Why Professional Restaurant and Food Photography?

In the not too distant past succeeding in the restaurant business required a great location, food, and reputation. Make a better soup and the world would beat a path to your door. Ambiance certainly played a role but you could still be successful with a top chef with inspired recipes. 

Today’s restaurants often turn to events and catering to fill in the gaps of their normal breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend rushes. Word of mouth has transformed into your reputation online. How has your restaurant been reviewed? What is your rating? 

To help with that online presence, a restaurant must now have a website. That website needs to be engaging and appealing to a restaurant customer making decisions in the blink of an eye. People will make a judgment about your business, whether or not to dine at your restaurant, within milliseconds of your homepage loading. 

One way of capturing their attention, of holding them that extra second, of getting them to actually look more into what your restaurant is about, it to have amazing photography. In this Instagram generation photos are king. People love photos of food. They take pictures of their food. They share these photos with their friends. They comment on the photos their friends have taken of their food. It can seem a little silly at times but this is the way we communicate with each other now.

Because of the explosion of low quality cell phone pics of food, when a consumer sees a real, high quality, crafted photograph, it captures their attention. It will hold them a second longer. This is why quality professional photography of your restaurant and food is so important.  If you want to differentiate your establishment from the masses. If you want the perception of your entrees to be above the average, then you need better photos.

Whether it is with me, or someone else, take the time and budget for a quality professional photographer. Your bottom line will thank you for it!

View more of my restaurant and food portfolio. Click the thumbnail to view larger image.

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Danberry at Inverness - Hoover, AL Assisted Living and Retirement Community

When I retire, Danberry at Inverness is the kind of place where I would want to be! Located in-between Valleydale Rd and Hwy 280 in Hoover, is the most amazing retirement community you will ever find in the Birmingham area. The facilities are modern and feel like a luxury resort. They have an art studio, exercise facility, a bar, library, screened in back porch, out door dining, nail and hair salons, massage, swimming, a conference room, medical facilities, private dining, a fire pit, and much more. From the very first time I walked in I was amazed at how nice the place is. I actually overheard on resident say that she’d “already died and gone to heaven” it was so nice at Danberry!

For me, this was an exciting photographic challenge. For the Google Maps Virtual tour, this would be the largest place I’d ever attempted to create a tour of. I knew it would be challenging but I was up for the task! One thing that made it so much easier was all of then cheerful help I got from Lori Krueger (Marketing/Sales Manager) and her team. They worked tirelessly to help make sure each shot and each panorama was perfect. It would have a much more difficult task without them assisting!

Speaking of Lori and her team, I was really impressed on how each staff member knew each residents name and called them by it. There was a real sense of caring and attention to the needs, both comfort and social, of everyone who calls Danberry home. I know that if I had to find a place for my parents to retire to, Danberry would be at the top of my list!

To learn more about Danberry at Inverness check out their website and Google My Business Page. See the conventional architectural commercial photography I created and the 360º virtual tour below!

click on thumbnail below to view image

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click and drag to take virtual tour below

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Moses & Moses Law Firm - Birmingham, AL - Google Maps Business View Commercial Photography

Most people think restaurant, retail shopping, or attraction when it comes to the Google Maps Business View virtual tours. That does make sense. People will often choose businesses like those based solely on how the look. However, any business with a brick and mortar location, that wants people to come to it, can benefit from the program. Think of your businesses Google + Local page as its Yellow Pages listing for the modern era. In the past the larger your ad, the more your phone rang because it was more eye catching. In the same way the Google photos and tour bring more visitors to your site because the added visuals make it more eye catching. Being able to virtually tour a business will separate it out from competitors that don’t have it. Once customers do come in there’s a greater feeling of familiarity because it’s like they've been there before.

Then there’s the SEO (search engine optimization) boost. Because the businesses information and location are verified in the Google Maps Business View process, this is weighed in the search result algorithm. The more validating sources Google has, the higher you move up in the rankings relative to your competition.

Take a look at the conventional commercial still images and the virtual tour of Moses and Moses Law Firm below. You can learn more about them on their website.

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A few other businesses that can benefit from a Google Maps Tour:

Doctors Offices Clinics Dentists Orthodontists Lawyers Real Estate Offices Office Buildings Apartment Complexes Tutoring Services Car Dealerships Schools Chiropractor Hospitals Spas Urgent Care

Non Google Commercial 360º Virtual Tours

Most people know that I am a Google Maps Business View Photographer. That means that I create 360º virtual tours of businesses and embed them on Google Maps, StreetView, Google + Local, etc. These Google Maps tours are a great way to show off your business and stand out on Google. Unfortunately not all business are eligible for a Google tour. If you are a home based business, service business without a retail location, commercial real estate, residential real estate, or apartment complex, I cannot do a Google tour. If this fits your business or need fear not! I also create high quality, virtual tours independent of Google. I use the same equipment and the same basic techniques. The software I use to create the tours is different so there is a slight interface difference. The tours are still mobile friendly. This is so important since  it's estimated that 40% of all web traffic is mobile now (I think it's higher than that). I'm always striving to be the very best commercial photographer serving the greater Birmingham metro area and beyond. 

Check out the Reserves at North River in Tuscaloosa. I created a virtual tour of each of their different floor plans. They have embedded the tours on their website. Unlike some other options, you can host your own tour on your own hosting provider.

Pricing is very reasonable but each job is unique. Contact me to discuss the details.

Grade Power Learning Centers - Google Maps Business View Photography

Last week I created Google Maps Business View virtual tours of the two Grade Power Learning Centers in the greater Birmingham area. One is located off of Doug Baker Blvd, near HWY 280 in the Inverness area of Birmingham. The other is located on Huntley Parkway in Pelham. Both locations are some of the first Grade Power Learning Centers in the United States. Founded in England, they are a new concept here. Tony and Michele Mauro opened these centers to provide an alternative to traditional tutoring methods. The emphasis is on higher level and creative thinking rather than just memorization.

I was really impressed by Tony’s dedication to improving the lived of these children. If you are a parent of school aged children I wouldn’t hesitate to look into Grade Power!

You can learn more about them on their website:

Grade Power Learning - Birmingham, Alabama

Grade Power Learning - Pelham, Alabama

Click on thumbnail to view conventional still images

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Birmingham Location

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Pelham Location

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Tommy Daspit is a commercial, editorial, and Google Maps Business View photographer serving the greater Birmingham, Alabama area.

Interested in learning digital photography? Tommy Daspit also teaches in person digital photography classes in the Birmingham area.