking photos i will take it. But with some friends that are … say they’re
from france..greece..and they don’t see it as thing. And in that case i wont do it as it’s
kind of impolite for them. When im with some closer friends. If it’s something really
memorable…or really beautiful . or i really want to remember the moment then in that
case I will take it. (What is a good food picture to you?) Mmm.. I think a good photo is..
being able to capture the colours, the atmosphere and the temperature of the food. You
know when some pictures cant really tell you how warm that food is but ..i don’t know.
Some pictures are really good cus you can really feel the passion..for me like warm food
really comforts you. And so whenever i see a photo that i can feel warm..or hot enough.
I mean when you can imagine how it is to be there having that food and the
atmosphere. And that matters to me. And colours as well. It depends. Cus some black
and white photos can also be really beautiful. Like the bento boxes. They have to make
it diversely colourful ..like they put garnishes..flowers..make the whole thing nice. Even
when some items are inedible they still put them in to make it appealing to please
people. I think that matters. Also i think you need to have your own style in taking good
food pictures. For example it’s a trend now to take a photo of the whole table from the
top, above the table. I thnk it’s a trend absolutely. And even though get the style on
point. A lot of other people are mimicking it but not building their own style. Even
though youre taking it from that angle you need to have your own style to make it
outstanding. (For you it’s about the authenticity how much it captures..vibrancy of
colours…or like how appealing they make the food looks like. Would you say its the
same thing to make the food look appealing in a photo and to make it appetizing?)
mm.. i think it depends on the taste. And the food. Even though when somebody takes
a photo of a very ordinary dish 碟頭飯 (a common cafeteria dish of a bed of rice with
different sauces) it doenst have to be arranged nicely. Of course that’s a bonus. But it
depends on the food like if im not a steak person and i see a huge steak then i
wouldn’t be attracted to it. Rather than like a home dish that i used to eat and miss…
(So a good photo would probably be something that makes you want to eat it?) mhm. I
would say so. Or something i would really want to learn to make it or try to make it. It
has to be something i like to try. Like those icecream..chocolatey..or like waffles..those
are not what i like but theyre so trendy now. (i do see a trend of people posting photos
of food that everyone takes. You might not think of going to actually eat it but you might
still go just because theyre pretty. Or theyre nice to take a picture of. But you would
never go and have it if you wont be taking photos.) Yea. Like trendy foods. (like any
fashionable items?) yea. Its not specific to food. (Do you know the term ‘foodporn’?
What does it mean to you?) Yea. I never see any of the food I take photos as food porn.
I think it has to be some kind of indulgent food. High calorie food. Or comfort food. But
in an indulgent way. Food porn as in.. something you wont see very plain or dull or
healthy. But its more like something you..want to dig into. First impression for me is less
healthy..something you shouldn’t be having too much. (What are some hashtags you
are familiar with? Do you know any?) … yolk porn?? (is it when people poke the yolk
and it pours out??) Yea.. and #foodie. I never pay attention to hashtags. I think foodie..

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sometimes i think about this trend or ..how people say they are so into food? Or their
interest is eating? That annoys me. Of course everybody eats, some people like it better
or like having better food..but the point is, you don’t know where the food comes ffrom,
or what impact it has on your body or the environment. You can’t call it a hobby and
take pictures of it. It’s slightly irresponsible for me and it irritates me a bit. I never say
that and i never use this hashtag.
Another reason i stopped taking photos of my food or to treat food as something to sell
myself on social media is because you don’t know where the food comes from. You
don’t produce them…i feel kind of negative about the foodie trend on Instagram. For
me i think you have to know or kind of know what you buy or eat .. and people aren’t
conscious about it. When people start to have this, they would probably stop to post
food pictures once u have this connection. (Have you discovered new foods because of
Instagram?) I cant think of any..I think Instagram.. you choose what kind of people you
like. I follow people that make the kind of food that i already like? Ike Japanese home
foods…HK foods…yea. I don’t really follow any food feed that im not familiar with as i
can remember. And yea i think what u follow is what im already used to. (do u
sometimes go to the explore page?) ic an remember any.. i follow like a thousand sth
people..so Instagram normally just reinforces the whole thing and like you know .. the
echo chamber thing. Instagram shows me similar content that i already follow. And I
normally think of something I already want to make, then i look it up. (have u tried
making anything from what u saw in the feed) no. i think for me it’s more for relaxing
rather than recreating. For me i don’t read Japanese so even if they put in the caption of
how they make it, i cant follow it. But i still like the pictures, that’s what matters. like
before i wake up or before i go to bed…Theres one channel where I’ve tried recreating.
Called tastemade. And i like to recreate desserts from the posts. That’s the only thing i
try to make. I don’t like most of their recipes, they put sooo much cheese on everything.
(Why cheese?) it’s a trend now. Cheese is a trend, don’t you agree? A lot of the food
accounts tend to put so much cheese on every single dish that you wouldn’t imagine to
have. They just want to attract people. It’s kind of like..it ruins the food! Why put
American cheese on Japanese rice!