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Real Estate Photography

How to Edit Real Estate Photos: Your Complete Guide

Learning how to edit real estate photos in the best way possible is necessary to make them look appealing to potential homebuyers. But how to do that? Here are 11 tips on editing real estate photography that can help you edit them in the best way possible.

11 Ways to Edit Real Estate Photos

1. Basic Brightness and Color Correction

To tackle uneven lighting and reduce harsh spots in your photos, you can make a few simple real estate photography photo editing tweaks. If you're using a wide-angle lens to capture interiors or exteriors, these adjustments can be a game-changer. Start by adjusting the highlights slider when shadows and bright spots are giving you trouble. This helps balance the overall light in your shot:

  • Open Lightroom and gently move the Shadows slider to the right to bring some detail into those darker areas without going overboard.
  • When dealing with bright spots, shift the Highlights slider to the left to tone them down.
  • For fine-tuning whites and blacks, hold down the Option key (Mac) or Alt key (PC), then slide the Whites or Blacks until you see small specks appear in the image—this means you've found the perfect balance.
  • These small adjustments can make all the difference in achieving a more evenly lit, professional-looking photo.

Furthermore, color correction is also necessary because colors play a huge role in shaping how a space is perceived. Since online buyers depend on photos to evaluate a property, any color inaccuracies can lead to misunderstandings and even disappointment during an in-person visit. That’s why ensuring true-to-life color representation in real estate photos is key to leaving a positive and lasting impression.

2. Hue-Saturation Adjustment

The Hue and Saturation tool in Photoshop is great for color correction and enhancing specific tones, particularly in exterior and landscape real estate photography. It's somewhat similar to the Curves tool but offers more targeted adjustments. To enhance the greens in your images, follow these steps:

  • Go to the Image menu, select Adjustments, and then click on Hue and Saturation.
  • In the dialog box, choose Yellow from the dropdown menu.
  • Adjust the settings by increasing the hue and reducing both saturation and lightness.
  • Next, switch the option from Yellow to Green and apply the same changes to hue, saturation, and lightness.
  • Once you're satisfied, hit OK to finalize your adjustments.
  • This technique helps bring out more natural and vibrant greens, making exterior shots look fresh and appealing.

3. Color Cast Removal

The type of light in a scene and its interaction with different surfaces can significantly impact your real estate photography colors. For instance, a vibrant yellow wall might appear muted under gray skies, or a beige wall can take on a different hue when viewed through a dark window tint. Fluorescent lighting, too, can give an image a cold, bluish tone, similar to the effect of shifting from daytime to nighttime in editing. Even a camera's color settings can distort the true colors of a home.

Fortunately, color cast removal can restore the property's original hues. This editing technique eliminates unwanted tints, bringing back the true colors hidden beneath lighting distortions.

4. Perspective and Horizon Correction

When photographing properties, paying attention to the lines is crucial. It's important to ensure they appear straight and not distorted, whether you're capturing interiors or exteriors.

While it's best to get it right during the shoot, you can always correct the lines afterward in Photoshop. To do this, use the Free Transform tool:

  • Select the entire image, then drag the corner opposite where the lines are leaning. This simple adjustment will help you straighten the lines and create a more polished, professional photo.

5. Noise Reduction

Noise or grain in real estate photography can ruin their quality and overall appeal. To ensure clear and sharp images, it's important to reduce noise during the editing process. Those small specks that make the photo appear blurry should be minimized for a cleaner look. Noise reduction is simple in both Photoshop and Lightroom. In Photoshop, for instance, you can navigate to the Filter menu, choose Noise, and then select Noise Reduction to smooth out the image and improve its clarity.

6. Lens Correction

Distortion in the lens can also cause your real estate photos to look bad. With the lens correction technique, you can prevent any lens-related issues that are mostly caused by DSLRs. These problems include curved lines that should be straight, darkened corners, internal lens factors like moisture or dust, color specks near the frame edge, and other such problems.

7. Image Composite

The image composite technique is a creative technique that combines bracketed images to form a cohesive image. This is especially a great real estate photography photo editing technique when you want to blend multiple images together, including ambient shots and stitching flash in one photo. This real estate photography photo editing technique is done when the subject is manually lit by the photographer with a handheld flash.

8. Object Removal

Removing unwanted objects and reflections is key to presenting real estate photos in the best possible light. Clean, visually appealing images help highlight the property's most attractive features. A well-composed and edited real estate photo ensures that every element contributes to the overall charm of the space.

Remove distracting items, such as personal belongings or objects that block the view, to keep the focus on the property itself. Flash reflections from shiny surfaces, like mirrors, can also detract from the image, drawing attention away from the property’s design.

9. HDR Editing

Real estate photographers often rely on the HDR real estate photography photo editing technique to enhance the lighting in their images. By taking multiple shots of the same scene at different exposures—known as bracketed shots—and merging them, you can create a single image that brings out greater detail in both highlights and shadows. This method helps showcase the property more vividly and accurately by balancing the light across the entire photo.

10. Photo Manipulation

Photo manipulation is a real estate photography photo editing technique where you can replace, mask, and enhance any objects in the property photo. Here’s how you can use photo manipulation to your benefit:

  • Sky Replacement: Clear skies can really elevate the charm of exterior real estate photos. They not only enhance the visual appeal but also play a crucial role in making the property more enticing. Skilled editors can transform these images into captivating visuals by replacing gloomy skies with vibrant blues, making them truly stand out.
  • Lawn Enhancement: A lush green lawn is a great way to show your real estate photos in the best light possible. However, even a great camera can’t hide a muddy and unkept lawn. With real estate photography photo editing, you can enhance the beauty of any property lawn by turning patches of dried grass into green, luscious ones.
  • Mask Windows: Masking a window, much like replacing the sky, is essential for producing top-notch images for clients. Often, the view outside may be overly bright, or windows might have dust and dirt. By masking these imperfections, editors can eliminate distractions and present a clear, realistic view.

11. Virtual Staging

Virtual staging is a powerful tool that adds furniture, decor, and other elements to property images, helping potential buyers imagine the space's possibilities. It gives them a glimpse of what living in the space could be like. This technique is especially useful for showcasing empty properties, as it infuses warmth, functionality, and style into the photos. By virtually staging a property, buyers can better understand its scale, layout, and potential uses, allowing them to envision how they might live and arrange the space.

Outsource Your Real Estate Photo Editing to Styldod!

Photo editing is a crucial step, especially for real estate property photos. It has the power to turn any drab and unappealing property photo into a fabulous and appealing photo that can attract potential buyers and make it stand out in this competitive market. For real estate photographers, outsourcing this task saves valuable time and ensures that every image meets the highest standards of visual excellence.

And to meet all your real estate photography editing needs, Styldod is known to emerge as the top contender! Our services stand out due to our unique combination of automated processes and manual enhancements, ensuring that each image is meticulously polished. Styldod’s commitment to rapid turnaround times—ranging from 2 to 24 hours—ensures that you receive your edited photos quickly without compromising quality. Whether we are dealing with bulk orders or single ones, we handle the editing tasks efficiently while maintaining exceptional standards.

You can get tailored editing services that cater to specific needs, such as sky replacement, lawn enhancement, twilight editing, and object removal. By leveraging Styldod’s expertise, you can enjoy premium results that enhance your brand and captivate your clients with visually striking, professionally edited images.

Experience flawless, smart, and rapid photo editing!

Try Styldod's Photo Enhancement Service

FAQs

1. Can I Photoshop real estate photos?

Photoshop is a versatile tool that can help you edit interior and exterior photos of a property by allowing you to rectify color discrepancies, modify brightness, enhance overall visual appeal, and eliminate imperfections for polished real estate photos.

2. How can I make real estate photos look professional?

To give your real estate photos a polished, professional edge, start by fine-tuning the exposure to get that perfect balance. Ensure your shots align with the MLS aspect ratio guidelines to meet listing standards. Pay attention to how you frame your images—highlight the unique architectural features that your client values most. In the final stages of editing, don’t forget to tweak the saturation and vibrancy to make the images truly pop.

3. How long does it take to edit real estate photos?

Dedicating 24-48 hours to edit real estate photos is necessary to get polished and fine property photos.

Shital Gohil

Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Styldod

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