My relationship with Pinterest would probably be best described as somewhere between a blind first and second date. You know, that awkward phase when you still hide things with Spanx and a pushup bra, and the guy is still pretending he would rather be listening to stories about your cat than drinking a beer and watching the game?
I can’t tell you how many pins I’ve looked at, then clicked through, and thought to myself, you make that with what? Gross! Yeah, it’s not going to work out between us. But there are promising pins too. I have seen lots of ah-maze-ing things on Pinterest, and lots of cute little ideas. It’s just that sometimes they turn out a little less ah-maze-ing in the execution of things.
Sometimes the blind dates just don’t work out.
This past weekend I got burned, flat out. I was a little too trusting, right up until the point where I looked at my finished cookies and thought, this does not look like their picture. At all. Well, closer inspection revealed… the pinned picture was of the unbaked cookie?? Don’t judge, it was one of those cookies that you roll in icing sugar and press flat, and some of them really do end up looking more or less the exact same way they go in.
SO betrayed.
Dishonesty in the media is a little too common. I’m sure we’ve all seen the little video about the Photoshop process they put supermodels through. Even food bloggers are a little bit guilty of manipulation, either directly to the image, or messing with their viewers on a psychological level. Did you know that you’re most likely to repin pins of a certain aspect ratio and if they include certain colours? If you weren’t aware of it, well rest assured, it’s very real and measurable. Whole businesses make it their business to know how to sell stuff to you.
The pressure is huge on pinners to grab your attention by any means possible, because that photo makes or breaks your interest in going to their site. Cute fonts on pictures to make them pop? Been there. Stacking bright napkins of primary colours next to the plate? Got that. And then there are some that go too far: No, that’s not edible, it was styrofoam dipped in whatever chocolate goo to make a more perfect shape. Soap bubbles on the coffee to make it look fresh. Artificially colour enhanced so that optimal salivation is achieved.
I can’t lie and say I’m 100% above all that. Sometimes a photo needs a little love, especially since I’m fairly new to food photography. I don’t have a studio, and it’s winter, and sometimes the ambient light coming through the window is just a little too blue because it’s cloudy outside.
Or take my dill pickle bread: unfortunately the best cheese ooze came from layering more cheese than I could grill and giving the sandwich a quick zap in the microwave. And I actually prefer cheddar that isn’t dyed orange (white cheddar is the natural format!), but orange has better contrast and a more appealing colour (to some).
Earlier test run of dill pickle bread with white cheddar.
Still, I have set rules to try to be as absolutely honest as possible in my photos because, little tricks of presentation aside, I know the end result photograph is what people will measure success against. Heck, that’s what I do when I’m testing out another’s recipe. Why would you be any different?
Have you been Pintrayed? Let them know! Nicely, of course. Maybe (whoops) they forgot an essential ingredient in their recipe when they posted it. Or maybe you goofed. A nice food blogger usually will try to help you troubleshoot if you’re having problems. And if the Pin is an utter lie… like it goes to a place that isn’t really a recipe… let people know. Save others grief.
Happy pinning!
LOVE your honesty! PS. I feel less bad about my #KitchenFails now.
Never feel bad about #KitchenFails, especially if you learn from them 🙂 How does the old adage go? Failure can be a better teacher than success, and persistence can pay off big time. Pickle bread! 😉
I love pinterest but I think some of the photos are too good to be true. That or I don’t have the right skills in the kitchen. I have tried some recipes from Pinterest, some were good, some were ok, and others didn’t work out. I don’t let Pinterest make me feel like a failure because i know that we all have our own gifts and talents.
Too true, Christy. Too true. I could be THE CraftFail mom. 😉
I’ve only ever tried one recipe off Pinterest and it turned out so bad I almost threw up. It was that fried honey banana thing that I was telling you about… sickly sweet snot is what I ended up with. Scared me right off.
Oh man! Well, not everything is a bum rush on Pinterest. You can trust me… I’ll only adjust colour levels a little ;-D And use orange cheese…
I loved this post! I don’t usually try recipes just off pinterest, but still not everything turns out perfectly. But when you pick something on pinterest, it is more likely to be because of the perfect appearance so I can see how the disappointment and the pintrayal would be bigger 🙂 Thanks for your candid post!
You’re right, Oge, I’ve had plenty of recipes fail off other sites too and none have been quite as annoying. I’m pretty sure Pinterest = great expectations! But pinning an unbaked cookie… sigh.
I totally agree! I also don’t like when I see a great pin and click through only to realize it doesn’t take me to the recipe, like what was the point of pinning it anyway!? Anyways, it seems since the only people who hold others accountable on the internet are ourselves it seems worthwhile to do what your advising and kindly tell the pinners about their misleading pins. Thanks for the post!
-Jon
This post made me laugh! I have lost count of thr number of food pins I have liked the look of, then going through to the recipe reveals some awful (normally American, sorry) ersatz mock-food, mock-recipe. You have not, I repeat, not, created a cake recipe if you combine a packet of cake mix with a pack of chocolate chips. No. And I am all done with those ‘sugar free, gluten free, dairy free, egg free’ cookies made from avocado and coconut oil and carob powder. I don’t need to make those to know how they would taste….
Mmm, paleo-riffic. I’m with you; I prefer food not try to pretend too hard to be other food. For me, “something-free” frequently happens more by coincidence than design (such as when I was trying to figure out how to maximize pecan presence in my sweet potato pie). But that said, there’s artistry (and chemistry) involved in proper substitution! 😉 If you haven’t yet tried the (almost) everything-free pièce de résistance known as crazy cake… well, let’s just say you may never make a boxed cake again. 😀
Speaking of Pintrayals: Pinterest advised a friend of mine to spray banana slices with lemon juice to keep them from browning. She did it for a school event and… it didn’t work. Is it really supposed to? What’s your call on that, Chef Lady Anne?