Is a Single RAW Photo Good Enough for Interior Real Estate Photography?

[@dougcooper4917]

Excellent comparison Mike. I really enjoy your real estate photography training videos.

[@holderproduction6968]

You are so talented man!! Honestly I wasn’t feeling RE photography for a bit but now I’m definitely coming back!! Thanks.

[@Slipsch]

I wish camera companies give us the option to do HDR raw, meaning that in the camera, they combine 3-5 raw images and only give us 1 image in the memory card but with all the information and details.

[@michaeldutsonlandscapephot2184]

Hi Mike, a great test of the two methods, and very well explained too. I do a lot of landscapes too, and some Astro and I find Topaz DeNoise an incredible tool for rescuing noisy images. It's a great one to have in the armoury and is way better than the offerings in both LR and PS. Another great vid.. well done, and I'll look forward to the next one.

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

Thanks! I’ll check that out

[@AliShariaty]

A single raw may save you time during the shooting but you’re spending the same time creating brackets out of that in the post. I personally take 5 raw brackets to be on the safe side.

[@michaeldutsonlandscapephot2184]

You have said exactly what I was going to 👍 If anything, I suspect there would be more time spent editing than there would be just rattling off a 5 bracket set on site. A good test though, and interesting to see the end result.

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

Yeah, I totally agree with you!

[@stevengrundleger2251]

I tested 5 vs 7 brackets at +/- 2 EVs each and I actually found the 7 to offer a plus over the 5. I expose the 0 anywhere from +2/3 to 2 stops over, relying upon the histogram to the right. If I expose to 0 relying upon the camera then I end up with too many underexposed (and useless images). Using a 5D MIV. The 7 brackets are very fast. I use LR auto stacking and then let the batch HDR run. All very fast and hands off. A downside seems to be with warm lighting, some wall or ceiling blooms. If I want to lift the quality, I would bring speedlites and shoot Flambient. This of course is more time onsite and more processing time. Not for low end homes.

[@chuck9490]

Thanks for this comparison and showing your technique. How much time do you spend (on average) editing each picture you take?

[@fpdima]

I've been using the internal HDR function of my Nikon D7200 and then tweaking the photos in Aurora HDR software and I've had some really nice consistent results. The output from the camera is a single image (JPEG not RAW) that is pretty balanced and then I slightly color correct in Aurora HDR. It's the fastest system I found that yields really nice results in a very short period of time - perfect for smaller lower paying jobs.

[@mahfeww]

Dang that is so much work. I thought flambient was a lot of work.

[@VTPyzon]

Interesting experiment. I thought there was minimal functional difference between the two (remember that 90% of the time, these photos will be viewed on a cell phone). Yes, a single RAW has more noise b/c you're pushing the shadows. I wonder what the result would have been if you had started with a RAW photo that was slightly over-exposed, so you're not pushing the shadows so much? (I'm guessing the window is more of a problem and the noise issue is less of a problem).

[@michaelasouthall2876]

This. As a photographer you have full control in manual and shooting raw. You can use to your advantage brushes to fix images too.. like I feel like I would much rather not up my shutter count by bracketing either. If you have a good camera that does well in low light situations too, would make a huge difference. I can’t imagine trying to bracket everything.

[@jasonm2147]

Hi, I have learned much knowledge about photography. I am sincerely thankful for your all videos. I am just wondering how you decrease the size of the image? There is a limit to upload pictures. All pictures shouldn't go over 20MB. It is easy when I take 20pictures. but when I take 40 pictures as realtor requests, it is kind of hard to do it. so I want to know if you have a tip for this. Thanks again.

[@tylerbecks]

Do you do most of your own editing? Or do you use a company to outsource your editing? I'm trying to decide which will be most time, quality, and cost effective. Great content, btw!

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

I have to outsource some of my editing otherwise I cannot deliver on time. I did all my editing until it became unmanageable and I had no choice any longer.

[@JohnDoe-vids2023]

@@InsideRealEstatePhotography which company would you recommend for editing?

[@scottbailey2610]

When it comes down to it there is no substitution for putting together a quality image. Whether you bracket or flambient one raw image will never compare until cameras can shot without noise. This is also a factor for the debate of raw vs jpg. The benefits of shooting raw doesn’t outweigh the space savings of shooting jpg.

[@FranHoganPanama]

Thank you for this comparison. After editing an image in PS and saving it back to LR as a tiff (or a jpg), have you used the LR option ''convert to .dng'' under the Library tab? What is your opinion of that conversion/option?

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

I’ve honestly never used that function so can’t really comment on it.

[@tomlord3271]

Which method provided the faster overall work flow though? Was the single RAW more time editing or did you actually save time shooting this way?

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

If you edited the way I did then the editing time would be about the same but the shoooting time would be quicker.

[@misterjase]

Awesome vid as usual ! To the trained eye the single raw image might be fine enough for a listing..I mean how many people zoom in to catch that noise when flipping through photos of a home they'd like to buy.

[@seattlerealestatemedia]

You should do the same video HDR + Flash vs Single Frame + Flash I wonder if that flash frame would alleviate the noise problem.

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

I have done a video on HDR plus flash frame and single frame with a flash frame actually. Single frame plus a flash frame is essentially just the flambient technique though.

[@SuperDamny]

I really think you should sacrifice some highlights (windows) and get a clean derailed picture of the interior. Let your windows be overexposed (corrected in post), no big deal if it's washed out in the final photo, it's real estate bokeh, if you will. 😁 Easy shooting, easy editing, might work for those clients who can't afford an expensive extensive photo shoots.

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

Valid points! It all comes down to preference really

[@randompsualumni]

Wow Love this!

[@muchomacho9961]

Is there an app that takes the multiple exposures (brackets) in one shot?

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

No app, the capability is built in to the camera.

[@muchomacho9961]

@@InsideRealEstatePhotography I have the 13 pro max, how do that? My goal is to make the view out the window look like living room. I can do that with just the phone and Lightroom?

[@behramcooper3691]

HDR is HDR and a RAW image simply cannot substitute for that. I have noticed that no paid software can get rid of the noise in a Canon CR2 RAW file. Only the dedicated Canon software can do it. So, I would definitely go for the bracketed HDR

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

Agreed

[@1421hp]

Can you, please, try a single raw exposure but filling the shadows with flash to avoid the "noise"...

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

I would just use the flambient technique then in that scenario and shoot a flash frame and an ambient frame and blend. One single shot using a flash will be lacking that ambient light mixed in and won’t look too goo.

[@1421hp]

@@InsideRealEstatePhotography Thanks for your quick answer.

[@karunnaidu5060]

Great tips 👍thank you.

[@AnnJones-o6u]

were the bracketed photos shot in raw or jpeg?

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

Raw

[@hum2020]

Very close you are good with software.

[@charlesludwig9173]

Absolutely

[@Justin_Allen]

I wonder if using an A7sIII with its low light capability would pull raw data better.

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

This was shot with an a7siii!

[@Justin_Allen]

@@InsideRealEstatePhotography lol Sorry about that. On that issue however do you find the A7sIII to be enough for real estate pictures? I have been asked to do them for a realtor and I keep thinking I need to pick up something bigger than the a7sIII.

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

@@Justin_Allen absolutely, it’s never been a problem for me. I used to shoot with the a7sii as well for a couple years.

[@Justin_Allen]

@@InsideRealEstatePhotography Thanks. And thanks for the videos, I use them all the time learning how to shoot real estate photography.

[@fbonneau03]

Hello, How you do it! if real estate company pay you $165,00 for 25 photos.How to live if i use your process all these 25 photos

[@edlondon3717]

You are pixel peeping, a raw on a good camera will suffice in my opinion...a big time saver

[@michaelasouthall2876]

This!!!!! Totally agree!

[@triplewinlin5576]

The HDR is obviously superior. Also, by having to create fake bracketed images, you didn't save any time after all.

[@InsideRealEstatePhotography]

Yeah not so much in the editing but It would save time shooting if you were only shooting one frame.