28131 Portobello Rd - Birmingham AL Real Estate Photographer /  by Tommy Daspit

Tommy Daspit is an Architectural, Commercial, Real Estate and Google Maps Business View Photographer in Birmingham, AL.

A couple of weeks ago I get a phone call from a homeowner. They have had their home on the market for some time and have had no offers. That is remarkable in this current market where homes are selling at a rate not seen since 2007. Something was amiss.

That something was the photos of the listing by the agent. Let’s just say that they didn't really represent the feel of the home and what it had to offer. Frustrated, and knowing the power of great photos when selling a house, she went searching for photographers.

She and her husband found me on houzz.com loved my work, and gave me a call. Of course I was happy to help! I’ll let client say how they felt about the results! (review they did of me on houzz.com)

“Tommy did an excellent job! He was professional and quick! The photos he took really show great details and the lighting was perfect. Photos look like something out of a magazine. Highly recommend him!”

If you’re selling a home and the agent doesn’t hire a professional who specializes in architectural and real estate photography, give me a call!

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See the real estate listing for this home.

See more of my Birmingham Alabama real estate photography.

1982 Cahaba - Birmingham AL Real Estate Photographer /  by Tommy Daspit

Tommy Daspit is an Architectural, Commercial, Real Estate and Google Maps Business View Photographer in Birmingham, AL.

This shoot is a great example of why I love working with professional real estate agents who are dedicated to their trade. Many agents aren’t “all in” when it comes to selling homes. Many do it as a “side thing” or as a “hobby”. These are the ones you will often see on sites like terriblerealestategaentphotos.com or badmlsphotos.com You can see them in the mirror with their iPhone or iPad titled at a crazy (artistic?) angle.

Michael Murphree of ARC Realty is not such an agent. He’s a full time, professional salesperson who goes the extra mile for his listings. He hires me for all of his listings (paying out of his pocket), helps get the home looking its best, and if empty or in need, he hires professional stagers to decorate and furnish the home. 

An empty home doesn’t look good. It doesn’t photograph well and it doesn’t show well. Having it professionally staged can be expensive (the agent typically pays), but it helps the home sell faster, and for more. The same applies to the photography. The better the home looks on the listing sites, the faster it will sell and for more.

BEFORE - Photo taken before staging by the agent.

BEFORE - Photo taken before staging by the agent.

AFTER - My photo taken after the staging. Which one would make you pause and take notice while flipping through the MLS?

AFTER - My photo taken after the staging. Which one would make you pause and take notice while flipping through the MLS?

BEFORE - Agent photo of dining/living room

BEFORE - Agent photo of dining/living room

AFTER - My photo, post staging.

AFTER - My photo, post staging.

This particular listing was expertly staged by Karen Sovacool of Red Door Staging in Birmingham. This is the first project I’ve photographed that she staged and I will say that I’m impressed with the results! The look and furniture are a great fit for the home and really help it shine!

Hopefully I’ll be able to work with her many more times in the future! View the full listing here. (BTW, I didn't take the first or last three photos)

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3364 Hermitage - Mountain Brook Real Estate Photography /  by Tommy Daspit

This beautiful upscale home in Mountain Brook was photographed by Tommy Daspit, a Birmingham, AL Real Estate Photographer.

This fantastic house in Mountain Brook was a little bit of an unusual situation. It’s not on the market, yet. I was contacted by Regions Trust to photograph this home as part of an estate. The home isn’t for sale but maybe in the future. They wanted to get the images created while it was still full of really nice furniture. That way when it is for sale it won’t be empty. Photographing empty homes might seem easier, and in some ways it is, but the end result is not the best. People don’t like looking at empty rooms. It’s hard to get an understanding of size and space without some reference point. The furnishings not only provide that reference but also tell a lot about the feel of the property. That’s why I love working with agents and architects that pay to have a property professionally staged when empty. The presentation is just so much better.That in turn makes my images look better!

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1024 Navajo Trail - Alabaster AL Real Estate Photography /  by Tommy Daspit

I get a call from the always enthusiastic Melanie Siow of Realty South. She’s got a house in Alabaster that needs to be photographed and she needs lots of photos. It’s got an amazing back yard. It’s huge, flat (a rarity in this area), and there are tons of beautiful flowers. So of course I’m thrilled to shoot it!

When I get there the home owner tells me how excited she is that I’m photographing her home. She says that she’s a fan of my work and can tell which listings are mine as opposed to other photographers! She tells me that I have a distinct style that she loves. How cool is that! I can honestly say that this is a first and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t disappoint!

The home is a modest three bedroom, two bath ranch but you can plainly see that they've put a lot of work into it. The kitchen especially has been totally modernized and has a great style. With that back yard this is a perfect home for a young family (I know my kids would go nuts out there).

So if you’re looking for a really nice home in Alabaster give Melanie a call! View the complete listing.

See more of my work and learn more about my Real Estate Photography services.

Ridge Crossings - Birmingham AL Google Maps Business View Photography /  by Tommy Daspit

Recently I created a Google Virtual tour and commercial photos for Ridge Crossings, an amazing luxury apartment complex in Hoover. This was easily the largest complex I’ve ever seen and had the most amenities that I’ve ever seen. There’s a nature trail, a huge exercise facility, movie theatre, racket ball court, playground, tennis courts, grill pavilion with three grills, a huge clubhouse with free coffee, a dog park, a carwash facility, and two swimming pools! I’ve never even heard of such an apartment community, let alone photograph one!

Needless to say I had a lot of fun with this one. The Google tour covers the clubhouse and pool area, while the conventional still images cover the other areas, including a couple of model units. Out of all the features I will say that the movie theatre was my favorite. It was a special challenge to photograph. The black ceilings and windowless walls meant that it would be difficult to light in a way that wouldn't be harsh. I also wanted to convey the feeling that a movie theatre should provide. You don’t want a bright room for movie watching but I still needed to show what it was. The solution was to combine many exposures into one. I did an existing light image of the room as the base image. It was dark of course and you couldn’t really see much detail. That was ok, the next part of the process would fix that. I attached a speedlight (small flash unit) to a stick. It had a grid mounted to the front. This kept the beam of light from the flash narrow and only on the parts of the scene I wanted to light. I then lit each chair and each photo on the wall with individual flash bursts. All total it was about 20 photographs combined into one final image. The result is a photo that lets you see what the room is without compromising the mood of the space!

This is just one of the things that I do to create unique images to help my clients separate themselves from their competition. It’s a more time consuming process, both during the initial creation of the image, and in the computer post processing. I feel that the results speak for themselves!

Learn more about Ridge Crossings on their Google + page where you can see more photos and the virtual tour!

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