Your Guide to All Things Residential Real Estate Photo Retouching

The biggest misconception about real estate photo retouching is that it’s a big free for all depending on taste. This statement is half true if you consider the last part as the winning touch to get an audience to stay glued to your images. In reality, photo retouching editing in real estate is about a set of pre-defined techniques and not exactly a mad scramble to apply all of the techniques alone. However, the use of the right set of pre-defined strokes and changes along with the combination of these are what makes the entire image worth processing. This is where creativity meets technicality and the number of iterations that can come out of this is amazingly impressive.

Real estate photo retouching shouldn’t also just be seen as a mere must-have. The ability of a photo to be transformed doesn’t just tread on its potential to be used as a conduit for selling. Rather, it should be viewed as a craft where real estate photo retouching actions reflect the vision and passion of the professional behind all the work. But let’s face the harsh truth that passion alone won’t be enough to pay the bills. The love for real estate photo retouching must then be transformed into something that is monetizable and thus, should be able to find its place within the industry for properties.

Retouch Your Real Estate Photo

At this point you could be thinking that real estate photo retouching could be replaced by good images. The right set of adjustments on the camera coupled with the whiz of a photography professional is a sure-fire way to make great images. However, the perfect snap doesn’t exist. Cameras will never mimic the human eye in all its glory and therefore enhancement must take place. The thriving industry of real estate photo retouching services is a testament to the need that exists and if someone has already discovered the key to the perfect image straight out of the camera, that will be the day these services exit the market.

Now that we’ve established that real estate photo retouching cannot be done away with, it’s time to understand why it is important.

First is their contribution to the value of appeal. Images that have been touched up will have more vibrant feel due to the changes in color and brightness as well as a cleaner look thanks to the magic of clean up tools and techniques.

Next is due to their ability to turn moods upside down. Photo shoots will go on no matter the weather, making some photos bask in the light of the sun while other drenched under the heavy rains. Real estate photo retouching can easily turn a gloomy day into a cheerful one through sky replacement and for interiors, techniques called window pull or window masking.

The way we see how all of this points towards to is in the same direction. Through the course of the retouching, a professional can take many paths due to the many elements present in the photo to be enhanced, giving it a world of creativity to work on.

How Do You Touch Up a Picture for Real Estate?

The question is now what touch ups can you do? Real estate photo retouching could be a broad subject but when focused on correctly, will give the professional a good path to follow. Here are some basic concepts whose tools you might find in your favorite real estate photo retouching applications.

Utilizing the Appropriate Selection Tools

Selection tools are frequently used in retouching. They are used to remove objects which are meant to be left out of the image such as clutter and blemishes. In Photoshop, such popular selection tools are the lasso and pen tools. These are used by professionals to carve out the most complex of objects while the clone stamp tool and the quick selection tools are meant for those items that are in a position to be easily removed. Careful selection of what tool to pick can affect the output quality meaning in the case that you use a quick selection tool to enclose a tree which has a complex shape then you may not get a clean cut out of it.

Layer Techniques Together

In most real estate photo retouching applications, you will need to use several adjustments on one image through different layers. Adding a sharper image while making the light spread out to give a perfectly illuminated picture could just be the tip of the iceberg. At some point you will need to adjust color tones, get rid of an imbalance in the tint or even darken up some shadows. All of this contribute to the overall impression of the image which again, cannot be easily put together by just adjusting the dials on the camera.

How Much Does It Cost to Retouch a Photo?

There could be several cost models that a professional could offer to the client. In either cases, the number of photos for retouching can dictate the preference on the package for the payment.

Per Hour Charges – This is based on the effort put in by one editor. Real estate photo retouching takes time and in order to focus on one order, a resource has to be allocated and, in this case, it is the realty editor. The hourly rate of $50 to $100 can be a range to watch out for.
Bulk or Wholesale – Real estate photo retouching services would normally offer this due to the applicability of economies of scale. The more photos that are sent in for enhancement, the more returns their assets (computers and other investments) are able to give the owner what they want.
Per Image – The possibility of offering a per image at the price of cents is also possible if you don’t really have a lot to edit. Sometimes, offering this with packages could attract more profiles of clients giving them an option when to scale up or down at their convenience.

Final Thoughts

To be quite frank, the world of real estate photo retouching is vast and requires you to read up more about it to have a complete sense of the art. This guide is meant to get you started on understanding what real estate photo retouching is in a nutshell but don’t make your world revolve around it. Go browse the internet for more content but always make sure to remember the things you’ve learned along the way.