Comments on: Summary of Using HDR for Real Estate Phototography http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/ Helping Real Estate Photographers Be Successful Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:02:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Eric http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/comment-page-1/#comment-46081 Eric Wed, 26 Oct 2011 18:34:25 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/#comment-46081 I have the latest version of Photomatix, but still finding it non-intuitive for my real estate photography. I started shooting multiple lighting again using my Nikon D-300, and two Nikon speed lights. mostly shoot in manual to control the lights, and fire with pocket wizards. I either use auto bracket at 1 stop (d-3 only does 1 stop brackets) and take 5 exposures, or manually try to shoot windows blown out and bracket 3 stops, -2, 0, +2 (I also use my D-lighting at high, but don't know if anyone else uses that on their Nikon) once I bring the images into photomatix, I am lost. I tried all the presets, but don't see a blending mode. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Eric I have the latest version of Photomatix, but still finding it non-intuitive for my real estate photography. I started shooting multiple lighting again using my Nikon D-300, and two Nikon speed lights. mostly shoot in manual to control the lights, and fire with pocket wizards. I either use auto bracket at 1 stop (d-3 only does 1 stop brackets) and take 5 exposures, or manually try to shoot windows blown out and bracket 3 stops, -2, 0, +2 (I also use my D-lighting at high, but don’t know if anyone else uses that on their Nikon) once I bring the images into photomatix, I am lost. I tried all the presets, but don’t see a blending mode.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Eric

]]> By: Brian Fisher http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/comment-page-1/#comment-44915 Brian Fisher Fri, 30 Sep 2011 05:01:04 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/#comment-44915 Since discovering HDR I feel that I have discovered a whole new exciting world within the art I have loved for over 30 years....But I have a number of problems in some of my end results, some of which have perhaps been solved in previous replies... Thanks Guys ! However one I am struggling with is GRAINY pictures and in some cases very ugly speckled colour break up on the processed photo... Can anybody help me to overcome this as I have obtained a full time contract with a large estate agent who love HDR apart from this very evident problem... Another one is colour change and breakdown I eagerly away your replies... From sunny rural Shropshire in England Since discovering HDR I feel that I have discovered a whole new exciting world within the art I have loved for over 30 years….But I have a number of problems in some of my end results, some of which have perhaps been solved in previous replies… Thanks Guys ! However one I am struggling with is GRAINY pictures and in some cases very ugly speckled colour break up on the processed photo… Can anybody help me to overcome this as I have obtained a full time contract with a large estate agent who love HDR apart from this very evident problem… Another one is colour change and breakdown
I eagerly away your replies… From sunny rural Shropshire in England

]]> By: Matt http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/comment-page-1/#comment-37501 Matt Fri, 20 May 2011 15:21:54 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/#comment-37501 I've been using HDR techniques for sometime now, and have to say that real estate agents, once they use it, love it. Here's why: You will read and listen to long term realtors/photographers rail against the use of HDR. Same can be said of lots of 'art' photographers. I liken it to 80 year olds railing against all these new-fangled celly phones! Of course there is awful HDR photography, there is awful photography of all types, so it only stand to reason that some HDR will be bad. Here's the kicker.....it helps sell the house. A good external shot of a home in HDR tend s to be more brilliant, more interesting and more 'clickable' than the thousands of other thumbnails of similar homes on MLS. Your job as the photographer isn't to create a picture that makes other photographers respect you, it's to produce an image that gets people to click on the listing and schedule a showing. End of story. If that picture is HDR, black and white, soft focus, neon green quad-tone, it doesn't matter. What matters is clicks and showings. I have found HDR, even very heavy handed HDR, doesn't turn off buyers, it intrigues them. I've shot 15 houses in the last two months with prices from 180k to 1.6 million and used HDR techniques with all of them. To a realtor, each has found they have gotten much more interest in those homes then any they listed with traditional photography. Their sell times bear that out as well. Most gave me feedback that the photography is what drew the buyers to the house in the first place. HDR gets a bad rap because it adds an element we normally don't expect to see in a photo. Traditionalists don't like this for the sake of disliking change. 'Unreal' is a term tossed out quite often. Yet those same photographers don't seem to see an issue with pictures that are cropped at 4x6 inches representing reality. Or bumping contrast levels, or shooting it through a high-pass filter for sharpness, or any number of other techniques that alter the shot. I guess those are just more 'real'. Remember...you are being paid to get butts in the door, not to satisfy the whims of photographers who want to tie one hand behind your back. Take photos the way you want to. If HDR works for your business, use it. I’ve been using HDR techniques for sometime now, and have to say that real estate agents, once they use it, love it. Here’s why:

You will read and listen to long term realtors/photographers rail against the use of HDR. Same can be said of lots of ‘art’ photographers. I liken it to 80 year olds railing against all these new-fangled celly phones! Of course there is awful HDR photography, there is awful photography of all types, so it only stand to reason that some HDR will be bad. Here’s the kicker…..it helps sell the house. A good external shot of a home in HDR tend s to be more brilliant, more interesting and more ‘clickable’ than the thousands of other thumbnails of similar homes on MLS. Your job as the photographer isn’t to create a picture that makes other photographers respect you, it’s to produce an image that gets people to click on the listing and schedule a showing. End of story.

If that picture is HDR, black and white, soft focus, neon green quad-tone, it doesn’t matter. What matters is clicks and showings. I have found HDR, even very heavy handed HDR, doesn’t turn off buyers, it intrigues them. I’ve shot 15 houses in the last two months with prices from 180k to 1.6 million and used HDR techniques with all of them. To a realtor, each has found they have gotten much more interest in those homes then any they listed with traditional photography. Their sell times bear that out as well. Most gave me feedback that the photography is what drew the buyers to the house in the first place.

HDR gets a bad rap because it adds an element we normally don’t expect to see in a photo. Traditionalists don’t like this for the sake of disliking change. ‘Unreal’ is a term tossed out quite often. Yet those same photographers don’t seem to see an issue with pictures that are cropped at 4×6 inches representing reality. Or bumping contrast levels, or shooting it through a high-pass filter for sharpness, or any number of other techniques that alter the shot. I guess those are just more ‘real’.

Remember…you are being paid to get butts in the door, not to satisfy the whims of photographers who want to tie one hand behind your back. Take photos the way you want to. If HDR works for your business, use it.

]]> By: Stephen Lane (Photographer) http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/comment-page-1/#comment-35428 Stephen Lane (Photographer) Tue, 03 May 2011 14:31:05 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/#comment-35428 I use HDR a lot on my Real Estate shoots.... My clients insist on it.... We have a lot of bad weather here and the agents just book shoots any time so HDR helps create consistent looks. :) I use HDR a lot on my Real Estate shoots…. My clients insist on it…. We have a lot of bad weather here and the agents just book shoots any time so HDR helps create consistent looks. :)

]]> By: Eric Hilton http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/comment-page-1/#comment-33988 Eric Hilton Mon, 14 Mar 2011 01:58:15 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/#comment-33988 I have just started shooting some HDR with the latest version photomatix which is still a learning curve (indoors I bracket about -2, 0, +2 stops) My Nikon D-300 and D-700 only bracket at 1 stop, so I manually set my brackets. Normally, I shoot with fill flash or flash as a main light. Since I live in FL and shoot many homes on the beach, the high contrast between the inside lighting and the bright windows are quite severe. I use to bring in extra lighting, but since learning about HDR, I am finding this saves my butt many times. I would just like to learn more about it from others in my field. Does anyone use the pre-set settings or should I use these as a start? I'd appreciate all feed back, Eric I have just started shooting some HDR with the latest version photomatix which is still a learning curve (indoors I bracket about -2, 0, +2 stops) My Nikon D-300 and D-700 only bracket at 1 stop, so I manually set my brackets.

Normally, I shoot with fill flash or flash as a main light. Since I live in FL and shoot many homes on the beach, the high contrast between the inside lighting and the bright windows are quite severe. I use to bring in extra lighting, but since learning about HDR, I am finding this saves my butt many times. I would just like to learn more about it from others in my field. Does anyone use the pre-set settings or should I use these as a start? I’d appreciate all feed back,

Eric

]]> By: Francine Martin http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/comment-page-1/#comment-32991 Francine Martin Sat, 12 Feb 2011 03:39:44 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/#comment-32991 Doug Huffines, I'm trying to locate you re some brilliant photos you took of my house in Mexico. Could you please contact me on famsma@yahoo.com? Many thanks, Francine Doug Huffines,

I’m trying to locate you re some brilliant photos you took of my house in Mexico. Could you please contact me on famsma@yahoo.com? Many thanks, Francine

]]> By: Gary Shepard http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/comment-page-1/#comment-22136 Gary Shepard Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:05:31 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/#comment-22136 If anyone is interested in seeing my HDR/Blended image work go to http://cpsrealestatephotography.com. Constructive feed back is welcomed. If anyone is interested in seeing my HDR/Blended image work go to http://cpsrealestatephotography.com. Constructive feed back is welcomed.

]]> By: Gary Shepard http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/comment-page-1/#comment-22132 Gary Shepard Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:13:10 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/#comment-22132 I'm looking for a little help here. I have been using image blending with very good results for several months now. I shoot with a Nikon D700 and a Nikon 14-24mm lens primarily. I am using the ProMote remote control configured to give me 7 exposures at 2 EV intervals. that covers a total of 13 EV. The measured value plus 2,4 and 6 EV each side of the measured value. A lot of thought went into this choice of exposures and I will gladly share those thoughts with anyone who is interested in why I chose the values that I did. I use Photomatix and blending with highlight and shadows adjust. My default settings are Accentuation 9.1, Blending Point 0.0, Shadows 5.6, Color Saturation 0.0, White Clip 8.8, Black Clip 9.4 and midtone 0.0. The results are generally quite good. The one issue that I am strugling with is ghosting or flaring around the windows. Does anyone have any suggestions that might help to eliminate that issue? I’m looking for a little help here.

I have been using image blending with very good results for several months now. I shoot with a Nikon D700 and a Nikon 14-24mm lens primarily. I am using the ProMote remote control configured to give me 7 exposures at 2 EV intervals. that covers a total of 13 EV. The measured value plus 2,4 and 6 EV each side of the measured value. A lot of thought went into this choice of exposures and I will gladly share those thoughts with anyone who is interested in why I chose the values that I did. I use Photomatix and blending with highlight and shadows adjust. My default settings are Accentuation 9.1, Blending Point 0.0, Shadows 5.6, Color Saturation 0.0, White Clip 8.8, Black Clip 9.4 and midtone 0.0. The results are generally quite good. The one issue that I am strugling with is ghosting or flaring around the windows. Does anyone have any suggestions that might help to eliminate that issue?

]]> By: Joanna http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/comment-page-1/#comment-21658 Joanna Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:05:25 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/#comment-21658 We camera bracket our HDR real estate photos and I edit the exposures in Photomatix w/PS Elements for secondary editing. When you camera bracket interior views you are not using any flash attachments so your processed HDR photo will appear a little dark which can be remedied by applying levels, contrast, hue/sat adjustments, spot sharpening, etc to get the desired end result. The processing/editing actually takes longer than the photography. For exterior shots we do pole aerials and I process these as single-image HDRs. We camera bracket our HDR real estate photos and I edit the exposures in Photomatix w/PS Elements for secondary editing. When you camera bracket interior views you are not using any flash attachments so your processed HDR photo will appear a little dark which can be remedied by applying levels, contrast, hue/sat adjustments, spot sharpening, etc to get the desired end result. The processing/editing actually takes longer than the photography. For exterior shots we do pole aerials and I process these as single-image HDRs.

]]> By: Kevin Galarneau http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/comment-page-1/#comment-21487 Kevin Galarneau Thu, 22 Oct 2009 02:02:47 +0000 http://photographyforrealestate.net/2008/05/19/summary-of-using-hdr-for-real-estate-phototography/#comment-21487 I can't seem to get the hang of tonemapping. Everytime I have attempted HDR I haved walked away with a bad result. I prefer Enfuse, I feel it is much more user friendly and it creates a much more realistic effect which i prefer. I can’t seem to get the hang of tonemapping. Everytime I have attempted HDR I haved walked away with a bad result. I prefer Enfuse, I feel it is much more user friendly and it creates a much more realistic effect which i prefer.

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