The real estate photography industry is fast-paced and continuously evolving to fit the needs of both agents and buyers. There are many techniques born out of changing market preferences and standards. In recent years, social-media-inspired aesthetics inspired trends that led photo editing companies to offer services like virtual twilight.

While there have been no formal studies or statistics on the psychological effects of dusk editing in real estate photography settings, sunrise and sunsets have undeniable appeal aspects.

Why did twilight photo editing become a trend, and what fascinating facts should you know about it?

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Twilight Photo Editing

Most expert photographers would tell you that lighting plays a massive part in the overall appeal. While real estate photography is different from live model shoots, it still follows the same lighting and color aesthetic principles. Instagram influencers rave about the importance of the golden hour, which is around an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset.

This hour also gives free ambiance lighting for your listing when you’re doing outdoor photographs. There are many ways to attain this effect. To find out more, check out this Twilight photo blog post by Phixer.

Fascinating Real Estate Twilight Photo Editing Facts

1. Special service offered by professionals

Most photography professionals know about the golden hour, but it’s challenging to capture all shots within a limited timeframe. The demand for these unique golden hour lighting conditions inspired day to dusk photo editing from premier real estate photography editing companies.

It may be shocking to know that there is such as thing as a virtual twilight or digital twilight effect.

2. Twilight drives up curb appeal

People often look for properties in the hopes of permanence, so they want a sneak preview of what they look like in different lighting conditions. Twilight shots could also showcase accessories and fixtures that look better in darker states.

Shots from different times will help buyers decide if they like how the property feels in the daytime or even in the dark.

3. Twilight improves your listing’s the luxurious vibe

Buyers often choose properties with excellent value for money, especially those with foreseen long-term rates. However, they may not be ready to spend too much money. Luxury does not usually come with a particular price point but with an emotional aspect.

You might need a day to dusk photo editing service to improve the overall effect. Clients will be more likely to purchase a house or land if they can have luxurious days with the property’s views.

4. The actual act of taking photos during twilight is challenging

The golden hour lasts for at most 60 minutes, and there may be issues during that time. Aside from the actual technical problems, the tricky lighting may require additional reflectors or lighting equipment. Even the most competent photographers may have difficulties in creating the desired output.

Most photographers shoot the property during different times to attain the perfect twilight effect by combining them in post-production.

5. You don’t have to be a twilight photo editing expert

You may want a twilight photo, but you already conducted your photography sessions. Fortunately, experts like Phixer can offer Twilight editing to enhance your current photosets. You don’t have to learn about the complicated processes because they can do it for you and perform the necessary changes.

Final Thoughts

Real estate photo editing companies have improved their offers to include advanced techniques like virtual twilight and home staging. Check out twilight editing if you’re looking for ways to enhance your property appeal in a listing thumbnail or improve your aesthetic pull for a marketing campaign.

There are many ways to showcase photos and images for ecommerce. Digital platforms and listings have raised the bar in photography standards, especially for real estate. Due to the rising demand for properties in the digital market, real estate photography has become an art form on its own. Outdoor and indoor photography sessions have evolved from the simple point and post.

Nevertheless, you can’t prepare for everything on the day of your shoot. There are instances when you’d need unwanted objects removal services, especially when it’s a thing or two disrupting an otherwise perfect picture.

Why You Should Remove Unwanted Items in Real Estate Photos

Forbes recommends staging your listing to increase likeability and sales potential. If you’re selling multiple apartments or studios, you can conduct virtual staging to repurpose the spaces creatively. Virtual staging is also suitable for marketing properties with bare living areas.

However, staging may not be appropriate for one-time transactions, especially when you only need to remove a couple of minor things in the foreground and background. There are instances wherein some of the elements can be easily replaced with a cloning tool or retouch.

Here are some of the confirmed cases when you need to declutter your real estate photos:

1. Furniture and objects not part of the sale

There are times that you need to take photos before you moved some of the items out. If the room is not empty by the time you’re shooting photographs, real estate item removal could help clear some of the space, especially when you need to remove critical design pieces. Unlike home staging, wherein you only want to retain the actual area or walls.

Here are some of the objects that you might need to remove:

• Photo frames
• Mismatched tables or chairs
• Wall stains you’re planning to repaint before selling
• Dishes or utensils

For example, this photo only needed a few items removed since the homeowner wanted to sell the furnished property.

2. Uncontrollable natural outdoor details

The animals, weather, and all other natural elements cooperate to give you that picture-perfect moment in an ideal world. However, things don’t always happen according to plan, and a stray animal or plant may disrupt the process. You can reshoot, but when you’re short on time and resources, the only option is to take care of the clutter in post-production.

Here are some of the natural elements you may need to declutter:

• Leaves from the lawn
• Animals
• Stray clouds
• Trash bins
• Power Lines

For this example, the photographer didn’t notice the obstruction until post-production. You can see the before and after photos below.

3. Glaring signages or window/mirror reflections

Real estate listings are competitive, so it’s essential to have great photos go with your descriptions. Marketing is a significant factor regarding what makes a property sell online. But actual signages or signs may look glaring on the images, or sometimes the big red letters distract the viewer from the overall appeal of the property.

You may want to perform unwanted objects removal on the following items:

• Reflections or bright light from the windows
• Address or mailbox
• “For sale” signage
• Uneven surfaces

For this example, the real estate photographer wanted to remove the address and signage to keep the photo clean. Check out the before and after photos below.

Final Thoughts

Real estate item removal may be the next best thing to virtual staging, allowing buyers to imagine the different possibilities in your property. You should eliminate distracting elements so that the potential customer can focus on the appeal of your listing. Sometimes, a simple digital decluttering service can go a long way.

The competitive real estate industry heavily-rely on visuals to sell houses and properties. Most customers prefer well-composed photographs that they can imagine living in. Beautiful real estate photos don’t happen by accident— a team of experts, including photographers and photo editors, conceptualized and worked in post-production to enhance those images.

If your company already has an in-house photographer, it’s better to collaborate with an editing company or a freelance editor. Most photo editors have niche specializations such as real estate photo editing, primarily dedicated to property listings or promotional purposes.

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TL;DR: Here are some tips for effectively cooperating with a photo editing specialist:

Collaboration Tips in Real Estate Photo Editing

1. Contact a reliable company or freelancer

First of all, make sure that you are contacting a reliable photo editing expert. You might need a whole team or just one person depending on the amount of work necessary within a specific period. Your requirements and budget will ultimately decide what kind of help you should get.

Here are some of the ways you can check the editor’s competence:

• Look for certificates or experience as property photo editors.
• Verify the track record of satisfied clients.
• Assess their editing portfolio styles to see if they match with what you’re looking for.
• Check the conversion or results of their real estate property images.
• Consider the work ethic.

There are pros and cons to hiring a company as opposed to hiring a freelancer. If you want something more advanced, you can check alternative options such as virtual home staging solutions.

2. Communicate your standards and roles clearly

Varying expectations are some of the problems you encounter when dealing with real estate photo editor companies or freelancers. There may be standards or principles that you expect your employees or contractors to adhere to, and the best way to avoid conflict is to address these beforehand.

Here are some tips on what you should do at the start of a project:

• Set goals and deadlines for each deliverable.
• Ensure that everyone understands their part in the process.
• Visualize the entire workflow so that members know whom they are working with and whom to ask for questions or more information
• Illustrate a project timeline to check for possible bottlenecks or inefficient processes.

Successful collaboration depends entirely on your ability to interact and set working expectations from every group member. Photographers, editors, managers, and other relevant members should understand their roles well before starting.

3. Segregate communication channels

Group members need to be able to communicate with each other effectively. Photographers and editors should develop a collaborative atmosphere so that real estate photography projects can succeed. Everyone should be comfortable enough to voice out their professional opinions.

Here are some tips for moderating project communications between real estate photographers and editors:

• Create separate communication channels to broadcast specific concerns such as updates, discussions, personal opinions, project bottlenecks, resources, and other relevant divisions.
• Keep the respective channels focused on their dedicated topic/s.
• Encourage proper communication from all parties, and not just one-way announcements.
• Resolve conflicts as soon as they arise.

Channels with chatbots or helpers can improve communication efficiency and time management, so make sure you check out what options are available for you.

4. Ask for feedback from other people

Art forms are often subjective. What looks good to one person may not necessarily comply with current industry standards. There is no single right way to accomplish real estate photo editing, so it’s essential to show your output to many different and relevant people.

However, you should limit your audience to those interested in purchasing your real estate properties. Here are some examples of people you should ask for feedback:

• Property buyers or previous customers.
• Renters or tenants.
• Company decision-makers.
• Potential partners.

Open your real estate images to constructive criticisms so that you can establish beneficial short-term and long-term changes. It would help if you could face differences in opinion, especially as buyer preferences evolve.

5. Use home staging technologies

The good thing about doing business in the 21st century is the presence of accessible, innovative, and ever-changing technology. Some processes within the project workflow may take more time than necessary, so it’s crucial to automate your processes.

For example, you are selling more than one house with similar dimensions and interior designs. You can have your monotonous and similar photos edited with virtual home staging technologies to create variations without spending more money on traditional home staging.

Here are some of the things you can improve with virtual staging technology:

• Remove unappealing elements or characteristics.
• Add unique touches.
• Improve current layout, and show alternate designs.
• Show clear perspective and dimensions.

If several homes in a particular area have been in the market for a while, traditional lighting and texture edits may not be sufficient. You might need to reimagine the photos with the help of virtual staging software and products.

Ideal Real Estate Photo Editor Characteristics

Aside from the obvious technical requirements, the project would flow better if you worked with an editor with an inherent passion for home photography editing, teamwork, and task accountability attributes. An editor should also have a keen eye for details and practical team communication skills.

Check out other in-demand property photo editor characteristics.

If you want to deal with a system instead of a person, the ease of access and ability to accomplish client and company demands would be your top considerations. You can opt for virtual home staging and other digital imaging or enhancement programs if you don’t want to go through all the trouble of hiring and training an editor.

Conclusion

Real estate is still competitive in 2021, and visuals will make a considerable difference in how well your properties sell. If you feel like your outdoor and indoor property shots are underwhelming due to lighting or the weather, you should contact a professional real estate photo editor to retouch or add flair to your images. A reliable, professional virtual staging could also help ease your editing processes.