Commercial

Cocina Superior Brunch - Birmingham AL Food Photography /  by Tommy Daspit

birmingham al food photography

Did you know that Cocina Superior in Brookwood Village serves brunch? It’s true, and I have the photographic evidence to prove it!

Yesterday I photographed several of their new brunch menu items. I’ve worked with Cocina in photographing their menu, restaurant and creating a Google Virtual tour. I’ve always been impressed with how good the food and service are there. So of course I was excited to shoot their new menu items!

Valentine’s Day is THIS Saturday and I would highly recommend Cocina’s brunch as a different treat for your sweetheart. After all, I know they will be packed (along with every other restaurant in Birmingham) that night.

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View the photos and virtual tour of Cocina Superior that I created last year.

Shelby Pediatric Dentistry, Pelham AL - Google 360º Virtual Tour & Commercial Photography /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

I am kind of weird. When I go into a building or business and see lots of bright, powerful color, I get excited. My wife, Kelly, can tell you that when I see a beautiful space, especially in good light, I get as giddy as a 13 yr old girl at a Justin Bieber concert.

As soon as I walked into Shelby Pediatric Dentistry I knew I had to photograph this business. The color scheme is amazing. Bright teal’s and oranges everywhere you look. The lighting fixtures, furniture, architecture, and colors all came together to create are really fun environment. I knew that parents and kids would love the place. So I wanted to create a Google 360º virtual tour to show it off.

As I’ve mentioned in the past however, a pretty building does not necessarily a  successful business make. You have to have a good business model, and the right people to provide the best possible customer experience. This is especially true in the highly competitive market of pediatric dentistry. In the greater Birmingham area there is no shortage of highly qualified dentists. Separating yourself from your competition is critical.

Dr Baxter has done that with his facility, by having the Google Maps Business View virtual tour, offering a unique experience, and having great staff. I can also speak to personal experience. My 10yr old son, Wilder, can be a bit of a handful at times. Dr Baxter and his team were amazingly patient and efficient. I was truly impressed with how well they did, and Wilder loved the TV’s on the ceiling! 

So if you have kids, and they have teeth, I highly recommend checking out Shelby Pediatric Dentistry in Pelham. You can learn more about them on their website and Google My Business Pages. Be sure to click the thumbnails to view the conventional commercial photography I created and the 360º virtual tour!

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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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Arial Real Estate Photography - Birmingham, Alabama /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

One of the neat things about being a commercial photographer is the fact that from one shoot to the next you could be photographing really different things. I’ve photographed neon signs at night, industrial pipe fittings, craft jewelry made artisans from all over the world, to buildings, and corporate head shots. This was one of the more unusual shoots, and one of the most fun.

An auction company needed some arial photography of a plot of land near Alabaster (south of Birmingham, AL). While not something I do everyday, it is sort of in my bloodline. My grandfather, a commercial photographer in Louisiana, made his living by standing on helicopter landing skids to photograph oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Fortunately for me I would be able to use a plane and not a helicopter! 

Since I don’t know how to fly, I contacted my good friend James Coats (owner of Coats Classic Cars), who does. He graciously agreed to take me up. Meeting at Shelby Co airport, he picked out a high winged, Cessna 2 seater. The high wing would give me a more unobstructed view. We circled around the plot of land in question starting out low, going up to about 3,000ft, and then back down to 500ft. I was able to capture the subject from multiple angles by sticking the camera out an open window!

We got done with the shoot pretty quickly and we were very close to my house (Helena borders Alabaster), so James decided to do a fly by. I texted Kelly, who hadn’t gone back to work yet, that we were on our way. It took us a few passes to find my house since we are nearly in a forest, but soon enough we did. Kelly was even able to get a shot of us with her iPhone!

So take a look at the final result and if you ever need some arial photography give me a call!

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Cocina Superior - Birmingham, AL Restaurant and Food Photography /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

Birmingham AL Restaurant Photographer

If you read my post on why restaurants need professional photography, you have seen some of the images I created of Cocina Superior in at Brookwood Village in Homewood, AL. I really felt that they deserved their own full blog post as well!

Cynthia at Cocina contacted me initially about doing photography of the restaurant and food. The owner wanted some updated images and told her to find a professional. She searched for restaurant/food photographers and my name kept coming up. She looked at the work of other photographers and judged mine to be the best (I’m not going to disagree with her)! While we were taking about the conventional commercial still photography I mentioned to her about the Google Maps Business View virtual tour program as well. She had never heard of it before but felt that it would be a benefit to the restaurant. Boy am I ever glad that she did! Cocina Superior is a beautiful restaurant. The styling is upscale, modern, but also inviting. It’s really a perfect fit for Brookwood Village and the Homewood/Mountain Brook area. I knew pretty quickly that it was going to be one of my favorite tours!

Cynthia, Carlos, and I worked great together to create the tour and images that you see. Unlike many food images you see on TV, in magazines, or internet sites, the food you see is all real and straight from Cocina’s kitchen. No food stylists were used. If you go to Cocina and order one of these items, this is how it will actually look!

Now, a pretty restaurant is one thing, but it is the food that truly matters. In that metric Cocina really shines! Everything is amazingly fresh and tasty. I’d actually been a patron before ever getting the job. My friend David, owner of Solar Reflections, takes people there for lunch. So I was doubly excited when I got the call! To demonstrate how highly I recommend Cocina Superior, I’m taking Kelly and Mother-in-law this weekend!

Check out the conventional restaurant and food photography, and Google virtual tour below. To learn more about Cocina Superior check out their Google My Business Page and website (which will be soon redone with the photos I took and tour embedded).

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Do you have a business in the greater Birmingham Alabama area that you want to improve the image of? Call or email me to discuss what I can do to help!