How to Combine Real Estate Photos Using Adobe Photoshop

How to Combine Real Estate Photos Using Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop has been the real estate photo editing software professionals look to embark on enhancements of images provided through real estate photography. The ability of this software to combine images, to stack them together, and bring the best of each picture is a source of success for real estate photography professionals.

Combining Images

Combining images is another term for real estate photography professionals for blending or stacking. These are often used when bracketed images are taken in low light or low visibility situations. Real estate photography professionals jump on this photography technique once they are aware that even the artificial light will not give the property the right justice to showcase its stunning vibrance. A real estate photo editing software, and in this case Adobe Photoshop, then takes care of the blending of photos to give a single image that possesses all the best qualities on exposure and lighting, as well as color. The process of combining can be done manually through this real estate photo editing software if the realty editor wishes to push the envelope further on the dynamics of the three elements.

Another use of combining images is when automatic blending (or automatic HDR stacking) fails. There is a limit to which artificial intelligence or algorithms work for all types of photos, and some would still come out as dull or unpresentable. Fortunately, just like any other technique, this real estate photo editing software gives you the freedom to work beyond what automatic blending or combining does and gives you the hand to achieve the level you wish to.

There might also be cases were outsourcing this real estate photography editing technique, but all the same, they might be using the real estate photo editing software of choice which is Adobe Photoshop. You might be inclined to learn this on your own but keep in mind that this option to outsource will be available for you.

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Follow These Steps

If you are keen on learning these real estate photo editing steps for combining in Adobe Photoshop, then look no further. A good hand at work is always key to the success of growth and learning, and is the foundation for improvement with positive impacts to your career in real estate photography and editing.

  1. Open the images you need to work on. Normally you will have more than 8 to 10 images which will show different levels of exposure. This does not mean that one photo is more desirable than the other. It just means that you have captured a photo in different dynamic ranges which will be a part, contributing to the bigger whole.
  2. Create a sequence of same photos from light, dark, or standard will not only help you organize your images but help you decide which one should be the base photo. Being able to identify this photo that will be at the forefront of the enhancement will let the real estate photography professional create a cornerstone in which to build the masterpiece. Adobe Photoshop as the real estate photo editing software of choice will be a breeze when it comes to doing this.
  3. Mask the light and dark images, leaving the standard exposures visible because this will ensure that your unwanted images will stay hidden until you deliberately make them surface. This is one of the basic concepts in real estate photography editing and that is layers. This allows you to easily show and hide certain images and also allow you to have control over the main image you are working on.
  4. Start focusing on the overexposed areas and brushing it with a lower opacity is where the real work begins. It is recommended to not have an opacity setting in your brush of more than 30 percent to have the right touch of standard and overexposure.
  5. This should be done for the underexposed as well, making them brighter with the same technique as the previous step. The overall goal is to ensure that you are correcting specific areas that need attention, where this real estate photo editing software will surely assist you if done right.
  6. Repeat as needed, and make sure that the photo will be to your liking when you are done covering the over- and under-exposed areas. You can save your work afterwards, and should you want a comparison, repeat steps 1 and 2 but now do an HDR blending. It may sound like a repetitive task but it can give you a benchmark on your sensing for combining images on an exposure aspect.

HDR as A Staple Method

Sometimes we fall in love with HDR or the high-dynamic range of photography and editing as the main method of blending and why not. It is easy, it gets the job done in a click, and best of all, there is a big possibility of the end product being desirable. The ability of HDR though, can be limited if your photos taken during the photo shoot are not exposed enough. Perhaps the bracketed shots did not capture the whole range you would like to. But nevertheless, HDR blending will be there as an alternative option to your photo combining needs. The intrinsic ability of this one-click wonder will help you gain the efficiency you need to meet the deadlines of very tight clients. Moving to a manual way to combine photos in Adobe Photoshop will merit and build the accuracy and creativity needed to identify which parts of the image need work and, in the process, develop your skills in being able to tell if a photo is over or under exposed.

Conclusion

This real estate photo editing software we all love and hold dearly allows us to curate gorgeous creations with both an option to do it via known techniques or through the manual process of combining photos, which both are accepted practices in the industry. Real estate photography professionals who are keen to do this should practice these steps alongside doing it through HDR blending techniques so as to build their skills and at the same time, allow the speed to still be at their disposal. This is truly a technique one needs to master and practice in order to jump ahead of the curve and make sure photos possess all the good traits they should.

 

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