#Dinnercam portable photo studio takes foodie pics to the next level

Food paparazzi. We’ve all seen them, and most of us are guilty ourselves. Someone pauses at dinner to snap a few pictures to share on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or whatever the current social media obsession.

If the lighting isn’t right, we have to make it ... just ... so. Turn it that way, would you? And maybe someone else can use their flashlight app while I take the photo?

If you think that scenario is enough to ruin an evening, what if someone put an actual food photo studio in a restaurant? Introducing the #dinnercam by South African Internet provider MWEB.

It’s a small dome with various lighting selections that acts as a portable photo studio for restaurant meals. You place your meal in the middle, adjust the lighting, then snap a pic.

MWEB says it’s a “tongue-in-cheek” project that aims to look at how WiFi access affects life in public spaces.

The company teamed with Cape Town restaurant El Burro, which agreed to put the #dinnercam in its dining room. If you upload a picture using “#dinnercam,” you receive a printed copy.

For now, though, the food paps elsewhere will have to settle for their smartphone camera flash. There are no plans to make the #dinnercam available commercially.