Imagine this. You’re out to eat at your favorite Italian restaurant with your friends. Your waiter approaches you, holding the most perfect looking margarita pizza in his hand. He sets this flawlessly crafted pizza in front of you. The crust is golden brown, the redness of the tomatoes and sauce is bright and smooth, and the buffalo mozzarella cheese is melted to perfection, scattered throughout the pizza. With a presentation such as this one placed right in your face, what is your first instinct? Not to immediately grab the first slice, but naturally to take a picture, add a filter, and post it on Instagram for the rest of your friends to drool over (p.s. this is was not just a scenario and I have the picture below to prove it).
While some may argue pictures of food are annoying or pointless, I have no doubt that it has become a trend in our generation. There is an art behind Instagraming your savory food and it goes beyond choosing the right filter (my go-to is Valencia, you can never go wrong with Valencia). And whether you like to admit it or not, we all know your end goal: LIKES. Food instas are always guaranteed for a lot of “likes,” they are crowd pleasers. That melting s’more by the fire or cheesy Mac ’n Cheese is definitely going to be double tapped by your followers.
Embody one of these ’gramers and perfect the most fabulous food Insta.
The Instagram Certified Chef/Baker: You can be anyone you want to be on Instagram. According to my sister’s Instagram, she’s a self-declared part-time chef and baker. She would say she’s developed cooking and baking skills she didn’t even think she had. The simple discovery of a recipe on Pinterest makes for a quality Insta. I can confirm that she did not know how to chop basil or what pancetta was prior to her cooking, but it landed her 167 likes.
The Fake Sweet Tooth Foodgramer: I don’t even like dessert. I would rather eat a bag of chips over a chocolate chip cookie any day. But what will really make the better Insta? A bag of Tostitos chips? Or these delish Monster Bites?! Answer: The Monster Bites (p.s.. I didn’t even eat these cupcakes. But again, they got me 117 likes)
The Holiday Foodgramer: Holidays are about food. Yes, anyone can Instagram his or her apple pie at Thanksgiving. But the REAL artists, the REAL experts think outside of the box. This is the time to be creative. They think “what can I do different to separate myself from the standard?!” This may take time, dedication, and standing on a chair to get the perfect shot, but it will be worth it in the end when you’re sitting on 204 likes.
The Witty “Captioner”: You’ve snapped your photo, you’ve added a filter, and you’re almost ready to share your art to the Insta-world. Almost. Now you have to channel your inner comedic muse and create the wittiest caption. The cleverer your caption, the more likes you are likely to get. Puns usually do the trick. For example, for one of my food Insta captions, I did a play on the Chicago restaurant name, Au Cheval.
Caption: “Au. My. God.”
So, the next time you snap that pic of your melting ice cream cone while holding it against the sunset-lit sky, remember to express the person you want to be on Instagram. May you have many scrumptious, mouth-watering Insta pictures and many more likes!
Photo credit to Kallie FranckeInstagram: @Kalfrancke