I found a really great article on HDR photos and how to use/process them correctly. If you'd like more info please read below. If you'd like to schedule an appointment give us a call, we'd be deligted to help.

 

 

Applying HDR Judiciously In Real Estate Photography

 

Using High Dynamic Range (HDR) technique can dramatically improve your real estate photography. But how much is just right? This excellent video gives examples of the good, the bad and the ugly of HDR photography:

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp9XGdyYvwU

 

Notice how turning on the lights in the indoors shots make such a great difference.

After you’ve seen these without and with HDR images, don’t you want to take all your pictures with HDR from now on? Just make sure you don’t overdo it.

 

Representing the reality of your listings is important because you want to avoid accusations of misrepresenting them (pictures look much better than reality). You want to use HDR so you can accurately represent your estates.

 

One important thing the video does not mention is the proper use of White Balance to correct colors under artificial lighting (indoor photos). As this article points out, the whites are not real whites, though there is indication of color correction. Auto White Balance (AWB) usually does not do a good job under artificial lighting and you need to switch to manual WB. The author proposes using multiple small speedlights to light your indoor shots, but that’s easier said than done and can introduce more problems than it’s worth. Anyway, obtaining accurate white balancemanually is pretty simple and most decent digital cameras will allow you to quickly (and easily) set it.

What do you need to take HDR shots? Almost any camera will do as long as you can dial in an exposure compensation. Plus you’ll need an HDR software such as Photomatix. If your camera has an Automatic Exposure Bracketing (AEB) feature, all the better because you can take 3 or more shots with just one click of the shutter.

Are there cameras that do in-camera HDR processing. Yes, but results vary and never as good as when you manually do it.

 

Below are some examples of our latest work:

 

 








 

 
This post has been included in Alabama Real Estate News Mobile County, AL Real Estate News
Post is included in group: Active Rain Virtual Tours
Post is included in group: Photography

3 Comments on Are you using HDR photos to showcase your listings?

AUG
26
2010

Hi James, Thanks for sharing this. Looks like a lot of effort went into this video.

I love the visual improvements of the exterior shots. Not always liking all of the interior HDR shots. It is a time consuming process, on both ends as I find you also need to set up a tripod to give yourself the best chance of lining up the 3 shots. We rarely go to that effort on anything but the true estate properties, and even then, only if the quick photoshop adjustments don't do the trick.
11:33am • #1
175,524 Points 3 Featured Posts Called Shot Master

I have started using HDR and I'm finding that I can usually get away without a tripod. If the image turns out blurry with the bracketed photos I go back and use a single RAW image. I rarely have to do that though.

I use photomatix lite that has a featured called exposure fusion (not sure if that's on the pro version or not). I usually find that I like the results with that better than with true tone mapping.
1:39pm • #2
FEB
08
2011
258,458 Points 77 Featured Posts Outside Blog

Looks like a couple of them need a little highlight smoothing to get the gray out.  
1:29pm • #3


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