Restaurant lets diners get the perfect lighting for their foodstagrams

South Africa's El Burro restaurant has installed a device that enables customers to take professional-style Instagrams of their meals.

Social platforms such as Instagram have brought out the budding photographer in amateurs, and we’ve already seen Australia’s 1888 Hotel offer facilities dedicated especially for smartphone snaps. Now South Africa’s El Burro restaurant has installed a device that enables customers to take professional-style Instagrams of their meals.

Developed by wifi network MWEB, a small, portable lighting studio has been placed inside the restaurant as part of its #dinnercam campaign. Aimed at demonstrating the possibilities of ubiquitous wifi, the machine lets diners place their meal inside and then select various lighting options using the buttons on the front. Once they’ve picked the perfect ambient lighting, they can take a photo with their smartphone and upload it onto Instagram. Those who tag their image with the #dinnercam hashtag also get a free physical print of their photo. The video below shows the device in action:

Although a slightly tongue-in-cheek nod to the fact that foodstagrams often take over the experience of enjoying the food itself, the popularity of the phenomenon could see such a device succeed as an extra offered by restaurants. Are there other ways for food businesses to encourage social sharing to help market their products?