1004 Highland Village Trail - Birmingham Alabama Professional Real Estate Photography /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

A couple of weeks ago I photographed a beautiful home in Birmingham at The Village at Highland Lakes. The homeowner contacted me after seeing my work online. She and her husband had moved out of state and were highly motivated to sell their home back in Alabama. She knew that with homes, as with most things you’re trying to sell, presentation is a key to successful marketing. While the photos the agent took were fine by most standards, she knew that the home wasn’t being displayed in the best possible manner. She wanted high quality, professional photography of the home. So after discussing with the home owner what they were looking for, and coordinating with the agent (Sarah Eddy), we went out to create some amazing real estate photos of the home. I will say that I appreciate Sarah very much. While on the market the home is being rented and the tenant, while not messy, isn’t the owner. Sarah and I worked for several hours to get everything set and in perfect shape for presentation. This really is the most important aspect of real estate photography. It doesn’t matter how great my technical skills are if the home is a mess and things are out of place. Even though people live there it must be treated like a showroom. After all you are selling the home. You want to present it in the best possible light.

So one bit of advice if you are selling your home or looking to photograph a home for sale, take a few minutes to really look around and see everything that’s visible. Are there any stray items left out, power cords, or personal items? Go through and straighten pictures on the walls, clean the glass, and put everything away. Look at home magazines and compare those rooms to the ones in the home. Try to make them look as close as possible. Not only will this make the photos look better, potential buyers will come away with a more positive impression when viewing the home in person.

Take a look at the photos I created by clicking on the thumbnails below. If you’re interested in more information on this home you can see the listing online here. Of course if you are looking to sell your home, or are a real estate agent with a luxury home property, please contact me today to discuss your needs and schedule the session!

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Olexa's Catering, Cafe, and Cakes in Mountain Brook Alabama - Google Maps Business View /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

Back in my wedding photography days the main way to get business was to have a booth at a bridal show. These are usually long events, on your feet all day, and can be exhausting. One thing than made them more bearable was the samples of wedding cake from the Olexa’s booth! They were always a big hit with brides and wedding vendors alike. I can tell you from photographing weddings with their cakes as always a treat (see what I did there). The cakes were always beautiful, and the best part, they tasted great too!

When I got the opportunity to create a Google Maps Business View virtual tour of Olexa’s cafe in Mountain Brook, I was very excited! It’s a fantastic little place in English Village. From personal experience I will say that the food rivals the cake in excellence. Everything I had was delicious, and the staff was great to work with. Diane has an incredible level of attention to detail. Nothing escapes her notice and she will work to make sure everything is perfect for her clients.

I highly recommend Olexa’s for anyone needing a cake (they do more than just weddings), or a great meal in Mountain Brook! Learn more about Olexa’s on their website: http://www.olexas.com/

Click on the thumbnail below to view the full size image

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check out the 360º virtual tour below

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Azia Medical Spa - Google Maps Business View Virtual Tour in Birmingham, Alabama /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

Last week I created a Google Maps Business View Virtual Tour and commercial still images of Azia medical spa. This beautiful spa presented some unique challenges in creating the tour and images. It’s much larger on the inside than it looks like on the outside (kinda like the Tardis). There is a room for each type of service and they were all to be covered. Getting the angles just right proved to be challenging but I think the final result speaks for itself!

Azia Medical Spa in Birmingham (near Chelsea), is not your average spa. Sure, they do manicures, pedicures, massage, spray tan, sauna, steam room, and the like. They also offer laser liposuction, skin tightening, acne control, smoothing of skin color and texture, and even wellness nutrition. Owners Alex and Dee have an amazing level of attention to detail. You can see it in how beautiful the spa is and how well his staff is trained. It was a great pleasure working with them and I'm excited to show off their spa!

You can learn more about Azia on their website. Be sure to check out the virtual tour and conventional commercial still photography I created for them on their Google + page.

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Tommy Daspit is a commercial, editorial, and Google Maps Business View professional photographer in Birmingham, Alabama. He offers the best in residential and commercial real estate photography in the greater Birmingham area. 

Google + Local™ Has Changed to Google™ My Business - What's New? /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

Yesterday Google announced that Google + Local pages would now be called Google My Business. The Google + Local pages were kind of a hybrid between a Yellow Pages listing and a Facebook business page. If Google knew your business existed, you got a free Google + Local page. This is what people would see when you were found searching on Google for something locally. In that way it was like a super one line ad in the Yellow Pages. There was the map of your location, phone number, address, and possibly website link and hours of operation. That's about it. If customers reviewed you or posted photos of your business, this is where they would show up. When I create the Google Maps Business View virtual tour and POI (Point of Interest) still images, this is one of the places they would show up. Business owners can claim their page. After a verification process the owner can then edit business information (address, phone number, website, hours, etc), make social media posts, add videos, and photos. 

So what's new about the Google My Business?

    • The look of the page is pretty much the same. It's behind the scenes that matter here.
    • Once you have claimed ownership of your page, it's now easier to change addresses, phone numbers, categories, hours etc. The best part about this is that it also updates your info on Google Maps, Search, and the local listing all from one place.
    • More photos with more data can now be uploaded. This is big. The more photos you have the more content Google has to index. It's CRITICAL that you change the file name to relevant search terms, write a descriptive caption, and embed keywords into the meta data.
    • New way of staying on top of reviews. Other review sits can be added and you can directly respond to reviews on Google.

I screen captured the Google My Business dash board for my business page. From here you can create posts, see your analytics, understand more about your audience, manage your YouTube channel, See all of your reviews from across the web, and even start a hangout.

  • Way more information about how people are finding and interacting with your My Business page. From one place you can add posts, see reviews from across the web, view analytics, view data on your YouTube channel, and Insights. Insights go beyond the raw analytic data. You can see what genders in what areas are looking at your site. What posts are they looking at. How visible your business is. What kind of engagement are you having. This kinda of data has been difficult and often expensive to obtain in the past.
  • A new feature that I love is the add a virtual tour button. If your business doesn't have a virtual tour, click that button and get the process going to get one!

From here you can edit all of your businesses information. You can add photos, and most importantly, add a virtual tour!

 

Shaping U Fitness - Pelham, AL - Commercial Photography /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

These days there are so many challenges for those wanting to live a more healthy lifestyle. The increase in sugar, processed foods, and salt, combined with busier schedules, increased stress, and the many distractions, can make it difficult to be healthy. That’s why I like the approach Brad Pugh, owner of Shaping U Fitness in Pelham, take when it comes to shaping up his clients. It’s a holistic approach. From mental training, meals, as well as the one on one consulting and training he provides each person. It’s different in so many ways from a traditional gym or even crossfit. 

I was proud to be able to create a Google Maps Business View tour of his gym. The location is off the beaten path. It’s unlikely that you would just happen upon it. That’s one of the great things about the Google tour. Prospective clients can get a feel for the surrounding area. They can recognize when in the right place.

If you are looking for something different from the normal gym or crossfit, I recommend checking out Shaping U in Pelham! You can learn more about them on their website. They also did a great job of embedding the tour on their Facebook page.

Click on the thumbnail below to view the conventional still images.

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