Real Estate Twilight Photography and Photo Editing Tutorial

Real Estate Twilight Photography and Photo Editing Tutorial

Real estate photography has a wide range of creative iterations. All of which help the increased chances of sale of homes as listed in for sale spaces. The power that enhanced photos bring impacts the selling tenfold making real estate photo editing a vital part of the business. One of the most attractive styles in real estate photography and editing is the use of twilight enhancement. Twilight photography in real estate produced a unique and over-the-top feeling of home and warmth that instantly draws you closer to the property.

Real estate photo editing for twilight photos supplements the potential for the photo to stand out. The bright contrasts between the sky, the home, and the lighting are the cornerstones for the post-processing phase to work on. Learning twilight photography in real estate as well as learning the ropes on editing these will help set apart the brand of photos you bring to the table which your real estate client will surely appreciate.

Taking Twilight Photos

Shooting twilight photos require the right timing and know-how. This list will teach you the tips on how to make sure you are taking the correct photos that can be edited for twilight enhancement.

  1. Prepare the property

Preparation requires a keen eye out to make the home look visible inside from an outsider’s perspective. First, open any curtains or remove any window coverings. Make sure that the windows are clear of any obstruction so that the interior will be clearly visible. Twilight photography in real estate also gets that help from both exterior and interior lighting. Ensure all lights inside are turned on and as much as possible, use yellow lights instead of white. If there are lamp posts or porch lights, make sure these are also turned on to wrap the property with luminescence.

  1. Anticipate the time of sunset

Researching the time of sunset prior to the photo shoot will help you achieve a highly precise timing on the best image of the sky. Most people prefer a quarter past the actual sunset time to avoid the sun yet retain its beautiful rays. Real estate photo editing can then do wonders for the visible rays of light left in the sky. From here, select the best angle to take the photo. The one that will usually stand out is the angle opposite to the sunset so that the entire view of the sky and the mix of grey and orange will be abundant.

  1. Set up your gear

Apart from your camera and lenses, a tripod is crucial in this photo shoot. The tripod will help achieve clarify and stability especially when there are several sources of light coming from the property. One lighting blurred or caught moving will immediately ruin the photo. This is the reason why twilight photography in real estate requires a lot of intricacies, but do not be discouraged. Next, take full control of your camera and set it to manual. Aperture must be between f/8 and f/11 so that the optimal shutter speed will follow. Do not forget to also set the white balance in order to have an even distribution of light. Take as many photos as possible given the small window of time available, you would want to maximize the shoot.

Twilight Editing for Real Estate Photos

Real estate photo editing takes over from here. Now that the photos have been taken and they look perfect, it is time to get behind that computer and start cracking on.

  1. Selecting the right set of photos

Choose the ones with the best lighting on the sky. In this case, it might be through the set of different exposures as you took the photos. Having taken HDR photos will definitely help provide a range of different exposures which will make the editing process easier.

  1. Start with enhancing the sky

Undoubtedly, the sky is one of the biggest pieces of attraction in twilight photos. Start by creating layers, making the bottom most the neutral exposure. Then, mask the bottom layer with another layer whose property is well lit. Remove the sky of the second layer which will be a lot less visible as the exposure is on the property. Then, proceed in adjusting the contrast and saturation of the base layer to make the orange stand out more than the grey colors in the sky. Adjust the saturation and hue to help distinguish the clouds from the sky. It is important at this stage to make clouds distinguishable.

  1. Sharpen the property image

The property will carry some blurs and distortions. Real estate photo editing must make sure that these are rectified to make the lights appear to make the property look crisp. It is important that the shadows are removed, and edges are clearly visible and straight. Ensure to also adjust the opacity of the property image to match the sky’s opacity.

  1. Correct the white balance and merge the layers

There are may sources of light from the property in this technique. The white balance can be thrown off by one of the artificial light sources and create a tinted image of the property, which is different from the sky as it is in two different layers. Photoshop has auto removal of white balance and always check to see if there needs to be any correction. After this, merge the layers to create one single photo that will look seamless to the viewer.

Conclusion

There is no denying that twilight photos are indeed stunning. Possessing such skill to shoot and produce them will raise the bar higher for photographers and realty editor alike. Twilight photography in real estate requires a good understanding of timing, angle, and lighting. All of which pitch into giving the wow factor into the picture. Having a good grasp of the techniques and working your camera also helps in making sure the right amount of light is allowed inside, turning the photo into a perfect input to editing. Real estate photo editing then weaves its magic to turn that raw image into a masterpiece. The results will never fail for as long as you’ve done the steps right and you’ve trusted the process. All in all, twilight enhanced photos require work but if done right with the right amount of practice, will give a lot of plus points in your photo and in yourself.

 

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