Bayshore Addiction Treatment Center - Destin FL Google Maps Business View /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

A drug and alcohol rehab facility isn’t normally what people would normally think of as a good candidate for the Google Maps Business View Virtual tour. Fortunately Alli Denning from denning e-solutions has the ability to see outside the norm and find ways of promoting her clients in creative and effective ways.

Alli designed the website and does SEO (Search engine optimization) for Bayshore Retreat a small but very unique, drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Destin Florida. She asked me if I would be able to create a tour of the facility. Of course I could! I coordinated with owner, Judy, who has been amazing, and drove down to Destin.

I will say that Bayshore is not what I would normally think of when it comes to a treatment facility! First off, it’s a beautiful home. It has a home feeling and atmosphere. You don’t feel like you’re in a bad place. It doesn’t feel medical or austere like so many similar places. Then there’s the view! Located right on the water you can look out any bedroom window and see the bay. I was very excited to be able to create this tour. Not only is it an amazing place, but they do great things in people’s lives. I love being able to help a business that helps others!

Check out the virtual tour and conventional, commercial still photos that I created below. You can learn more about Bayshore on their Google + Page and website (be sure to check out the website, Alli did a great job embedding the tour seamlessly into the homepage!)

Learn more about Denning e-solutions on their Google + pageand website.

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4912 Cold Harbor - Mountain Brook, AL Real Estate Photography /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

Birmingham AL Real Estate Photography

The latest home I photographed was in Mountain Brook for Lee Marks of Realty South. This amazing 5 bedroom 5 1/2 bath home was very impressive! Check out some of the photos below and to see more photos and learn more about the house check out the official listing on Realty South's website!

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B&A Warehouse - Birmingham AL Google Virtual Tour /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

I’m very excited and proud to show off the 360º virtual walk through tour and commercial photography I created of B&A Warehouse in downtown Birmingham, Alabama!

I’ve been to several events at B&A and I’ve known Susan Mason, the owner, from my days as a wedding photographer. I knew what an amazing space it was and I wanted to show it off in my portfolio. B&A is in an amazing location. They are right across the street from Railroad Park and right next to Regions Field. They are really in the heart of Birmingham’s downtown revitalization. I felt that they could really benefit from the Google tour, especially as a sales aid. Often people are planning events from afar. Weddings, rehearsal dinners, parties, corporate events, etc. come with different needs. It can be hard to know if a venue is going to be a good fit or not. By having the 360º tour, event venues can help people save time. They can avoid going to places that will never be a good fit or allow them to secure the needed space without physically going in first.

However, I did have a bit of a challenge convincing Susan! They had already had a 360º tour done by a competitor and they weren’t getting the results they expected. I can definitely understand this but there are some major differences between that product and the Google one!

As compared to the competition here are some advantages Google offers:

  • It’s on Google. Instead of being limited to the tour providers website, the Google tour comes up everywhere your business appears on Google. Google Maps, Google StreetView, Google Local, and Google search results.
  • You can embed it live directly on your website and Facebook pages. The other tour is a link to the provider’s website. When potential customers view the tour they actually leave the businesses website. With the Google tour it can be embedded seamlessly!
  • It’s mobile friendly. The other tours are Adobe Flash based. This means that they’re incompatible with most mobile phones and tablets. The Google tour not only works on those devices it also recognizes and optimizes the tour for the best user experience.
  • There’s a n SEO (search engine optimization) benefit. I verify the businesses information to Google and the tour is embedded right on the Google + Local or Google My Business Page for the business. This helps with the search result rankings.
  • Much higher quality. The Google tour looks great at full screen on a 27” monitor or a smart phone screen. Other tours are much smaller and pixilated by comparison.
  • Commercial still images are included. Along with the 360º virtual tour, up to ten conventional commercial still photos are created. The business has the rights to the images, allowing them to be used in print materials as well as digital media.
  • One time cost. Other tour options have a monthly or annual cost. They must be renewed or they go away. Once created, the Google tour never expires.
  • Money back guarantee. If you don’t like it, you get your money back. It’s as simple as that!

Once we were able to fully demonstrate the differences and how it looked Susan and her team could see the value. I’m so glad too because this is one unique and amazing venue!

Take a look at the still images and virtual tour below. You can learn more about B&A Warehouse on their website.

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Agoge Fitness Systems - Birmingham AL Google Business View /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

My good friend Greg Boggs of Vehicle Media works out at Agoge Fitness Systems in Birmingham, Alabama. We've worked on a few projects together and he mentioned to Dave, the owner that what I do with the Google Maps Business View virtual tours could be a really big help for his gym. Agoge is a little unusual. It's in the same building and behind another fitness facility. There's no outside signage. If you didn't know it was there you'd never have any idea. This obviously poses some challenges. Even when people do know about you it could be hard for them to find. The Google 360º tour and photos are perfect for this. Now, everywhere Agoge comes up on Google potential members can see not only the surrounding area (like street view), but inside as well!

I knew that if Greg was friends with Dave that he must be a good guy. However, I didn't know just how awesome he was until his phone rang! I was setting up when all of a sudden I heard the Dr Who theme song! For those of you who aren't familiar (see what I did there), Dr Who is a Sci Fi series that's been running on BBC since the late 60's. Fans of the show are a small subset of the Sci Fi geek community. I happen to be one of them. I even went as the shows main character (The Doctor) for Halloween. I knew then that Dave and I were kindred spirits and I enjoyed talking Dr Who with him as much as photographing his business!

Another geeky note, the name of the business comes from ancient Greek history. The Agoge was the training facility for Spartan warriors. It was the crucible that formed not only their bodies but their minds as well. This is the philosophy that Dave has adopted for his training. It's different from the normal cross fit or gym. You can tell from the people who are member that this is much more of a total experience than just a workout!

So if you are looking for something like that, want to work with an awesome Dr Who geek, and live in the Birmingham area, then you should give Dave a call! Learn more about Agoge on their website and take the virtual tour below!

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119 Carriage Maylene AL - Residential Real Estate Photography /  by nikonic1976@yahoo.com

I recently photographed a house in Maylene for ARC Realty age Michael Murphree. The home had been thoroughly updated and was really quite impressive, but had sat on the market for sometime. Michael was brought in to see if he could get things moving and finally sell the house. His first order of business was to hire me to come and redo the photography. The previous agent had done the photos herself. Needless to say (but see for yourself below) there’s a little bit of a difference between her’s and mine.

Now, I won’t take ALL the credit, but within two days of the new photos going online there were two offers on the house and a bidding war commenced! Nothing else had changed. The price was the same. The house was the same. The only thing that changed on the listing was the photos!

Take a look at the photos below and if you’re selling a home give me a call to get the best real estate photography in the Birmingham area! (Click here to view my real estate photography portfolio)

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My Photos

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Agent Photos

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