My son shares the joy of his beautiful cappuccino in New York<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhy such draconian regulations of personal freedom? You can probably guess the answer. As more and more people photograph their tacos in order instantly to share the photos with thousands of friends, this practice is creating a nuisance for others. For example,<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s reached epic proportions,\u201d says Steven Hall, the spokesman for Bouley and many other restaurants, who has worked in the business for 16 years. \u201cEverybody wants to get their shot. They don\u2019t care how it affects people around them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moe Issa, the owner of Chef\u2019s Table at Brooklyn Fare, said he banned photography several months after opening when it became too much of a distraction to the other diners at his 18-seat restaurant.<\/p>\n
The \u201cothers\u201d being inconvenienced by your food photography may very well be sitting at your own table:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to know who is most irritated by amateur photography \u2014 the owners and chefs, the nearby diners or even the photographer\u2019s dining companions. Emma Kate Tsai, a Houston-based editor, said her 64-year-old father drives her family crazy with the food photos he shoots with his large, cumbersome camera strapped across his chest. \u201cIt\u2019s really irritating,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause we can\u2019t take a bite unless he takes his photo.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of this makes me wonder when somebody will sue a restaurant for limiting their freedom of speech. Or, maybe someone will sue an amateur photographer for ruining the ambiance of a meal.<\/p>\n
Seriously, though, I find this story to be a fascinating example of how technology impacts our lives in unexpected ways. It can invade the sacred space of the common table. Or, it can allow the specialness of a meal to be shared with far away friends. I love it when my son, who goes to college in New York, posts photos of his culinary creations. Yet, many of us who carry smartphones seem to assume that we have the right to photograph food (or people or whatever) without asking permission of our companions or without considering the implications of our behavior.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the solution to the problem of the father driving his family crazy with his food pictures is not restaurant legalism, but rather a bit of conversation that lets dad know how his behavior is impacting the others at the table. When it comes to technology and its impact on our lives, maybe we don\u2019t need more rules, but simply more conversation and consideration.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I read a fascinating little story in a recent edition of the New York Times. Helene Stapinksi reports in \u201cRestaurants Turn Camera Shy\u201d that growing numbers of restaurants are no longer allow patrons to photograph their food. That\u2019s right, no more quick pics to post on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":4918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[788],"tags":[17043,17146,17147,21633],"class_list":["post-4917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-food","tag-photography","tag-restaurants","tag-technology"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>