The Food Satisfaction

Does food satisfaction only involve your tastebud and stomach? No. It is a gift for your vision, hearing and smelling.

The sausage platter that really intrigue my interest of styling and taking shots of food.

“Wow. Wow. Wowww!”

That was most of the comments I got from this photo. It was firstly featured on my Instagram story, and I just posted it as a usual habit. My IG highlights are nothing but food, food, food.

Real Hobby or Vanity?

I am always a big fan of food and everyone knows it. However, I did not pick up the habit of taking food photos until I upgrade my iPhone 6 to iPhone X - I got to say, it is a real deal. The portrait mode of iPhone X's camera lets you take sharp photo with high definition, capturing the raw beauty of the dishes. With the help of the editing app (Snapseed, PS Express etc.), it is more than enough for a newbie to take glamorous photo and win applause from people around you. Yes, most of the photos on this website are taken by my dearest iPhone X.

So that is about a period of 2 years till now - my skills get better, and I receive more encouragements from peers around me. I try to take better shots each time while eating food with good presentation (while trying not to annoy the diners on my table as well), and sometimes I will get frustrated if I could not grab a good angle or the lightning is ruining it. Later, it got me thinking - do I really love food and taking food photo, or do I merely love the compliments from others? While the food gets colder in this process, I would get quite a strong feel of pity for not getting good shots. I wonder if this is the so-called vanity, and I hate the idea of me doing all of this out of vanity, as... you know, it is a negative term.

Recently, due to the pandemic of Covid-19, I took the flight from UK back to Malaysia and was under quarantine with few of my friends. We cooked everyday and I updated our everyday meal religiously. One day we ordered the raw sausage and cooked it as a side for our grilled dory fish. I saw the pretty wooden chopping board, and some imaginations just start running around in my head - I started cutting the sausages, taking out cherry tomatoes from the fridge, and re-arrange the mushrooms onto the plates. I did not think much and was merely doing things out of instinct. Until this photo was taken, I know that I have real interest in food photography, and I am lucky to have a bit of talent in it.

And yeah, I am also flattered by people's compliments - but so what? Who doesn't love a couple of compliments? I should not be ashamed of my own interest, though some people may think that taking food photo is a meaningless action all done by youngsters.

The photo taken by me 4 years ago on iPhone 6. So much to be picked on!

A Gift To Human Senses

So yes, I love taking food photos, and I love it more when it is cooked and styled by me (which is why the sausages make it to the cover! Well, not necessarily cooked by me though...). I enjoy hearing the sound of cracking egg into the bowl, sizzling meat on the pan, and cutting crunchy vegetables on the board; I like getting the smell of cooking, and be able to tell what sauces are used in the dishes; I love styling and decorating the food in an appealing way, and finding a good angle to capture that moment, so that I could take out my phone anytime and and appreciate the beauty of it all over again. It would remind me of the food itself, and also bring back memories of the surrounding while eating and those who were enjoying food with me.

It is all about satisfaction when it comes to food, but hearing, smelling and tasting do not last long. They are gone the moment you leave the restaurant, BUT the vision could be permanent. Memories would fade, digital photos would not. As long as there are enough storages on my hard disk, I could keep the photos forever. To me, this is where the significance of food photography lies. This is where my happiness blooms.

Some Words From Me

Thank you so much if you read my first blog post till the end. Just for you know, I am not a professional food blogger nor do I plan to become one for now, and this website is mostly for my own interest. The update will be inconsistent as I have to mainly fulfil my obligation as a postgraduate student.

Thanks to Mak as well, a friend who motivates me a lot on growing my food-collections from the IG highlights to something different. Final thanks to my parents who bring me to explore the wonder of food, and anyone who has patiently waited for me to take the photo previously (to justify myself I do not take a whole lifetime to get it done with!). I am not winning an Oscar and I do not know why I start thanking everything, but I am truly grateful to get ample food all the time, and even way beyond that.

Another kind of food photo taken by my sister haha. Happy Eating! :D