POLL: Does seeing a picture influence what you make?

[CHRIST1NE]

As I was organizing my recipes the other day, I realized that more than 90% of the things I make/try have an photo to show the dish.

How about the rest of you - how much does seeing a picture influence recipes you try?

[This message has been edited by CHRIST1NE (edited 10-13-2000).]

[BernK]

It definitly influences me. I won't buy a cookbook unless it has a decent amount of photos in it. A great looking photo will also tempt me to try something I ordinarily wouldn't try

[lorilei]

I think it depends heavily on my mood.

Generally speaking, I'm a mind-taster. I find that I can immerse myself thoroughly in reading through recipes in a cookbook (even without photos) and "tasting" them with my mind's eye. Usually I can get a feel for whether or not a recipe appeals to me just by looking at the ingredients (especially the herbs & spices).

Other days, it takes a bit more convincing for me to try a recipe... then sometimes a picture helps. Pictures are also good when I need ideas for presentation or technique.

[Terri-Lynn2]

I enjoy having recipes with pictures, it always tempts me to make things that I normally wouldnt have tried without the picture. I love to sit and flip through a cooking magazine or cookbook. It so relaxing and enjoyable, if nothing else it inspires me and gives me new ideas to incorporate into things that I already make.

Terri

[ML]

Pictures definately make a difference for me. I too will not buy a cookbook if there are only a few pictures in it- being able to see the finished product is part of the fun when reading a cookbook.

Also- it helps to see what the finished product should look like- that keeps me on tack sometimes and it helps me get a feel for how my dish is going to turn out. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Angela]

I am definitely a picture person. A lot of times I will not make something if there is no picture. Though if the recipe doesn't look like the picture then I'm mad. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[jjf]

i am definitely influenced by a picture - especially if i'm hungry when looking at the recipe http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif.
i especially like lots of pictures in a cookbook. i love looking through them just for fun.

jen

[lanie]

Definitely a 'picture person' as an example - the raspberry-balsamic chicken - I probably would have read short cooking method and though - won't bother with that - but that picture made me run out to find seedless raspberry jelly! Or I will do a recipe that has been 'tried & true'...Lanie http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Susan]

Yep, I love cookbooks and magazines (thank you CL!) with tons of photos! I tend to make more recipes with photos than not. This is definitely a selling point with me!

~~Susan~~

[BarbaraL]

In most cases, a picture influences me to try a recipe. The one exception might be the African peanut soup, which, as I recall, looked a little weird. (After reading all the kudos on the BB, I had to try it, and it was great!) But usually, a picture will get me to try a recipe I might otherwise overlook.

[valeriek]

I'm going to be the odd man out it seems. I'm not that influenced by pictures for two reasons. Nothing I ever make seems to turn out like the picture so I generally ignore them. Plus, I work in PR and have a background in advertising so I know how some of those pictures are really made (cereal pictures actually use white glue in place of the milk!). Pictures just don't sell me on recipe.

[CathyS]

I definitely like pictures. When I first started cooking, I would only try recipies with pictures, so I could compare my end result to something. Now, I can judge better with my cooking, so I don't rely on the pictures that much.
CathyS

[Ohioan]

I love looking at pictures of food, mainly because ... well, because I love looking at pictures of food. (Huh?) It's like leafing through a museum catalog. And yes, often the pictures will influence me to try a recipe I might not have tried otherwise, but they may also cause me to visualize possibilities for other dishes. Mostly, I think, the pictures just make me hungry, so I'm ready to cook almost anything! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

I do buy some cookbooks without pictures, but I much prefer those with lots of pictures -- and, I might add, pictures that actually show the food. On principle, these days, I won't buy either books or magazines where most of the food is overlit, out of focus, too close to the camera, floating in midair, or perched on unlikely objects. Nor will I buy books where the typography is so stylized that I can hardly read it. In both cases -- fancy-schmancy photography and fancy-schmancy typography -- I figure the authors and editors are more interested in cooking up graphics than in cooking.

Whoooo! How did I get off on that tirade? Please pardon an Old Curmudgeon. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/redface.gif

Sheepishly,
Phoebe

[Mamasue]

Yep, I am a picture person! 99% out of 100 I will buy a cookbook or magazine that has great pictures. I am a visual person and need to see the results...can not imagine it in my mind like Lorilei, who I am jealous of! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif Recently, when I try a recipe and I have film in the camera, I take a picture of the final results so that I can insert it with the recipe in Mastercook. Of course it takes me longer to display it just right for the picture (with the right background, tablecloth, etc. etc.) then it does making it! Hehe http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Oh, and Pheobe...I love to hear you talk. You should write some novels about food like the author Diane Mott Davidson! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[SandyDee]

Pictures definitely attract my attention and they play a big part as to whether I would buy the book or magazine. But I must admit the ingredients have to appeal to me. If a picture looks wonderful but a couple of the ingredients leave me cold I doubt I would be compelled to make it. However if I feel creative I might try to replace the offending ingredients and give it a go. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[food girl]

Originally posted by valeriek:
[I know how some of those pictures are really made (cereal pictures actually use white glue in place of the milk!). ]

When I was in college I took a tour of the CL test kitchens and met the food stylist who talked all about the photos in CL. I think I distinctly remember her saying that they try not to do that. I think she said that the only time they had to embelish a photo was to make flames on a flambe with lighter fluid!

The sad thing, I was SO BORED during this tour. (I wasn't a cook then) Now I would give anything to go back.

[valeriek]

You can take a tour of the test kitchens? Now that would be interesting!

I'm glad to know that CL doesn't use some of these tricks in their photography. I would love to see what their photoshoots are like.

[nanadee]

I enjoy looking at the pictures, but I don't think they influence me. I like to go right for the ingredients. If they sound good, I will make it no matter what the picture looks like. I don't believe I have ever made something with a picture and compared it with the my dish.

[Beth]

Originally posted by Mamasue:
Yep, I am a picture person! 99% out of 100 I will buy a cookbook or magazine that has great pictures. I am a visual person and need to see the results... http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Now there's a suprise! Our queen of graphics is a visual person! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

For me, I think it depends on how I'm looking, if that makes any sense. If I'm looking for a recipe and thinking about what I might like to try, it makes little difference. If I'm just flipping pages or cruising and not thinking about what I want to make, a picture that catches my eye may get me to notice something and switch gears. This BB has done the same thing when I've read about a recipe that I flipped past without noticing or considering.

[mlou]

Leaning on the NO side here also. Sometimes they are helpful if there may be a part of the instuctions that needs clarifying or to try a dessert that is mostly based on presentation but on the whole the pictures are not that great and make any cookbook more expensive than it needs to be.

Hate to mention it her but the CL covers don't impress me much at all either. Just curious if I am alone here but I have never been impelled to buy the magazine beased on the cover picture.

[andreajackson]

I almost always will make a recipe with a picture over one without. It just helps me to get a sense of what the dish is suppose to look like.

[AndreaU]

In a word, YES.

[daney]

YES! I am lame, but I have a hard time choosing to cook something I haven't seen over something I have...

So, I cook what is featured from the stories, etc. Unless it is just a basic recipe with published (non-photographed) variations... I would pick the variation I liked - like seasoned grilled corn, etc.

:D

[comabri]

I'm with most of you. I don't yet have the skills to be able to visualize the recipe just by looking at the ingredients. That may come with time and experience though - hopefully.

So, yes, I like having photos and they do make an impact on what I choose to make or not make.

I also like to see how close my versions come to the real thing.

Oh - and I also remember someone saying that when they went to CL headquarters, they learned that all photography is completely real. They never use glue for milk or anything else fake. So I say - if they can do it - so can I (well, sometimes).

Coretta

[Rose Ann]

The only time I don't need to see a photo is when I make cookies. Anything else is definetly more likely to get made if there is a photo.