Alabaster

Walgreens - Birmingham AL Commercial Photographer /  by Tommy Daspit

Tommy Daspit is an architectural photographer in Birmingham AL

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a commercial real estate firm out of New York. They needed photos of a Walgreens in Alabaster. The images needed to be colorful, eye catching, and at the same time, demonstrate the customer traffic of this location. Of course I was up for the challenge!

I started the shoot in what photographers call the “golden hour”. This is the hour just before sunset and just after sunrise each day. So long as it’s not overcast this is often considered to be the best time of day for photography. The light is “warm”, hence the golden hour name, and the angle of the light is good for nice shadows and contrast. I continued taking multiple exposures as the light changed over the next hour and a half.

One of the challenges was to show the customers coming in and out of the store and cars in the parking lot. This is especially tricky when you’re not using models, but rather normal people going about their lives. If they’re recognizable in the image, and you’re using it for advertising, then you have to have them sign a model release form. This isn’t something we wanted to deal with so a technical solution was needed. I could just blur them in Photoshop but you end up with a photo that looks like it was shot by 60 minutes interviewing a mob informant. Not a good look. Instead, I set the camera to have long shutter speeds. This still showed people and cars there but they were motion blurred. This has the benefit of not only hiding their identity but also conveying motion and energy of the space.

The final images were actually a composite of many photos. I overlayed people and cars from multiple images to create the final vision. The sky was added from a library of skies to fit every possible lighting situation (if you wait for the sky to be perfect as you shoot the project you will be doing a LOT of waiting).

The end result was an image that showed the details of the building, customers patronizing the business, and colors that grab the viewer’s attention. I was able to check off all the boxes my client needed and they were thrilled with the results. Amazing commercial real estate photos aren’t taken, they are created.

 

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1024 Navajo Trail - Alabaster AL Real Estate Photography /  by Tommy Daspit

I get a call from the always enthusiastic Melanie Siow of Realty South. She’s got a house in Alabaster that needs to be photographed and she needs lots of photos. It’s got an amazing back yard. It’s huge, flat (a rarity in this area), and there are tons of beautiful flowers. So of course I’m thrilled to shoot it!

When I get there the home owner tells me how excited she is that I’m photographing her home. She says that she’s a fan of my work and can tell which listings are mine as opposed to other photographers! She tells me that I have a distinct style that she loves. How cool is that! I can honestly say that this is a first and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t disappoint!

The home is a modest three bedroom, two bath ranch but you can plainly see that they've put a lot of work into it. The kitchen especially has been totally modernized and has a great style. With that back yard this is a perfect home for a young family (I know my kids would go nuts out there).

So if you’re looking for a really nice home in Alabaster give Melanie a call! View the complete listing.

See more of my work and learn more about my Real Estate Photography services.

1333 Branchwater Ln - Vestavia Hills Real Estate Photographer /  by Tommy Daspit

Last week I was contacted by agent Susie Denson of Realty South. She needed me to photograph a home she was listing in Vestavia Hills and needed some great images. Having worked with Susie in the past, and knowing the quality of her listings I was very excited!

This home did not disappoint! It’s in a great neighborhood and had obviously been extensively renovated. The back deck and back yard was especially impressive. I would venture to say that it was one of the nicest back yards I’ve ever photographed!

My other favorite feature was the formal living room. Lights had been embedded in the crown moulding all around the room. This gave it a very unique look that I haven’t seen anywhere else. While it looked great in person it was actually quite the challenge to photograph. Getting the lights to show up in the image without the rest of the room looking too dark required quite the balancing act. I probably spent more time on this room than any other. I think the results speak for themselves!

This is really one of the things I love most about architectural and real estate photography. Each home, building, or business is very unique. Each one requires different photographic techniques and often stretch my technical and creative abilities! That’s why I love my job so very much.

Check out the photos below and you can learn more about this home on the listing page here!

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119 Carriage Maylene AL - Residential Real Estate Photography /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

I recently photographed a house in Maylene for ARC Realty age Michael Murphree. The home had been thoroughly updated and was really quite impressive, but had sat on the market for sometime. Michael was brought in to see if he could get things moving and finally sell the house. His first order of business was to hire me to come and redo the photography. The previous agent had done the photos herself. Needless to say (but see for yourself below) there’s a little bit of a difference between her’s and mine.

Now, I won’t take ALL the credit, but within two days of the new photos going online there were two offers on the house and a bidding war commenced! Nothing else had changed. The price was the same. The house was the same. The only thing that changed on the listing was the photos!

Take a look at the photos below and if you’re selling a home give me a call to get the best real estate photography in the Birmingham area! (Click here to view my real estate photography portfolio)

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My Photos

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Agent Photos

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Ernest McCarty Ford - Birmingham, AL Auto Dealer - Google Maps Business View Virtual Tour /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

For many years Ernest McCarty Ford in Alabaster had the same building. It had served them well, many happy customers had purchased and services their cars and trucks there. As with most things, there came a time where a remodel was needed to stay current. So, over the past year the main new car building was rebuilt with a new facade, showroom, service, and client waiting areas. Of course all of this change is all good and well, but if nobody knows about it, what good does it do?

This is one of the great things about the Google Maps Business View 360º virtual tours that I create. It allows potential customers, some that may have never even considered this dealership in the past, to come in and see how beautiful and modern their facility is. Connecting from Google StreetView, embedded on Google Maps, and Ernest McCarty’s Google + Local page, people are invited to “see inside”. Once they click that button they can walk around outside, through the showroom, into the waiting area, and into the service departments.

Once customers come into the dealership it’s like they’ve been there before. The comfort level is higher because it’s familiar. The unknown is one of our greatest sources of fear. So anything that can help reduce that will create a better customer experience. 

As part of the Google Business View program I also create high quality, conventional commercial still photography. I photograph the outside, inside, logo, signage, and other things the business would like to highlight. These images are free for the business to use on their website, social media, and even print media.

Unlike traditional forms of advertising, the Google Maps Business View virtual tour helps improve a businesses presence on Google, doesn’t expire, and has no recurring costs. This makes it one of the best values in advertising possible!

Learn more about Ernest McCarty on their Google + Local Page and Website, and take a look at the commercial photography and virtual tour below!

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