An effective real estate photograph should be sharp unless the photographer is attempting to give the photograph an artistic spin. After all, the point of all real estate photography should be to showcase the property in the best way possible. In my opinion, that means that a real estate photograph should show the property's best angles, optimize the room's size, show proper colors, show the room free of clutter/distraction, give an accurate portrayal of layout, and last but not least DETAILS. It is difficult to show detail in a photograph that is not sharp.

     To effectively take a sharp real estate photograph your camera should be mounted on a tripod...unless you are trying to rush the shoot...you should always use a tripod. Also, you should use a timer or remote to control your shutter. In order to get the sharpest photograph possible you should remove all influence of movement while capturing your photograph. This is also important if you are taking any form of an HDR photograph. Any movement will compromise the quality of laying one photograph over another. If you are not using professional lighting, you are likely to have a long exposure. The long exposure is necessary because you will want to have a high f/stop (above F-8) in order to extend your depth of field and create a sharp photograph throughout your image.

     The above tips along with many others will help you attain the image we are all striving for...but if your photograph does not have that perfect crisp look, here is a Photoshop tip to help sharpen your image.

     Use the High Pass Filter. Photoshop defines the filter as: Retains edge details in the specified radius where sharp color transitions occur and suppresses the rest of the image. (A radius of 0.1 pixel keeps only edge pixels.) The filter removes low-frequency detail in an image and has an effect opposite to that of the Gaussian Blur filter.

     My suggestion to using this filter is based on the fact that it gives you more control over the sharpening process, it adds contrast and sharpness to the edges of objects in your photographs, and it will not pixelate your photograph like many sharpening tools will. It is also a great filter to use on specific objects in a photograph. Anything shiny will "pop" in your photograph with the use of this filter. 

Here is the step-by-step how to on the High Pass Filter:

1. Open your image in Photoshop

     2. Create a duplicate copy of your image/background layer (Drag the current layer to the create new layer button, or select all copy and paste)

     3. Go to the menu bar and select - Filter > Other > High Pass

     4. Select a level of intensity and click "OK"

     5. Change the layer blending mode from "Normal" to "Overlay"

     6. Adjust the Transparency of your High pass layer until the photo has the level of sharpness you desire.

Compare the results...Save and Close.