Cantina Laredo - Birmingham AL Commercial Phototography /  by Tommy Daspit

I haven’t been able to blog in awhile. There’s been a lot going on lately and I’m just now catching somewhat of a break!

I’ve been wanting to post about this shoot I did for Cantina Laredo in Uptown Birmingham for a couple of months now. The’d installed a huge TV wall in their upstairs, open air bar area. This is perfect for watching the most important thing in Alabama, college football. Try as they might with their phones and personal cameras, they could never get a good photo of it. Either the screen was too bright or everything else was too dark. Finally after many frustrated attempts they decided to call in a professional.

The problem they were running into has to do with the limited range of brightness a digital camera is capable of capturing. This is called “dynamic range” Our eyes can see a very broad dynamic range but cameras need some help. When they exposed for the TV (which was MUCH brighter than everything else), the background would be super dark. Exposing for the background made the TV blown out.

The solution is not to take a single photo, but rather several and combine them into one. For the main photo above no less than 20 images were used to create the final product. Each exposure range was captured and then blended. I used a flash on a stick (photographer slang for monopod) to light key areas of the photo. 

In total it required 30 minutes of shooting and 3 hours at the computer to create an image that represented what the human eye would actually see when there. The end result is something that grabs the attention of the potential patron and makes them want to go there. That’s what I do. I create images that show off a space for potential customers. I help architects, builders, businesses, and designers put their best foot forward. This takes time and attention to detail. Something that can't be done with an iPhone!

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Willow Homes - Birmingham, AL Architectural Photography /  by Tommy Daspit

I’ve gotten a little behind in blogging some of my recent projects. As some of you might know, my 18 month old daughter, Pippa, has been sick with high fevers for the past couple of weeks. This has put me a bit behind on everything but I’m working on getting back into the swing of things as best I can. I do want to thank everyone for all of the love and support we’ve been receiving lately! It’s been a tremendous help, I don’t know how we would have made it otherwise!

I’m really excited to show this project off. I’ve posted a few of the images in other places but this is the first time I’m putting them all together. Jason Hale of Willow Homes contacted me about photographing a couple of his recent projects. I’ve worked with him in the past and I’m always excited about working with him. Willow’s homes are beautiful and high quality. Their style is amazing and a true joy to photograph. 

The last home I photographed was a remodel of a 1950’s craftsman and was part of the Birmingham parade of homes. This one was a complete teardown and rebuild on a lot in Homewood. Jason wanted me to photograph the key point of this home as well as a couple of the kitchen and master bath for the home he did right next door. 

As soon as I drove up I knew this was going to be a good one. The design of the home, and the landscaping was just perfect. Going inside was even better! The homeowners were so very gracious in letting me take over the house. It takes time to craft images that truly showcase the builders vision and craftsmanship. It’s not something that can be done well in a couple of hours!

In addition to the standard daylight interior and exterior images, I was also able to create some pole arial shots and twilight exterior. For the pole arial images I use a modified painters pole that allows me to get the camera 16’ in the air for a higher perspective. I use a wifi connector to control and trigger the camera from below. This gives me the ability to get a high vantage point without having to sacrifice quality or run afoul of the FAA! The wifi system also allows me to trigger the camera remotely for the twilight images. I actually combined multiple photos to create the final images. I lit each room from the inside using a flash triggered by the same wifi remote system. Without it these images would be very difficult to pull off. This all takes time and skill to achieve a stunning look like no other!

Click on the thumbnails below to see the complete project. If you’re in the market for a remodel or whole home build I highly recommend Jason and the Willow Homes team! 

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See more of my Birmingham AL Architectural Photography portfolio.

2210 Wedgewood Rd - Vestavia Hills Real Estate Photography /  by Tommy Daspit

This was the first time I got to work with Jennifer Harris from Realty South here in Birmingham. We are both members of BNI (a business networking group) but different chapters. Her’s meets on Wednesday mornings and mine on Thursdays. One of the rules of BNI is that if you can’t make the meeting you need to get a substitute. Since I’m free on Wednesdays I often substitute at her group. As an aside, if you own a business or are a sales professional, you should join a BNI chapter. It has done wonders for my business.

Jennifer was listing the home of one of another member of her chapter, Bruce McMillan business coach. The home was beautiful but posed a special challenge. The entire back side of the home was floor to ceiling windows. The view was great and she wanted to show it off. The problem is when photographing that situation you run into something impossible for the camera to handle. If you get the exposure right for the inside the view out the windows goes pure white. Photographers call this being “blown out”. Get the exposure right to see the beautiful view and the inside will be really dark. The camera simply doesn’t have the ability to capture the full range of tones the way the human eye does. Sometimes this is a good thing. If the view outside the window isn’t very attractive then you might not want to draw attention to it. This was not the case here.

To deal with this dilemma many photographers turn to a technique called HDR. This stands for High Dynamic Range. Instead of one photos they typically take three. One is exposed for the outside, one for the inside, and one in-between. Then those three images are composted in Photoshop. If done right this technique can sometimes give good looking results. Often though, it produces weird and unnatural looking images. The colors can look garish and shadows that should be there aren’t. Overall it can make the viewer get the feeling that things were heavily Photoshopped or “filtered”

The technique I use is different. I take the time to light the interior so the exposure inside closely matches the outside. Sometimes this can be done with one light (a high powered flash unit) but often it requires two or more. Time and care must be taken to make sure the lights supplement the natural light. The image needs to represent the light that exists in the home. I will take this into account in deciding where to put the light and if I need to modify the light in anyway. This process takes longer. It’s harder to do than just shooting a three shot burst. For me though, I think the results speak for themselves. 

Take a look at the photos below and see what I mean. 

To learn more about this home see the full listing and contact Jennifer Harris at jeharris@realtysouth.com or 205-965-1129

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28 Spring St Birmingham AL Real Estate Photographer /  by Tommy Daspit

This is a great home in Mountain Brook (Crestline Village) that I photographed for Susie Denson of Realty South. It’s one of those homes where the view from the curb is a little misleading. It looks great, but you would think there isn’t much to it. One might think that it’s just a cozy little bungalow. However, once inside it would be forgiven if you thought you were in the TARDIS (for all you Dr Who fans out there). This house is bigger on the inside. Much bigger. This is a good illustration as to why my services can be so valuable. By creating images that are high quality and attention grabbing, people flipping through listings online are more likely to pause and take a deeper look. From there, it’s my job to compose photos that illustrate the size and feel of the home accurately. I don’t use super wide angle lenses that distort rooms, making them look larger than they actually are. Rather, I use composition to show how rooms are connected, how the space really feels, and convey the true nature of the home. It’s much easier to go in a just start banging away, randomly, with deceiving, stretched views. That’s why it takes me longer to photograph a home. I take time to analyze the light, the angles, and what features best showcase the home. My style isn’t for everyone. I get asked if I can shoot those super wide shots. I politely explain that doing so doesn’t help sell homes. Rather, it makes potential buyers feel tricked. That’s not a good way to build trust, and when buying a home, trust is very important! I was recently photographing a home and the owner asked if I used that technique. I told her no, and my reasoning. She was very relieved by this. She told me that she found a home online and fell in love. It was THE one. However, when she walked in the door it looked nothing like the photos online. The listing agent used super wide photos that made things appear bigger than they were. She turned around and walked out in tears. Not exactly a winning strategy. 

Take a look at my photos of this home below to see what I can do. Let me know what you think. Does this house seem tiny? Or do you get a feel for the true size that it actually has?

Interested in a great Mountain Brook home? Go here to see the full listing and tell Susie hello for me!

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Learn more about my Birmingham AL Real Estate Photography

Susie Denson - Realty South sdenson@realtysouth.com 205-870-5420

Scandinavian Furniture & Design - Birmingham AL Commercial Photographer /  by Tommy Daspit

As I’ve mentioned before, referrals are the life blood of my business. I’m honored when a client is so thrilled with the results of my work that they recommend me to their own clients, friends, and family. This is an especially high honor when the referral is coming from a fellow photographer. That was the case with this shoot. Alanna Rose, a senior portrait and commercial head shot specialist, shares a building with Scandinavian Design Gallery a furniture store in Hoover. She recently expanded her senior portrait work (she is contracted by Hoover High School for all of their photos) and wanted to make here incoming clients feel more comfortable and find the studio more easily. So she had me do a Google virtual tour of the space. She was so happy with the results that she sent me over to see Theresa at Scandinavian Design! 

I will confess that there is an added level of pressure to make sure everything is perfect when you know another photographer will be scrutinizing the result. This was true when I did her studio and was true again when I photographed the furniture showroom. Not that I ever “slack off” when doing any shoot. I’m nothing if not a perfectionist and strive to always improve my work and do the best job for each and every client. There is just a little more anxiety when you know the results are going to be looked at that more closely!

So here are the end results. I created the Google tour and conventional commercial photos of the showroom. I did a little extra thing as well… You can see below a quick behind the scenes video. My process is a little unique in comparison to many other photographers. The conventional still photos are actually a composite of many individual photos. I will “light paint” the scene with a strobe. The end result is something that would be difficult to achieve in a single image. See for yourself by checking out the quick timelapse video of the process!

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Check out this quick YouTube video I created showing a little behind the scenes on how this shoot was done.

http://tommydaspit.com Timelapse video showing me light painting a furniture store showroom. Shot with a Canon 6D, Canon 24mm f3.5L TS-E, Yongnuo YN-560IV, monopod, and iPad. I triggered camera remotely with iPad. Flash controlled wirelessly as well.