Post-processing real estate photography - advanced!

[achee]

Hi all!

I know how to do real estate photography post-processing that'll get me by, but I know that the high-end providers do very different post-processing, and I have no idea how they do it!

I'll usually take three bracketed images a blend them using an automated process in Lightroom. Some of the high end providers would use many more brackets, including with flash, without flash, flashing window frames, etc etc. These brackets certainly aren't blended automatically, and not in LR. Does anyone know, how does one go about creating an image from all those brackets? What else should I know about RE photography post-processing? Where can I learn this stuff? Should I just send the work to India? ;) (Nah, I'd rather do it myself if I can learn it!)

:)

Thanks in advance!

[ricktas]

photomatix. It is HDR software

[WorkingClassHero]

The other way is to take multiple bracketed shots and open them as layers in photoshop and do some layer blending with masks to take the desired parts of each shot.

[Bax]

You can't avoid the multiple exposures by adding some extra fill flash to begin with?

Just my opinion but hdr, unless extremely delicately put, would be shocking in real estate shots. Just my opinion.

[Wayne]

Maybe some balanced and gelled fill flash??

[achee]

Thanks guys!

I'm pretty sure I'll be sticking with taking bracketed images - Based on my limited understanding of the market I think that's the 'way it's done,' because I know some of the biggest suppliers use that method and I'm not aware of any large supplier using the 'one shot' method...

Thanks Rick, I downloaded a trial of Photomatrix and played around with it a bit - it's pretty similar to the automated HDR blending that I already use. I'm looking for more control of what part of each bracket I want to use.

Alan, that's what I was wondering about. I wonder if that's the way real estate photo retouchers do it, or if they have some other tricks in their workflow to make it easier. I'm familiar enough with PS to stack the layers and mask them in and out, but I'd imagine it to be a tedious job!

[Seabee]

From what I have seen most RE photographers are as varied in their processing as they are in their experience.
I have seen many many examples of all types of photography and every point in the spectrum of good to bad.

HDR is used frequently and I have also noticed the guy that did my house used long exposure at 9 o'clock at night :eek: with hdr.
So it seems to be an anything goes at the moment!