Commercial new construction of the Jacksonville State University Fitness Center in Jacksonville Alabama, photographed for Turner Construction and Moody Nolan Architecture by Birmingham Alabama based architectural and interiors photographer, Tommy Daspit.
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Office Environments - Birmingham AL Commercial Interiors Photography /
Click on image to view larger - Conference room at Office Environments in Birmingham. This shot was particularly difficult due to the large windows and all the reflections in them. I utilized several techniques to control them. The final image is a combination of multiple ambient and strobe exposures.
I recently photographed the newly remodeled showroom of Office Environments in downtown Birmingham. This is a shoot that I’ve been looking forward to working on and showing off for some time. When I first saw the remodel late last year I knew it was a project I wanted to capture. My residential portfolio is quite extensive but my commercial work is more limited. This is especially true for interiors. Fortunately for me one of Office Environment’s reps is in my BNI (Business Networking International), and we were able to work out a deal!
I really loved every aspect of this space. It’s in a historic downtown building and showcases some of the very best in modern office furniture design. As a Herman Miller dealer everything is top notch quality and style. It was my job to capture the feeling of this showroom and business in photographic form. These images would be used by Office Environments on their website, social media, marketing materials and advertisements. These images will represent them to potential clients and partners. I needed to make sure they captured the quality of not only the furniture, but Office Environments, and the great people that work there as well.
This was to be a little different as well because we did the shoot at night after they closed. This gave me a great opportunity to have some images with a very different look from the rest of my portfolio. Most images I create are done with a mixture of sun and ambient light. Night images take out the sun variable but add a new layer of complexity. There’s much more heavy lifting to be done by the strobes and I had to be careful not to make the images look too “flashy”. The resulting images are a blend of multiple shots blended together. Some are as few as three all the way up to the office overview which is about twenty.
In the end with a lot of help from my assistant Crys and Blake Stringer from Office Environments we were able to pull it off!
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See more of my commercial interiors portfolio.
Gabby Catalog - Birmingham AL Interiors Photographer /
This shot is a blend of strobe and ambient light but mostly strobe. That allows me to more precisely control the color, shadow, and depth of light. Even with strobe the goal is to create an image that looks natural and truly represents the feel of the space.
A few months back I did a photoshoot for Gabby, the luxury indoor furniture line of Summer Classics. They wanted me to shoot their upcoming “Illuminate” catalog images. These weren’t the individual item shots done against a solid white background. Rather, these are what are called “Cadillac” shots and vignettes. I was to create the images that would show the furniture, lighting, and accessories in use and in a space. My job was to give the catalog viewer a better sense of how the items would come together in a real home. This is very similar to an interiors shoot that I might do for an interior decorator or designer. Now that the catalog is out I can share some of the images we created (see the catalog here).
For two days we took over the home owned by Jana and Danny McEachern of J&D Farms, in Gadsden. The Gabby team took out most of their furniture and replaced it with the catalog pieces. Each vignette was carefully crafted and staged by the amazingly talented Chris Hutchens, Gabby’s creative director. He really appreciated one of my favorite pieces of kit, my Camranger and iPad set up. Normally, the photographer gets the shot basically framed up and the designer goes back and forth to look through the camera as the shot is being arranged. Move a couch, go look through the lens, move it again, go look through the lens. On and on this goes. It can be a little less that ideal. With the Camranger I’m able to set the camera up, turn on live view, and hand an iPad to the designer. They can see in real time as they move things around, add and subtract props, and know exactly how the shot will look when put together. It has totally revolutionized the process. We can now get more shots in and the results are more inline with the artistic vision the creative team has!
I loved working with the entire Gabby team. The opportunity to collaborate with so many talented creative minds, with a great setting, and fantastic subject matter is amazing. It’s why I love what I do for a living so much! Be sure to check out the December issue of Veranda Magazine for a shot I did with Gabby for a full page Ad!
A capture from the catalog. It never gets old seeing a caption and page number along with your images! Again, this is a blend of strobe and ambient exposures. The chandelier was added from a separate image in post.
Chris is doing some finishing touches on the styling while I'm getting a color reference target shot. I'm triggering the camera from the iPad with the Camranger. The graycard I'm holding will be used in Lightroom to set the color temperature. That way the colors of the products are accurately represented in the final results. The chandelier was added in post on this image too.
See more of my residential interiors photography portfolio here.
Jones Orthodontics - Birmingham AL Commercial Interiors Photographer /
Dr Jones put a lot of thought and effort into making every part of his practice instill confidence in his patients. It was my job to capture that photographically. This image is a blend of multiple ambient and strobe exposures.
Recently I had the opportunity to photograph a brand new orthodontics office in Pelham. Dr Jones has been a practicing orthodontist with another group for some time but this is his first venture out on his own.
Not having an established clientele, Dr Jones needs to attract new patients. To help do this he knew that he had to establish credibility. Every detail from form to function was carefully thought through in the creation of the waiting, consultation, and treatment spaces. The practice was very well done but if know one saw it then that work would be wasted.
Dr Jones contacted me about creating images to do just that. He needed photos for his website, social media, and marketing materials. Having been a small business owner, and having started up business from scratch, I could relate to the stress, apprehension, hope, and excitement involved. I was honored to help him begin his practice and to help him become successful!
This image was especially challenging. The long narrow hallway from the treatment to waiting room was difficult to light. Controlling the reflections in the office glass, balancing multiple color temperatures, ambient and artificial light made for some creative techniques. In the end I think it came together pretty well!
Dr Jones was especially proud of his office/consultation room. A lot of effort went into it's styling and build out. The glass wall and door were the biggest challenge of the shot. They were creating HUGE reflections from all the light sources. Capturing the detail in the office without these reflections required digging deep into my bag of photographic tricks. I attached a large black cloth to a background stand and used it as a shield to block light coming in from the side. I only had enough to do half the office at a time. So I photographed the right, then broke it down and reset up on the left. I then blended the images in Photoshop to create the final result.
Need an orthodontist in the Pelham area? Lean more about Dr Jones and his practice on his website and Facebook pages.
See more of my commercial interiors photography.
4700 Colonnade - Birmingham AL Apartment Photography /
This twilight exterior image of the clubhouse and pool took 7.5 hours to create, 47 individual photos, 54 total layers, and resulted in a 13GB file. The fire pit wasn't functional yet so I created the fire in Photoshop. This was one of the rare cases when I used the actual sky from that night.
One market I’ve been looking to expand into is luxury apartment complexes. I’ve photographed several nice, but not exactly high end, properties in the past. High end luxury projects give me more opportunities to be creative and to showcase the work of other talented professionals like architects, masons, and builders.
So when I was contacted by Joseph Holt at Kore Companies here in Birmingham about photographing the brand new 4700 Colonnade Apartments I was thrilled! I had seen it being constructed for months. You can’t miss it as you approach the 280 exit from 459 North. The location is perfect for people working downtown. I knew it would be a project that I wanted to photograph and seeing it finished confirmed that.
The clubhouse is stunning. Two stories with multiple lounge areas, coffee bar, game room, yoga studio, huge fitness center, conference room, pet washing area, pool, and a computer bar with iMacs! I could have spent all day shooting just the clubhouse. It was that impressive. Everywhere I looked there were potential images. I did my best to capture the highlights with a few details as well.
The model apartment and grounds didn’t disappoint either. With great lighting, fixtures, and finishing touches reminiscent of the luxury homes of Mountain Brook or Homewood, there were so many great images to be had. I started shooting at 8 in the morning and finished up at 8:30 that night. Even then there was so much more that I could have done. The property is simply amazing!
I was also excited that they elected to do a twilight exterior. After scouting our options I felt that the view of the clubhouse from the pool was the best option. I spent about half an hour just looking and testing different angles and compositions before deciding on the final positioning. The number of elements involved (the two story building, pool, fire pit, interior, grounds, and five story building in the background) made this one of the most challenging twilight shots I’ve ever created. In the end the final image was the combination of 47 separate shots, and 54 layers in Photoshop. The full image file came in at a whopping 13GB. Even with 32GB of RAM, my computer struggled to put this together. I started shooting at 7:00 and finished at 8:30. Creating the final shot in Photoshop took another six hours. In the end I feel that all that work was worth it. The client now has an image that will grab the attention of potential residents. It will help 4700 Colonnade stand out from the crowd and stand above their competition. This image will help Kore Companies be more successful. That’s ultimately my job. I help my clients be more successful in their businesses. It’s a responsibility I take seriously and think about when I’m creating images of their work. I’m proud to be a part of their success!
My assistant Cry with a gray card. We shoot a picture with this in the scene for each lighting condition. It's used as a reference in Photoshop to make sure colors are accurate. We have a ton of images just like this. One day I'll make a gallery of some of the best ones!
Me with my magic wand. Now you know my secret! Actually, I use a flash on a monopod to light just the areas I want to. I trigger the camera remotely with an iPad and the flash is triggered via a radio remote.
click and drag the slider to see the before and after on this image
If you’re looking for a luxury apartment in Birmingham be sure to add 4700 Colonnade to your list. If you’re an architect, contractor, or investor with an apartment complex you want to showcase, contact me to discuss how I can help you be more successful!
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