There is a large misconception that images are shot, slightly tweaked and sent to the client. I think, this has come from the evolution of the smartphone and how great they take photos and also people not having a good understanding of the process of shooting and editing in Real Estate photography.
Our team use Full Frame DSLR cameras, yes they are expensive and technical and these cameras require a lot of editing to get the photos to the finished product. We actually have a team who works through the night so we can get these back to the client in the morning.
Why do we need to use such a robust camera when the technology is so good these days?
Because despite the technological advancements in phones and other devices, there really is no comparison to the quality of a professional camera and a photographer's knowledge when it comes to using it. The amount of information you’re able to generate from a Camera’s RAW image far outstrips anything you can generate from a phone capture. And we take 3 of them to create an image!
As it stands now, there isn't anything to replace the power, and the beauty, of a professional camera.
Now let's chat edits and I'll break it down in laymans terms.
Our photographers take 3-5 different photos of the same setup (this is called exposures) in 3 -5 different settings ( light, medium and dark and anywhere in between). We then layer the photos on top of each other and take the best-exposed elements of each photo. For example, in one photo the room may be exposed well and in another image, the view out the window may be. If we just took one photo you would lose either the exposure of the room or the exposure of the outside and this is not ideal in Real Estate.
Our editing team also:
Balance colours and saturation, working on any colour casting (where a colour from another object is bouncing around and causing other colours to come up wrong) to make sure it all reflects true colour.
Remove anything unsightly such as lens spots and marks that can sometimes appear.
Remove the flash reflections in windows and mirrors (or any reflective surfaces). Our team uses flash to fill in a room when exposing for a window.
Balancing the overall hue of a photo. Sometimes you need to work on the warmth or coolness of a photo overall to make sure the white balance is perfect (otherwise you get images that are too blue or too yellow)
Our in-house team does some final adjustments and that is the birth of the final image!
We are also a bit pedantic with our presentation so we also edit pool cleaners out ( yuck, if there is ever a way to ruin a photo, it is a creepy crawly!) plus more at an agent's request.
We also have an advanced editing pricelist to cover off other editing like greening up grass, removing cords and multiple other edits ( all within the legal parameters). Ask and we shall send it to you.
So as you can see, it's all in the EDIT!
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