A thread for real estate, architectural, and interior design photography

[TGrundvig]

Originally Posted by jerrybsmith

I am interested in finding out what custom settings people are using with Photomatix Pro to get the most natural looking interiors. I find that the default settings look too dark, contrasty and "over-cooked". What custom settings work best for you? Thanks

I messed with that program for over 2 years and I never found any way to get any type of consistency. Just when I thought I finally got it where I liked it, I would process the next AEB set and the image was not right and I had to tweak it in all kinds of areas. Then, add to that how limited PM PRO is when it comes to making adjustments to colors, etc, I just got sick of it.

I then moved to Enfuse because it gave me much more natural looking results. But, Enfuse is not good for exteriors because there is no anti-ghosting. Then, I found out about SNS-HDR Pro. The search was over! I have also tried other HDR programs, and while they could produce some good exterior images, the interiors all lacked something. Either the window data was bad, the colors were all wrong, they were too limited when it came to making edits, the list goes on and on.

You will beat your head on a wall trying to get PM PRO to give you consistent results. I would cut my loses and get SNS-HDR Pro. Heck, just try it for free and you will see what I'm talking about. It is so much better and there is a lot more editing options.

Well, that's my 2 cents.

[gnwatts]

Sounds like a good program. My problem is I threw my dell into the Roaring Fork River a few years ago, so i am on a mac now. I don't really like the idea of running windows programs on my older macbook pro. Nik hdr efex pro isn't bad, but I have a difficult time getting it to look right.

[TGrundvig]

Originally Posted by gnwatts

Sounds like a good program. My problem is I threw my dell into the Roaring Fork River a few years ago, so i am on a mac now. I don't really like the idea of running windows programs on my older macbook pro. Nik hdr efex pro isn't bad, but I have a difficult time getting it to look right.

I read recently that he was writing a Mac version of the program.

[IdiotsAbound]

Originally Posted by CiM_Photography

Rick... ouch. Those were taken by a fauxtographer? D-SLR/18-55 with pop-up flash... $10.

Looks more like a P&S was used and some were overcooked HDRs.

[TGrundvig]

Originally Posted by IdiotsAbound

Looks more like a P&S was used and some were overcooked HDRs.

Which images look like overcooked HDR?

[GadgetRick]

Originally Posted by TGrundvig

I messed with that program for over 2 years and I never found any way to get any type of consistency. Just when I thought I finally got it where I liked it, I would process the next AEB set and the image was not right and I had to tweak it in all kinds of areas. Then, add to that how limited PM PRO is when it comes to making adjustments to colors, etc, I just got sick of it.

I found the same thing--although not over 2 years.

Had been using HDR Efex Pro and really like it. However, it recently stopped working (not sure why) and I tried the, "Merge Photoshop HDR..." selection in LR. Surprisingly, that gives quite good HDR. Not perfect but good enough for a lot of jobs.

This is with PS6 though. I'm on the trial and will have to buy it once they shut down the trial.

I know you always talk about SNS-Pro. If they ever do a MacOS version, I'll be trying it.

[gnwatts]

A few shots from recent jobs:

[CiM_Photography]

Did my first house yesterday - results are below. Used SNS-HDR and I can really feel the difference between that and NIK Efex. Now, if I can only get rid of rogue color casting (the kitchen picture with the green tinge, in my Flickr set... it's the grass in the backyard causing the coloration).


281 Andover Street - 01845 - 1 by Captured in Moments, on Flickr


281 Andover Street - 01845 - 8 by Captured in Moments, on Flickr


281 Andover Street - 01845 - 3 by Captured in Moments, on Flickr


281 Andover Street - 01845 - 9 by Captured in Moments, on Flickr

[TGrundvig]

I hate when I get that green color cast from lawns and trees. I always look at the images on the camera and when I see that I will usually do one of two things:

1. I will shoot a flash frame and see if that gives me the ceiling. If it does, I will blend that image in later.

2. If the flash frame doesn't work, I will shoot an AEB set in Daylight WB. This will give me a yellow (warm) color cast, but that is much easier to correct than the green. Heck, SNS-HDR usually does a good job correctling that too, but with the wood flooring you can't do a global filter. Therefore, with this shot, I probably would have shot two AEB sets, one in Auto WB and the other in Daylight WB. Then, blend both in SNS-HDR and correct the warm color cast in the Daylight image, then open in PS and mask in the areas that need to be corrected.

One question, why were all the lights off? Usually, you want the lights on for RE photography.

[CiM_Photography]

Good advice, thanks.

I didn't know that it was standard to turn on the lights - I will do that next time. Is this just to balance the room a bit?

[Pi_314]

Just curious about How much you guys use flash in your pictures, if at all. Would you avoid flash if at all possible? Do you usually shoot more than three pics when doing HDR? Do you white balance from the get go, or adjust in post? Always lights on in the room? Are you ever concerned about incandescents verses ambient daylight?

Just thinking out loud here. I'm seeing lots of pictures with most not having much info on technique. Trade secrets? This thread has a boat load of information, although it would be incredible if every picture had some splainin to do.

Just picked up a 14mm TS-E, and photomatix, and now I'm ready to start learning from some of you pros, as I do my trial and error. Might have a few pics by tomorrow.

[GadgetRick]

Originally Posted by Pi_314

Just curious about How much you guys use flash in your pictures, if at all. Would you avoid flash if at all possible? Do you usually shoot more than three pics when doing HDR? Do you white balance from the get go, or adjust in post? Always lights on in the room? Are you ever concerned about incandescents verses ambient daylight?

Just thinking out loud here. I'm seeing lots of pictures with most not having much info on technique. Trade secrets? This thread has a boat load of information, although it would be incredible if every picture had some splainin to do.

Just picked up a 14mm TS-E, and photomatix, and now I'm ready to start learning from some of you pros, as I do my trial and error. Might have a few pics by tomorrow.

The short answer is...yes...

But seriously, there are so many ways to shoot properly and, as usual, it depends on the situation/setup as well as the actual job.

[gnwatts]

Originally Posted by Pi_314

Just curious about How much you guys use flash in your pictures, if at all. Would you avoid flash if at all possible? Do you usually shoot more than three pics when doing HDR? Do you white balance from the get go, or adjust in post? Always lights on in the room? Are you ever concerned about incandescents verses ambient daylight?

Just thinking out loud here. I'm seeing lots of pictures with most not having much info on technique. Trade secrets? This thread has a boat load of information, although it would be incredible if every picture had some splainin to do.

Just picked up a 14mm TS-E, and photomatix, and now I'm ready to start learning from some of you pros, as I do my trial and error. Might have a few pics by tomorrow.

I am in the minority here (I think), I rarely use supplemental light. I work with the agent/architect/designer to gain access at specific times to make that process work better. When I have no control over that I will occasionally use HDR (I have not figured out how to get realistic images yet, at least that I like), but mostly it is 1 shot, no layer masks etc. That technique has worked for me over the years. You have the right lens (did you mean 17mm TS-E, haven't seen a 14mm).
It (the 17mm) stays on my camera a lot. Most of the time I mess with the WB in PP. Sometimes (when I need to coordinate the colors in art work) I will use a custom WB and set it at exposure. I am alway's "concerned" about the different types of light, that's what we do! Most of the time I leave the lights on, dimmed (I use a lot of portable dimmers for table lamps, I have 5 in my bag), but it all depends on the shot. There are no hard and fast rules IMO, just make it beautiful.

[Pi_314]

Originally Posted by gnwatts

I am in the minority here (I think), I rarely use supplemental light. I work with the agent/architect/designer to gain access at specific times to make that process work better. When I have no control over that I will occasionally use HDR (I have not figured out how to get realistic images yet, at least that I like), but mostly it is 1 shot, no layer masks etc. That technique has worked for me over the years. You have the right lens (did you mean 17mm TS-E, haven't seen a 14mm).
It (the 17mm) stays on my camera a lot. Most of the time I mess with the WB in PP. Sometimes (when I need to coordinate the colors in art work) I will use a custom WB and set it at exposure. I am alway's "concerned" about the different types of light, that's what we do! Most of the time I leave the lights on, dimmed (I use a lot of portable dimmers for table lamps, I have 5 in my bag), but it all depends on the shot. There are no hard and fast rules IMO, just make it beautiful.

Thanks for the reply, and I did a typo, it's the 24mm TS-E.

[dgoakill]

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