New Real Estate Photography - What do you think?

[Cgdillan]

Here are a few photos from house I just shot. I'm still learning and respect your opinions if you have constructive criticism to share. Here is the full post on my RE blog: http://www.smrealestatephotography.com/2403-calle-san-miguel-encinitas/

[bseitz234]

Not much to comment on- I generally like them, especially keeping in mind who these pictures are really intended for (buyers looking for a house.)

For me, the outdoor colors are too vivid and saturated. I like the indoor ones- but the exterior shots I just find a little overwhelming. Particularly the blues, but they don't feel "cool", like the white balance is off. I think there's just a lot of blue, and the overall saturation makes it feel overwhelming. I'd dial that back a bit. Otherwise, the composition looks interesting, helps to visualize the house, etc.

[CanonNerdy]

Honestly I loved your shots, they're truly amazing and nice angles  .. by my humble expertise in HDR, I'm assuming that you've used HDR photomatix, using photomatix could be a lot of fun but it bothers me the most with the glowing edges on the blending points, after all .. that's how it works .. try lowering " Strength "  so they gradually fade away.

[elflord]

My $0.02:

(1) horizon line is right in the middle of the picture. I'd like it with more sky.
(2) my favourite of the bunch. You see more of the house, the composition works (for me)
(3) I find this composition a bit awkward. Swimming pool is clipped on the right, and the house is right in the middle of the frame and the sloping horizontals make it look like the image is about to slide out of the left side of the frame. I'd like this more if the picture had been framed with the house on the left hand side (more of the pool, house to the left of the frame). Since that's not possible now, I'd like it cropped closer to the left of the house.
(4) I'd like this more if the staircase were to the right (the staircase directs the "flow" of the picture)

[Cgdillan]

Not much to comment on- I generally like them, especially keeping in mind who these pictures are really intended for (buyers looking for a house.)

For me, the outdoor colors are too vivid and saturated. I like the indoor ones- but the exterior shots I just find a little overwhelming. Particularly the blues, but they don't feel "cool", like the white balance is off. I think there's just a lot of blue, and the overall saturation makes it feel overwhelming. I'd dial that back a bit. Otherwise, the composition looks interesting, helps to visualize the house, etc.

Aha I totally see what you mean... Thank you for the input.

[Cgdillan]

Honestly I loved your shots, they're truly amazing and nice angles  .. by my humble expertise in HDR, I'm assuming that you've used HDR photomatix, using photomatix could be a lot of fun but it bothers me the most with the glowing edges on the blending points, after all .. that's how it works .. try lowering " Strength "  so they gradually fade away.

Thank you! I actually used LR/Enfuse... I used to use photomatix and the haloing was far too strong for my taste and the resolution was compromised along with a bad noise that showed up all over the image. Since switching to LR/Enfuse I have noticed much cleaner images and far less haloing. Sometimes you just can't get away from a small bit of halo when it comes to fusing bracketed exposures together.

[Cgdillan]

My $0.02:

(1) horizon line is right in the middle of the picture. I'd like it with more sky.
(2) my favourite of the bunch. You see more of the house, the composition works (for me)
(3) I find this composition a bit awkward. Swimming pool is clipped on the right, and the house is right in the middle of the frame and the sloping horizontals make it look like the image is about to slide out of the left side of the frame. I'd like this more if the picture had been framed with the house on the left hand side (more of the pool, house to the left of the frame). Since that's not possible now, I'd like it cropped closer to the left of the house.
(4) I'd like this more if the staircase were to the right (the staircase directs the "flow" of the picture)

Composition is definitely something I need to work on. I have been finding myself taking photos from every possible angle and spending too much time taking too many shots. With your $0.02 as well as others, these things are coming to my attention. Thank you for your input.

[wickidwombat]

something looks off with the greens
what camera profile are you using in LR
adobe standard or camera faithfull?
it looks like adobe standard which makes the greens too saturated imo
if you switch it to camera faithfull (before you process them obviously) the greens will be a bit more natural
sometimes i'll even specifically desaturate the green in the HSL tab a bit to take the edge off as they can dominate a shot to the point of distraction.
try also to use the vibrance slider instead of the saturation slider

[Cgdillan]

something looks off with the greens
what camera profile are you using in LR
adobe standard or camera faithfull?
it looks like adobe standard which makes the greens too saturated imo
if you switch it to camera faithfull (before you process them obviously) the greens will be a bit more natural
sometimes i'll even specifically desaturate the green in the HSL tab a bit to take the edge off as they can dominate a shot to the point of distraction.
try also to use the vibrance slider instead of the saturation slider

I actually do usually desaturate  the green and even bring their luminance down. But I could do it further. The greens have been an issue for me. I didn't know anything about camera profiles at all I will look that up right away. I also do use vibrance rather than saturation unless i specifically need to bring everything up.

[Bob Howland]

I'm taking the perspective that you're trying to sell the house, so here goes.

1. The outdoor colors look too highly saturated for my taste, almost garish.

2. The first image shows far too much driveway.

3. The images have too much of an "extreme wide-angle lens" look to them. In the swimming pool picture, the sub-pool on the left looks severely oblong, not at all natural.

Hope that helps.

[Dylan777]

These look great...keep it going

[jdramirez]

I noticed the blues too.  It was distracting.  I can't really speak to that type of photography, but it seemed good otherwise.

[sleepnever]

Look fairly nice. One thing I would overly stress, is lay off on the HDR and oversaturation. I've been to too many houses that looked amazing in the photos, only to end up at an absolute sh--thole of a house, yard, etc. That's my biggest pet peeve with Real Estate Photographers right now. I guess though, that's what gets people there. Its like McDonalds showing you that Big Mac and when you get it, it doesn't match the picture either =)

[beckstoy]

Not much to comment on- I generally like them, especially keeping in mind who these pictures are really intended for (buyers looking for a house.)

For me, the outdoor colors are too vivid and saturated. I like the indoor ones- but the exterior shots I just find a little overwhelming. Particularly the blues, but they don't feel "cool", like the white balance is off. I think there's just a lot of blue, and the overall saturation makes it feel overwhelming. I'd dial that back a bit. Otherwise, the composition looks interesting, helps to visualize the house, etc.

I agree about the blues on the exterior - they could be slightly dialed back.  However, GREAT job with angles!  Composition is nice.

[Durand_C]

Hello!

Just another person adding their $.02...

Shots

1) In this first shot the blues are to prominent and over saturated. I dont know if potential buyers will notice, but it bothers me immensely when I see the sky glow around the trees or vice versa. Compositionally, the first shot shows way too much of the driveway and tree on the left side of the frame. They really compete for my attention. If I am buying the house, I want to see the house, and not see the driveway texture. The detail in the house, and the shot though are very nice.

2) This shot is much nicer and much more inviting, but is so saturated it looks alien. The sky again almost looks like it is creeping in on the house like a blue fog. Dial it down....

3) This is a nice shot and would have been even nicer with a few modifications. I'd step back 10-15 feet so I could depict the whole pool. The horizon line is definitely tilting to the left in the frame. Easy fix. It's probably not your fault or problem, but the pool looks dirty on the bottom. If its your house, which I applaud you on if it is, clean it, if its not, you might need to clone it out.

4) I like this shot. It's inviting, looks spacious. It is overly saturated, but not nearly as much as the first 2. Nice...

5) I really like this... I'd live here, and can see myself getting a coffee in this kitchen. Dial down the saturation a bit, and its a winner!

Take care!