Project Daedalus The Day The Universe Changed

Today is the big day. Today is the roll-out of Project Daedalus, the next evolutionary step in how interior designers present their work on-line. Using conventional interior design photography in video format with musical accompaniment, title slides and voice overs I create a vehicle to display my clients talents, theories and accomplishments.

The goal is to increase my clients ROI from social networking, improve search engine rankings and help get their phone ringing while making it easy to do.

Here you can see two videos I created for my clients: Joseph Hittinger Designs and Viscusi Elson Interior Design.

A few of the many benefits of my Daedalus Videos are:

• Videos are an elegant and powerful sales tool allowing you to personally make your best “pitch” to the client regardless of time of day or their location.
• Cost effective and fast – there is no need for a web designer, and no additional charges for web design or site hosting, upon completion the video is uploaded to youtube and immediately ready for you to use in blogs, forums, social networking and e-mail.
• “Gee Whiz” factor – clients and prospects are motivated to share the video with family, friends and social networks because it makes such a great impression.

Please call 866-499-8083 or send me an e-mail to learn how I can help you… “Helping you is why I am here”

My Photograph In the SF Chronicle

Northbrook Design

Northbrook Designs

Northbrook Designs

A shot I did of Katherine North’s Entry Hall while working with Nesting Newbies was published in the SF Chronicle.

I’m really happy to see it and the publicity is cool. All three of them are High Dynamic Range Images as well.

ASID CA Peninsula Board Meeting and Dunn Edwards CEU

Rise Krag of RKI Interior Design, ASID CA Peninsula Membership Director for 2010/2011

Last night I attended a joint board meeting with both the incoming and outgoing board of ASID CA Peninsula. We met at the Dunn Edwards store in San Jose it was a bright open space and a really enjoyable place to hold the meeting.

There was also a CEU being presented that evening: Designing for Healthy and Productive Interiors: Light and Sound for Optimal Human Performance CEU AND Decorative Lighting, Accessories and Art Spotlight.

You can see all the photographs from last nights meeting and the CEU by following this link to my portfolio gallery.

ASID California Peninsula Chapter Board Meeting June 7 2010

Last night the Board of the California Peninsula chapter of ASID met at Anna Sarkissian’s studio (AS Designs) in Los Gatos, CA.

Front Row (L - R) Carol Spence Carr, Debbie Snider: Back Row (L - R) Meera Chawla, Jeanette Loretz, Anna Sarkissian, James Stout, Janine Arietta: Not Shown but in attendance: Dean Birinyi (Photographer)

We are beginning to get to know each other and feeling more comfortable discussing chapter business in an open and less tentative manner. This may be because the hand off to our board from the leadership of Marie Chan of Interspace Design is under way.

We discussed many things but the primary focus of the meeting was to ensure all members had a good working grasp of the overall goals of our organization and define a clear vision and mission for our terms. There were many opportunities that presented themselves to us, more than can reasonably be achieved in any one year. We will rely on the leadership of Carol Spence Carr of Carol Spence Interior Design to focus our efforts and make this year, and next successful and productive.

High Dynamic Range Photography of Interior Design

I was speaking with Meera Chawla after the ASID CA Peninsula board meeting yesterday and she told me that she was impressed with the crisp liveliness of my photographs when viewing my portfolio. I told her this was the result of my use of high dynamic range imaging.

High Dynamic Range Image of Residential Kitchen

The high dynamic range imaging allows me to create images of spaces as humans perceive them, with rich colors and a wealth of detail in both highlight and shadows that capture the delicate interplay of color and texture. This technique allows me to go beyond showing the furnishings and accouterments to communicating the mood and emotion of a space with unparalleled fidelity to the designer’s vision.

As I say in my seminar on photography for interior designers high dynamic range imaging will soon become the standard for interior design photography. I recognized it’s utility and value the first time I had the opportunity to work with it, this is why I have worked to master the technique. and now my clients can benefit by having photographs of their designs that contain a life and sparkle that was never before possible.

You can view more high dynamic range images of interior design in my portfolio galleries.

ASID CA Peninsula Continuity Board Meeting

ASID CA Peninsula Continuity Board Meeting

(Board members above, from left to right, first row: Carol Spence Carr, Marie Chan, Jane Higo. Second row: Debbie Snider, Jeanette Loretz, Divya Vijayanandakumar. Not shown but in attendance: Anna Sarkissian and Dean Birinyi)

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with the current board of the ASID CA Peninsula chapter at the continuity meeting at AS Design in Los Gatos. This was the beginning of the hand off from the leadership of Marie Chan to that of Carol Spence Carr.

I’m looking forward to working with the chapter and hope I am ready for the challenges I will be assigned as my duties. The upcoming board, on which I sit as the Industry Partner Director is meeting on Monday.

High Dynamic Range Image of the Tech Museum in San Jose, CA

I also had the opportunity to speak with Meera Chawla regarding the 2010 ASID CA Peninsula Design Awards Gala. I will be photographing the event and look forward to having the opportunity to help tell the story of the event.

Styling for Interior Design Photography

Private Residence, San Mateo

I am surprised when my clients respond with astonishment when I help with the styling for my photographs. I move furniture and plants, help hang artwork and clear off desks, tables and counters. I offer suggestions about where to place the flowers, and how they should be arranged to best compliment the photographs composition and suggest changes to the arrangement of furnishings and which art to use where. This is the collaborative aspect of interior design photography and I love doing it.

But what really causes the strongest response is when I help put the homeowners things back where they were, help with re-packing the boxes of plates, vases and flowers, and carry things out to the car at the end of the day.

Because I am using high dynamic range imaging and no longer have twelve lights to position, adjust and control I have more time to work with my clients to style the spaces and make the photographs we create the best they can be, but I have always done these things. For an interior design photographer this is what collaboration is. If your photographer isn’t doing it, you should be working with me.

New Flat Rate Pricing For Interior Design Photographs

I’m proud to announce new flat rate pricing for single interior photographs with no time limits, no hidden costs and no restrictions. This gives interior designers an affordable and predictable cost to have great quality professional photographs of even their smallest projects.

Private Residence, Los Altos Hills

And of course you will still receive the unparalleled customer service for which I have become known.

In the past it was not possible to offer a flat rate price for photographing interiors because of the complexity of the supplemental lighting required; often simply unpacking and re-packing the lights & camera would take longer than shooting the photograph.

Now that I am using High Dynamic Range Imaging we work exclusively with available light to reproduce the atmospheric effects of the space with an authenticity that simply isn’t possible when using supplemental lighting. And this means we no longer have the artificial complexity of odd shadows or stray reflections being cast by the photographers supplemental lighting.

Please take a look at my new pricing. I’ve done all I can to structure my services to make it easy, affordable and predictable because helping you is why I am here.

http://www.djbphoto.com/DJBPhoto_Pricing.html

Published in Lila B. and Nesting Newbies

The world of shelter and lifestyle magazines has changed. I’ve changed to adapt to the new reality. I am proud to be a part of the future.

I’ve been shooting for Nesting Newbies for the past few months and one article was just picked up by Lila B. another on-line publication leading the charge into the “Generation Y” future.

Change is here, you can adapt and benefit or be left behind, because we work in a different world than it we did only two years ago.

Catch me if you can

Windows and Beyond Seminar with Sally Morse

Sally Morse & Doreen Yun at the Windows and Beyond Showroom

“Where do you want to be on one year?” was the title of the presentation I attended. I found it to be inspiring and informative. Doreen hosted a second event that evening titled “10 steps to a Perfect Room” again presented by Sally Morse that was focused more on helping her retail customers.

Doreen Yun owner of Windows and Beyond hosted the event at her Fremont showroom. Her showroom is fantastic with many little vignettes spread throughout the vast space showing the amazing variety of items and materials she has to offer. Any designer would be well served to tour the facility and bring their clients by to see the variety of styles and effects that can be created with good quality, creative window coverings.

Sally Morse Director of Creative Services for Hunter Douglas spoke on many subjects. She discussed color trends for the coming year, fundamentals of customer service, sales technique before during and after the job has been completed, intended to help us secure the clients business over the long term, not just to get a check today. She also discussed lifestyle issues.

This seminar was more about tactics than strategy, not focused just on sales but on satisfaction. The satisfaction of the customer as well as our own satisfaction with our lives and businesses.

Overall I am glad I attended. I walked away with a new perspective on quite a few things a few more nuggets of wisdom and was reminded of a few things that I had forgotten, such as the importance of making the customer feel good about spending the money it takes to do the job. Not just for the customer to feel good about the quality, timeliness and result of the job we do, but for them to be glad they spent their hard earned money to achieve whatever goal they set out to achieve or solve whatever problem they were faced with. It’s a big difference and requires much more energy and effort than just doing what you get paid for, but the return on your investment in the happiness and well-being of the customer will be immense over the years.

You can review the photographs I took of the event in my gallery by following this link.