How to edit a real estate photo
Enhancing real estate images is a crucial step towards selling a property. According to REALTOR, a listed property with professional photographs is viewed 61% more than other properties listed at a similar price. Not only does a photographer know the best ways to shoot both the exterior and interior of a property, they also either spend a lot of time editing the images after shooting, or outsource this process to photo editors. In both cases, the final images appear professional and high quality.
In recent times, some professional photographers have been unable to enter a property due to social distancing restrictions. Property shooting and editing has therefore fallen to real estate agents, who’ve got little experience of photo editing. There are some important features of photo editing tools which should be used to enhance property imagery; in this blog, we’ll explain how to edit a real estate photo.
Sky replacement
We’re used to the poor weather in the UK. Overcast skies are often detrimental to property imagery; a grey sky can overpower an external property image, and a dark day can cast poor lighting on interior images which makes the overall shots of a listed property appear dull. To overcome this, photo editing softwares offer sky replacement features. Remove.bg background removal tool is ideal for exterior images - upload an image to the web interface and the software automatically removes a grey sky, providing a png file of the property exterior. After downloading the image, use Photoshop to place an image of a beautiful blue sky and layer the property image on top. Photoshop is a difficult programme to use, however, and amateur photo editors most likely benefit from a basic programme which will save time. Skylum Luminar AI is a user-friendly photo editing programme; upload the original property images and play around with their templates to find an improved sky replacement, which comes with instant relighting features. Meanwhile, Autoenhance.ai photo editing software will make the images seem like they were shot on the best day of summer. Simply upload the original overcast image to the web interface and instantly receive an enhanced property image with sky replacement.
Perspective correction
An image with a wonky perspective looks bad, and it can appear very obvious in real estate photography. Professional photographers have mastered good perspective, guiding viewers through the use of leading or dominant lines in an image. According to a recent study undertaken by Airbnb on the importance of professional photography on Airbnb property listings, property images with good perspective attracts viewers to the images. Therefore, property listings with a good perspective will be likely to receive an offer faster. However, it’s not so easy for an amateur photographer to achieve a good perspective when shooting property imagery; photo editing softwares can correct this. Whilst Photoshop provides a handy straightening tool, using automated photo editing softwares saves time trying to work out the right angles manually. Autoenhance.ai has been trained to correct a wonky perspective instantly and provide straightened exterior or interior property images as a final result.
Relighting image
The recent Airbnb study also suggests that brighter images lead to greater property demand, as a well-lit image evokes feelings of relaxation in observers. Therefore, it’s important that a property image is bright, particularly for interior shots. Again, as a dull day can hinder this, relighting images can be undertaken after the shooting process, using photo editing softwares. Luminar AI templates will increase brightness, colour and saturation, but will most likely need the user to have a play around with the settings to find the right look. Meanwhile, Autoenhance.ai instantly relights both exterior images - providing vibrant greens in the grass and blues in the sky - as well as interiors.
If you’re unsure which photo editing softwares to use, check out our blog post that explains the 5 best photo editing softwares for property images in 2021.
