Real Estate Photography Editing Using the Flambient Method

Real Estate Photography Editing Using the Flambient Method

Real estate photography hasn’t slowed down since the pandemic, in fact, it has gained more demand as people took their viewing and buying to the internet. This way, real estate photo editing also had to step up in order to catch up with the increase in volume of online traffic. As realty editors and photographers scramble to ensure the volume of photos are delivered on time, they do not let go of the quality promised to the clients through the images they enhance.

Now, through the course of capturing the image and editing it, real estate photography carries many tricks in the bag to bring out the best in every image They do not allow post-processing in real estate photography to carry the weight of beautifying everything if they have a chance to throw an assist early on. One of these is the Flambient method in real estate photography. Seasoned realty editors know that there is a lot of potential in Flambient shots, making them a gem especially for interior photos.

Why is it important to real estate photography? The first and foremost reason is because details sell. People who are looking to buy a property with their hard-earned money will want to find out what they are buying without any surprises that could disappoint them later on. For realty editors, it is the ability to be able to work with the photo even more and chance to create something really special in real estate photo editing.

Defining the Flambient Method?

The word Flambient is a combination of two real estate photography jargons – flash and ambient. The combination of this term pertains to the mixture of an ambient-lit image as well as a flash-lit one. It allows realty editors to perform the window pull technique during post processing and allows every inch of the property to be visible. In real estate photography, Flambient photos are an iteration of bracketed HDR images. Instead of simply taking shots with different exposure settings, here, bracketed real estate photography shots are taken in 2 sets. One in an ambient light and one in flash. The combination of ambient light and flash allows the image to come out as crisp, clean, and fathomable, all with the right balance during editing.

How is it Used in Photography?

As a realty editor, understanding how the photograph must be taken is a prerequisite to the appreciation and execution during post-processing, and while real estate photography does have its fair share of contribution to the final output, the end-to-end knowledge is essential to creating a strong foundation for the technique.

First off, having a tripod will ensure that when you take bracketed images, all of them will be 100% aligned. If they aren’t, you might have a headache during real estate photo editing. To further ensure stability, get a remote trigger. This takes your hands off of the camera and allows it to be free of any source of movement that may lead to blurring or misalignments.

A DSLR camera is also essential with its ability to take multiple shots or bracketed images and its capability to detect different levels of light. Throughout this shot, you might also want to establish your ISO, aperture, and shutter speed you do get a consistent exposure throughout the ambient and flash photos.

Last but not the least, the flash. Using the flash is tricky. You must point if up to the ceiling and allow the light to bounce off evenly giving you a nice spread-out visibility across the image. This will allow real estate photo editing to adjust the image with sharper details and allow a better distribution of illumination.

Editing Photos using the Flambient Method

Editing Flambient images is similar to the real estate photo editing techniques we know of. It incorporates the use of layers, window pulls and brushing out identified parts of the image.

  1. Layer up

Remember the bracketed shots you took with ambient lighting and with a flash? Take the ambient and put it on top of the flash layer. In this real estate photo editing step, the blending mode should be defined to be Luminosity. This mode allows the light to be blended without tampering with the color. This is why you will also want to create another layer with its blending mode as Color. You will end up with 3 layers at this point and as a realty editor, you must also label these to avoid any confusion in identifying the layers down the line.

  1. Edit the color and mask

The blending mode of color allows you to perform much needed color correction methods while ensuring the light is not impacted. Real estate photo editing dictates that the need to correct the color is tantamount to building a foundation for a stunning image. After you’ve done this, add a layer mask onto the ambient layer where the window is visible. Create the selection area of the window and make sure it appears as white in the layers panel where it will be removed when brushed on. You may need to make an inverted selection to protect the outer layer and this can be achieved with the ctrl+”I” command.

  1. Retouch and repair

The last step is to make sure your masking looks flawless. From afar your real estate image editing output will be stunning, but a closer look will reveal marks where the brush strokes have gone out of line or where windowsills will appear unnatural. Realty editors must have an eye to iron out these little details and deliver a photo that looks like it was flawless to begin with.

Conclusion

The Flambient technique, a sure-fire way to help you create pristine interiors where ambient light and flash intersect to make worlds meet. One has to remember that this real estate photo editing technique is not achieved during post-processing alone and is complemented by the right real estate photography set up. As a realty editor, this is a good technique to learn but one that requires utmost detail and balance to execute, so take the time to learn it for your repertoire of skills.

 

Relevant Quick Links:

poster