It’s been a longstanding beef between consumers and advertisers – why doesn’t the food in the photos match up to the product in the package?
“It doesn’t look that good and most of the time, doesn’t taste that good,” said Linda May. May frequently buys foods from the frozen aisle and said she’s not impressed with the difference between the photo and the actual product.
Shopper Jeremy Ballantyne agreed. “It makes you want to buy them, but when you cook them, they’re not that great.”
CTV News Winnipeg heated up four frozen dinners to see which meals matched up.
Eating Right’s Chicken with Vegetables dish looked remarkably similar to the photo. Other meals though, like Michelina’s Shepherd’s Pie weren’t even close.
But local photographer Grant Forzely said product photos aren’t about duping the customer – but making the food look as good as it possibly can.
Forzely owns Artistic Impressions Photography and styles food for commercial photo shoots. He said food is often modified in order to showcase ingredients that may otherwise be hidden.
“Typically we’re using exactly the same toppings -- same amount of toppings. It’s just how we pile it or style it in the bun so you can see it all,” said Forzely.
Products are sometimes modified to make the product look more enticing. Forzely said oil is sometimes used to enhance shine and some items may be digitally removed.
“A piece of lettuce is in the wrong spot or it’s hanging out – we may take it out because it’s distracting to the entire image,” said Forzely.
In some cases, mashed potatoes are used in place of ice cream, since it would melt under studio lights, he said.
If the picture is misleading and the customers don’t end up enjoying the product, Consumer Reports said consumers have the option of writing to the company.
