Pho Pho Vietnamese & Sushi - Birmingham AL Google Maps Business View Photography / February 20, 2015 by Tommy Daspit

There’s an all new restaurant in Birmingham’s 5 Points. I had the pleasure of creating a Google Maps Business View virtual tour of Pho Pho Vietnamese and Sushi. Along with the virtual tour I photographed the inside and some of their dishes.

I will say that unlike some food photography, what you see is what you will actually get at Pho Pho. I did very little in the way of arranging what the chef prepared for me to photograph. Of course it doesn’t matter if the food looks good if it tastes bad. To that I can testify that it’s excellent! I was able to sample some the day of the shoot (I wish I could say I usually eat the food I photograph but this is rarely the case). Then later that week I took Kelly there for an evening out. We both love sushi and we hadn’t had any since she became pregnant with Pippa, some 18 months ago. So we were really excited when we tasted how amazingly fresh and wonderful the sushi and sashimi were! Seriously, it was excellent.

Pho Pho is open for both lunch and dinner, closed only on Sunday. If you are looking for some great Asian food with a great atmosphere, check out Pho Pho and be sure to tell them I sent you!

Check out the still photos and virtual tour below. You can also learn more about Pho Pho on their Google + page.

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Learn more about the Google Maps Business View Program here.

Do you have a business that you want to show off on Google? Contact me today to see if it's a good fit for you.

Cocina Superior Brunch - Birmingham AL Food Photography / February 10, 2015 by Tommy Daspit

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.

Why Professional Restaurant and Food Photography? / August 8, 2014 by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

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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