I think this topic is very interesting since we are discussing about food images.
It is taken in a professional studio.
The advertisements make the food look so good that it is irresistible. However, when you compare the actual food to the advertised image, there is a huge difference. I think main reason is because when they prepare the food for an photo that will go on an advertisement, they take their time to make it, they make it look as good as it can and put maximum ingredient to it, where in reality, the minimum wage workers make the food as fast as possible. They do not care how the food looks. Their job is to make the food for the customer. The ad photos probably also get adjusted and manipulated.
You can view images of ad images and actual photos of the same food in these following websites:
http://www.alphaila.com/articles/failure/fast-food-false-advertising-vs-reality/
http://thewvsr.com/adsvsreality.htm
Yes, it is true that advertisements make the food look so good that they do not even look like the actual food that are being served in the restaurants. And I think that is truly what advertising does. While the minimum wage workers’ job is to make the food for the customers, the advertising agencies and photographers’ job is to make the product to look good and attract the potential customers. Since judging by appearance is the human nature, we tend to judge one thing by the first sight we see it, that’s how advertisements and designs help to sell the products. Before we see the actual products, we have been already bombarded by tons of advertisements. Because images are one of the major components of advertisements, that’s why commercial photography is so important for the businesses (mainly for products and services) who want to compete with others in the same industry.
I agree with you Kamol, food photos for commercial purposes are all about the advertisements, not how the real product might actually be or look. There is a famous phrase that says, “We eat with our EYES”; and that’s what advertised food photos are trying to make us do. They are trying to persuade us to buy the food no matter how it may actually look, because in our mind we will still have the image of that perfect delicious looking food. In addition, yes, workers are being paid minimum wage to deliver this product, but in a fast-passed industry like fast food, workers need to work fast in delivering their service no matter how the final product looks, just have all the ingredients in there. Also, we should take into consideration that it’s all about competition, as Jieqchen stated, it’s about who will win the battle of the best looking-attractive food.
I completely agree with you we are given an image of what our food should be instead of what it actual is. I believe that it is not the restaurant to blame but instead the people who are performing the food for you. I have seen and gone to many different restaurant and experience fast food of great quality in which the chef took pride in their food and delivered what was expected of them.
I find that this is a perfect example of false advertisement because if you actually go to a McDonalds fast food restaurant the food is prepare in a matter that is completely different from the way it is advertise on television or magazines. Yes the reality of the matter is that the person who is preparing the food that you have asked for is not willing to put in the effort that the advertisement has promise because he/she is being paid to perform his or her job for minimum wage. I personally don’t believe that it is a matter of pay that the employee of McDonalds is getting in order to perform the job he/she has benn assign to but since it is part of an advertisement promoting a food I expect the food I have paid and order should be prepare that I see fix to my expectations.
FOOD PHOTOS; AD vs REALITY in my opinion are completely different. Reality can be yourself taking a picture of your favorite dish versus a very planned out commercial operation that can have big dough in stakes. Commercial photography is very complex; as a photographer you must deal with a group of people who seemingly can do everything but click the shutter on a camera. They sketch out the composition, bring the perfect food stylist who brings a bag of tricks to make everything look so different from what we will get in real life.