The Bite: The art and allure of awful food photos

What the "OG Dutch food selfies" taught me about myself [View in browser](~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RCaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvb3Nlc2o1cWtpeS8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~) For various reasons blurring the lines of work and pleasure, I’ve spent the past 13 years regularly documenting the[food I cook](~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvd242dWlvNTYybC8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyJmxoX2VtPXRyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1JTQwZ21haWwuY29tVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~) and[eat](~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvdHQ3ZG1uNWNoNi8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyJmxoX2VtPXRyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1JTQwZ21haWwuY29tVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~) on Instagram. It began as equal parts photo diary and aspirational proving ground. I was barely a food writer back then, and my small platform lent another dimension to that persona. See? I[cook clever dishes](~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvdnp5cXJxZ3k4Zy8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyJmxoX2VtPXRyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1JTQwZ21haWwuY29tVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~) and go to[interesting restaurants](~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsveWl2aHJyMThicS8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyJmxoX2VtPXRyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1JTQwZ21haWwuY29tVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~) and have amusing opinions about what I eat! My photos were really bad at first: unappetizing, boring — “Here’s some[beige oatmeal](~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvNjNwemJyYnUxYi8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyJmxoX2VtPXRyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1JTQwZ21haWwuY29tVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~) I made!” — taken at poor angles, perpetually under- or over-exposed. But this was par for the course on the then-nascent app, where feeds mostly consisted of amateurish snapshots of friends’ and family’s vacations and meals, presented chronologically. Over time, like everyone else on this attention-sucking platform, I got better at it. I found my preferred food filters (Clarendon) and angles (overhead). I accumulated followers and felt the hollow if intoxicating gratification of broaching some arbitrary number of likes (200 on this one!). When we entered the algorithmic era a few years ago, feeds became algorithm-curated mirrors held up to stuff we already liked. Settings, updates and filters shifted in favor of higher-engagement reels — which I don’t post. I felt personally attacked each time my hardwon engagement plummeted, which was often. Foodstagram got prettier, same-ier, lonelier and less fun. Advertisers shouldered their way in. Yet I dutifully kept sharing my foodish photos and stories to a shrinking audience, wondering what I was still doing here and why. [Â](~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvdHk5M3k0NXNzaS8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyJmxoX2VtPXRyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1JTQwZ21haWwuY29tVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~)[Read more from Maggie Hennessy about the art and allure of awful food photos.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvbmZwNTA2NzU2bC8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyJmxoX2VtPXRyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1JTQwZ21haWwuY29tVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~)~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvbzNxcTNmaTU4NC8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyJmxoX2VtPXRyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1JTQwZ21haWwuY29tVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~ ~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RCaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvenV4bmQzZzloNS8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RCaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvbWZwYmt0ZmU1Zy8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RCaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvam5jbTRkamh5aS8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RCaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvNWE5cWMxNXBuMC8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~ [Subscribe to Salon today](~/AASU4wA~/RgRn0KRqP0RmaHR0cHM6Ly9hLnBvc3QubGhkLmxpbmsvYWU3a2RxM3hqNS8_bGhfYWlkPTM0NTA5JmxoX2NpZD1hazJ1N2s0MmgyJmxoX2VtPXRyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1JTQwZ21haWwuY29tVwNzcGNCCmXqbB_uZRJ3dP9SG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAJQ~~) and unlock more benefits! 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