Photography For Real Estate

The Round-Trip Between Photomatix 3.1Beta and Lightroom

larry — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:47:39 +0000

First of all I want to clarify my description, in yesterdays post, of how the round trip process between Lightroom and Photomatix 3.1Beta works. When you send a group of images from Lightroom to Photomatix 3.1Beta (using the new Photomatix export plugin) Photomatix 3.1Beta does have a feature that will re-import the final processed image back into Lightroom. There is a “sticky” check-box in the Photomatix 3.1Beta save dialog box when, if checked and “Adobe Lightroom 2″ is selected, will send the processed image back to Lightroom. So, you have to explicitly “save” the final image back into Lightroom.

This is better than not re-importing images back into Lightroom at all. I appreciate that some people, like Uwe Steinmueller describes in his comment on yesterdays post don’t want their processed image in the source folder with their RAW images. I personally want all the RAW images and derivative images all together in the same folder and I hear many people agreeing. Also, like Matt Kloskowski describes over at lightroomkillertips, this process feels “clunky”. To me, the model of how the round-trip between Lightroom and an a plugin should work is the way Tim Armes’s LR/Enfuse 3.0 works. It is totally automatic. When the Enfuse processing is complete the final image just appears in Lightroom. No having to save the process image, no import dialog boxes, the result just appears in Lightroom alongside the source images.

I’d like to congratulate HDRsoft on providing this Beta version so this kind of discussion with their user community is possible. I find HDRsoft support very fast and effective.

Photomatix 3.1 Adds a Lightroom Export Plugin

larry — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:38:28 +0000

I’m glad to see that the 3.1 version of Photomatix has added a Lightroom export plugin. Photomatix 3.1 is still in Beta. I’ve been using the Beta 8 version of Photomatix for several days and I like being able to use Photomatix from Lightroom.

The only downside that I’ve found to the current export plugin is that it does not re-import the final tonemapped or blended image back into Lightroom like LR/Enfuse does. To me, it makes a great deal of sense to keep both the final image stacked with the RAW images that when into make the final image.

When I suggested this to HDRsoft their reply was as follows:

Thank you for your suggestion.

I asked one member of our team who is using Lightroom
on a daily basis tohave a look at this idea. He discussed
this with another LR user, and they both say that they do
not like to have their processed image in the same
location as their RAW file, and do not think this is a good
thing. They systematically separate both, and thus prefer
the ability (as implemented in Photomatix Pro 3.1beta with
the option on the Save dialog) to import the final processed
image in Lightroom the way they want.

We could make it an option to have the saved image automatically imported back in to the source folder, but we will see first if we received more requests
for it before working on it.

So what do you think? If you agree with me about grouping everything together send hdrsoft an e-mail (support at hdrsoft dot com) an let help me convince them.

More On The Miracle Of Time Lapse

larry — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:15:53 +0000

The post I did last week on David Gibbons’s example of a time lapse video of a view inspired me research the subject of time lapse and do some time lapse video clips of my own.

Here is what I found out:

David described how to shoot time lapse with Nikon Capture, the same thing works just fine with Canon’s RemoteCapture software. I used Canon RemoteCapture to shoot a time lapse sequence out my front window with my MacPower Book Pro controlling and capturing frames from my 1Ds. This technique apparently works for most Canon and Nikon DSLRs.
Thanks to Brian Reyman’s comment on my last post I realized that my Canon G9 has a great time lapse feature built-in to it. In fact, a couple of weeks ago somehow the video mode on my G9 got set to time lapse and it took me a while to figure out what was happening and turn it off. The G9 will shoot time lapse by taking a frame every one second or two seconds. (more…)

PFRE AU Flickr Group and Discussion Forum Trial

larry — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:36:35 +0000

Recently some Australian participants in the Photography For Real Estate flickr group suggested that it would be nice to have a discussion forum where the unique business and market considerations of Australia could be discussed separately from the global discussion of real estate photography that goes on, on the current PFRE flickr group. (more…)

Importance of Photography in a Down Real Estate Market

larry — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:51:50 +0000

Selling things is all about finding a way to stand out from the competition. In a down real estate market like we have now, the competition home sellers face are those hundreds of other homes for sale in the same location and price range. The last thing a home seller wants to do is to have to lower their price to stand out from the competition.

Stunning photography is another effective way to stand out from the crowd at any given price point. Think for a minute what the few qualified buyers these days are doing. When they search online for a home in a given location and price range they end up seeing a list of homes with some version of the primary external photo along with a few other details. This list of homes has a link to get to more details and photos of each home. (more…)

Meet The New PFRE Idol: Wayne Capili

larry — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:44:18 +0000

Congratulations to Wayne Capili, of Monterey, CA, who has won the October PFRE Idol voting. Wayne’s photo above is a stunning piece of work. This months photos was an outstanding set of images, to be chosen the winner in this set of images is a real distinction.

Wayne describes his real estate photography business in Monterey as follows: (more…)

Three Wall or Two Wall Composition

larry — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 03:30:15 +0000

In the process of working on a chapter of my e-book covering interior composition I came across a couple of shots of a little condo we sold last year that nicely illustrates the pros and cons of a three wall shot compared to a two wall shot.

The upper shot on the right, is effectively a two wall shot and the bottom photo is a three wall shot of the same room. The two wall shot was one of the photos we used to market this home. I liked it the best of the 4 or 5 shots I took of this little living room and the stager, the agent, and the home owner all agreed with my choice. At the time I didn’t think about why we all liked the two wall shot the best. (more…)

How to Shoot A Time Lapse Video Of A View

larry — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:12:13 +0000

Check out David Gibbons’s example, over at geekestateblog.com, of a time lapse video of Elliott bay in Seattle, that he shot with his D70, PowerBook G4, Nikon Capture.

What a great idea! I’m thinking that Canon shooters should be able to do this same thing with Canon’s RemoteCapture software. I’m going to try this out with RemoteCapture and my 1Ds this weekend and will report back. Anyone else for a time lapse shot?

Animoto - A Hip Approach For Real Estate Slideshows

larry — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:48:57 +0000

Animoto is a site that will automatically create an animated video with music, created from a series of still photos. Last year at this time when the company started I created a couple of videos. One from as series of my real estate front shots and one of my grandson Avery. The one of Avery was a smash hit with the family but I’ve never used Amimoto for real estate. I can attest to the fact that these little videos are quick and easy to create. All you do is upload a few stills and choose the music and everything else is automatic. (more…)

Where Does Video Fit in Real Estate Photography?

larry — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:56:22 +0000

It’s getting harder and harder to avoid the subject of video in real estate photography these days. Unless you’ve been under a rock you’ll notice that the subject of web based video keeps popping up all over:

New DSLRs with HD video capability.
The central role of video editing in Adobe’s CS4 release event. Adobe says, “end users want a media rich web experience”. I believe it; it applies to me and others I see using the Internet. (more…)