Architectural shoot - $2 million home - critiques please!

I just finished processing one of my shots from earlier today... I was doing some architectural shots of a very expensive home.

Comments desperately desired.... assuming this was for a client, would you turn this in? Anything to improve?

Thanks!

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no doesn't work for me it's too flat no sparkle whatsoever, which is something expected in HDR. I think you would have gotten a bigger dynamic range shooting this at sundown, more ambient light but still with the house lights on. I haven't done any HDR but my understanding is to shoot 1-1 & 1/2 stops apart.

and I agree with bikerider...image is flat...

Avi

Hmmm.... back to the drawing board. Thanks for the input guys.

Point of info, it wasn't really designed to be an HDR and I'm certainly trying to avoid a real HDR-like output. I just didn't have the patience to stack 2 images and then mask out the every single window or highlight, so I took the lazy-man's HDR route and then toned it down at the end.

Does that change any opinions?

How about if edited this way? Would the effect be too strong?

EDIT: Also, I think the image is very slightly tilted anticlockwise - even though the garages/doors on the left are vertically aligned, the center and the right side of the house don't seem to be as straight. But that's nothing major, of course.

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good job C2S...

This really looks nice now...

That is pretty good... mind sharing your tweaks?

I did a few little things...
- Stretched the levels for maximum range (highlight end)
- Applied unsharp mask for contrast: low percentage, high range, zero threshold (this didn't affect the small details)
- Increased color saturation globally, after which I increased the saturation of greens as well
- Duplicated and blurred the image, then layered this with Overlay-mode, and fine-tuned its opacity

I'm not sure if there was something else as well, but you can try those at least.

I think one could distort the image to correct the verticals.
The shots a bit tight.
If you get another crack at this, light up the attic.

Looks better after the edit.

I would back up some and also try to frame out the tree. I think the focal point should be the front entryway. Maybe shoot from the other side of the yard to make the entry more prominant.

Turn the front porch lights on. Turn the garage light on. Turn the attic light on if there is one. If not then run up there and shoot your light through the window.

Try to hit the house evenly with your strobe to avoid the dark parts. The whole right side is "unpainted".

Play with the white balance on the natural light. The blue is fine but it doesnt look right with the other lights.

When you are painting the area with your strobe, shoot up at the plants from behind or on each side. Then shoot up from the ground all along the base of the house. Then what has worked for me in the past is to really light up underneath the entry roof. Even if there is not a light there. shoot your light up in there and feature it. Try to imagine what a light placed in there would light up and work from that.

I think what didn't work for you was that you featured the surfaces and not the edges. Sounds wierd but if you light up the lines the rest will come together. Hope this helps.

I just want to know how you got so close to my house

If you were doing this with permission it is a must you get the blinds open. You need some of the detail in the windows to show up.

I also agree shooting a bit earlier would have helped.