These unfiltered photos reveal the messy truth behind those "perfect" Instagram shots

Impact

Social media is a highlight reel of people's lives, and food bloggers' Instagrams are no exception. 

Vibrant smoothie bowls, gorgeous avocado toasts, juicy burgers — scroll through foodie feeds and it seems as though everyone is chowing down on something that looks and tastes better than your sad desk salad.  

Those grams look perfect, but nobody's kitchen is that flawless in real life. That's why Wren Kitchens, a kitchen manufacturer in England, asked five food bloggers to document what their kitchens really look like while they stage their Instagram shots. These honest portraits are goofy and authentic, and might just make you stop comparing yourself to highly curated social media that doesn't reflect reality. 

Here's what life unfiltered really looks like for five lifestyle bloggers: 

Muffins, side of crying kids - Bridie by the sea

Bridie by the sea/Wren Kitchens

Lifestyle blogger Bridget baked with her toddler for the first time. Spilled flour? Check. Crying kid? Check. Carefully cropped muffin shot? Check. 

Cropped pancakes - Californian mum 

California mum/Wren Kitchens

Nothing like a little extra styling to spruce up a foodstagram. This food blogger shows how she placed her pancake plate right next to her cookbook — strategically away from a cloud of flour on her kitchen table. 

Yogurt parfaits, minus scattered berries - They Grow So Quick

They Grow So Quick/Wren Kitchens

"Anyone who has ever cooked with kids knows that the reality often involves mess, spillages, nibbling at the ingredients and even tantrums – it is definitely not Instagram perfect!" Emma, the blogger behind They Grow So Quick, said. 

Mamma, mia: Pizza imperfection - Budding Smiles 

Budding Smiles/Wren Kitchens

Zoom out from this cauliflower crust pizza and you'll see a first-rate mess. An Instagram is worth a thousand words, or, erm, dishes. 

Dinner served, toys underfoot - Working Family Food

Working Family Food/Wren Kitchens

Jack, a food blogger, made "posh fish fingers" but didn't have an easy time of it because his energetic son made chaos in her kitchen. 

"Would including the chaos and debris of reality [in the photo] make the food less appealing? Would there be less 'likes'?" Jack wrote on his blog

We'd double tap for that honesty.