Real Estate Photography Tips HDR with Photomatix and Lightroom

[@bethgraemephotography]

HEY LANCE!! Happy Viewshoot Client here :)

[@justglassn]

This was extremely helpful and informative. Thanks very much. I've taken your suggestions and ideas here and tweaked to my, and my client's needs. Thanks again!

[@UEPVideos]

Welcome!

[@nodadbodblog6166]

Hi Lance, I'm just getting acquainted with your channel as well your blog. So far, I'm really enjoying it. I am trying to follow along to this particular video/blog combination, but unless I am missing something it looks like your blog ends where you export out of Photomatix and just before importing back into Lightroom. So, this is where I am hung up. I am looking for the preset specifications for Photomatix Interior to import the edit photos back in to LR. Thanks for you help!

[@reneepatterson9239]

I've used the Photomatrix plug-in around 6 months now. I like how the program merges the photos. I've noticed that it takes too much time exporting, merging and importing back into my Lightroom. I am spending an extra hour (or more) merging my photos in the editing process. I do not use the cloud system for Lightroom, so I can't use their HDR merge. Any suggestions?

[@kenlor71]

Did you adjust WB individually? Why not do that in LR or ACR with the touch of just 2 buttons all at once?

[@mercigoku]

nice man!! Really nice tips!

[@tomtoka]

great video ! 1 question, do you ( just like photomatix manual) shoot i manual mode, meter shutter in dark and light spot and set the shutter manually? or shoot in aperature mode ?

[@UEPVideos]

I shoot in aperture priority and bracket 5 shots now. I do it just by guessing and what my "eye" thinks is enough dynamic range. You could use their calculator though and follow their recommendations!

[@kimtran4]

Hi Lance. I am very new to everything but trying to learn about how Photomatix works. I own Photoshop Elements 13 and Photomatix. In your video, you used Lightroom and Photomatix. Do you think Element 13 will work (the import part) with Photomatix? Also, you mentioned about your blog, but I don't see the link to your blog. I really want to know how you import the jpeg photos back into Photomatix. Thanks

[@UEPVideos]

Hi Kim, I actually have never used Elements so I'm not sure about that! I have the Photographer's subscription for PS/LR that's $10/month so I think it's worth it since I use those two applications for almost the majority of my business. www.tipsforrealestatephotography.com - you can search PhotoMatix.

[@atlswell]

Question for you- when batching your 5-7 shot brackets in photomatix...I'm having difficulty of these being merged. It tends to only want to do the 3 shot brackets...even though my increments are under 2 seconds, and I have the "even frame number" checked and the variance in bracket set between 3 - 7 shots...any thoughts?

[@UEPVideos]

Hrmmmm I generally try to stick to either all 5 or all 7 for all of my shots. This way in PhotoMatix I can say "Merge 5." And not have that variable count in there. But I usually don't have an issue with that variable count. Perhaps try adjusting the setting to max of 1s apart? I'm not really sure how else to help, sorry!

[@michellehamstra]

Hi Lance! I'm learning so much from you. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos! I was wondering why you export the images as JPEGS before importing them into Photomatix. Wouldn't it be better to export as .tiff or something more editable? I'd love to learn why. :)

[@UEPVideos]

Hi Michelle, I do JPG so the blending in PhotoMatix goes quicker. But I would recommend trying both and seeing if you see any quality difference. :)

[@upwindstudios4547]

Any thoughts on rearranging photos during the export? Because they're now in "subfolders" lightroom will not allow you to rearrange photos between the interior and exterior.

[@UEPVideos]

I always put all of my final edits into an "Edited" folder, so they are all in the same folder to then allow re-arranging.

[@Caseydid]

I know that this video was made 5 years ago but I would not deliver the photo you showed for many reasons. To name two, it's too dark and the window is blown out. You might trying some window pulls when the window might be a selling point for the house. Just a thought.

[@francescocarpagnano8505]

Really useful and interesting tutorial! I have, however, a couple of questions for you. First: I noticed that when you export the files to photomatix you use .jpeg and not .tiff. Aren't you loosing a lot of detail doing that even if the quality is set to 100? Is there a reason to use jpeg and not tiff besides the obvious increase of pc speed working with ligher files? Second: I noticed that you didn't check the "remove noise" option in photomatix before processing the files. I always do and the photos come out quite noisy anyway. And yes, I shoot at 100 iso with a Canon 6d wich has very low noise. How do you avoid noise? Could be that I have this noise issue because most of the times I only do 3 bracketed shots instead of 7 like you do? Thank you for the help, have a nice day ;-)

[@UEPVideos]

I use JPG just for speed/smaller hard drive foot print. But definitely try both to see which works best for you quality wise. I do use the remove noise option now. But yes it could be that more brackets equals less noise as it's a lower range spread across multiple images?

[@davidmorefield2]

Thank you for your tips!

[@JDG.RealEstate]

Will Photomatix give you better results than Light Room's HDR merging option?

[@UEPVideos]

I'm not too familiar with LR's built-in HDR merge unfortunately. I do know that I really like the batch capabilities of PhotoMatix.

[@MaryKayUlsamer]

Thank you, good explanation. I'll stick with the Flash Ambient method.

[@Bigshotfancypants]

Nice video. Why export to jpeg and not use the Photomatix Lightroom plugin?

[@michellehamstra]

i have the same question!

[@UEPVideos]

Just speed/space. But I would recommend trying both to see if you see any quality difference so you can choose the route that's most comfortable to you!

[@chinhvannguyen1685]

tks

[@holtwebb]

From what I understand, Enfuse can take advantage of Lightroom's Stacking feature and Photomatix cannot. To me, that is the biggest timesaver I've ever seen in this field. I shoot architecture and real estate and have tried almost everything. For Architecture, I pull out every stop... from strobes to Lightroom plugins to manual blending in Photoshop, I use them all. But for real estate, because the agents aren't wiling to pay for the time, I use Enfuse... solely because it can read Lightroom's Stacks. I like Photomatix, but I find it a bit cumbersome for batching. (Now, if HDRSoft could take the Merge to 32-bit Lightroom Plugin and make it work with Stacks, we'd be Golden!)

[@Apimagery]

Holt Webb Yes, geez, I wish Photomatix would take advantage of stacks!

[@UEPVideos]

Agreed! I used Enfuse a lot when I first started and loved the stacking feature.

[@flmediasolutions]

Where can I read your blog?

[@flmediasolutions]

Eric Schafer Found it.

[@WesMann]

The window areas are still too bright... the only way I've found to correct this is manually darkening that area in photoshop.

[@UEPVideos]

Totally agree - I was never able to get dark windows using HDR. I have since started blending with flash in PhotoShop manually to get window views.

[@TheDJCrazz]

Why do you export to jpg and not tiff?

[@balls1299]

TheDJCrazz my question exactly..... Why would you give up the functionality that a tifft file offers?

[@TheDJCrazz]

+Rick Albert I actually recently did a comparison exporting to tiff then HDR in Photomatix and exporting to jpg and the HDR and there was virtually no difference. Except decrease in file size of course ;)

[@UEPVideos]

Ding ding ding! But I always encourage everyone to try it yourself to see if it fits the bill for YOU. I may not see a difference but you may, so do what's best for you for your own quality! I do JPG though for smaller sizes/quicker processing. :)

[@PetePhotographer]

I noted some key points you made The photomatix results are too dark and ( the image) doesn't look too good. This is so far from the truth. Photomatix is only meant to enhance your shots and it is brilliant I use exposure fusion every single day. It is the only way to shoot properties and the results are amazing. 95%colour accurate and minimal retouch in photoshop and a bright and happy result per image it can be as little as 30 seconds to do some sharpening and parallels. Cut out lightroom and get back to basics.

[@UEPVideos]

Not sure what exposure fusion is - perhaps you mean Enfuse? But thanks for your input, I know running through software isn't going to be perfect unfortunately!

[@willd.8040]

A lot of people nowadays (like me) won't subscribe to a KZbin channel if the person doesn't respond to his viewer's questions. You should try to answer a question at least once in a while.

[@UEPVideos]

Sorry, I would love subscribers! However KZbin isn't a business for me, it's simply a way for me to share knowledge and give folks a head start - something I didn't have when I first started my real estate photography business. Unfortunately my time is spent in other aspects of my business and I don't get here as often as I would like to provide even more free help, in the form of answers to Qs. My wish is you got at least one nugget of info out of this or any of my other videos - if so I consider that a success!

[@gregkrazanski]

wow i have no patience for people like Will, what a gracious response you gave him hahaha.

[@Orholam5]

also you can't expect people to reply to comments made on videos from 3 years ago

[@ChrisFarr1]

What's your preference, Photomatix or Enfuse?

[@UEPVideos]

Chris Farr Tough question! Right now I like Enfuse for exteriors, Photomatix for interiors. But with my current settings, I get extremely dark locations where shadows are. The highlights are handled better, but it seems the shadow areas get overly contrasty, and it artifacts and looks pretty bad in a lot of instances. Will "normal" people see it, who are hunting for homes based off the pics? Doubtful. But it definitely is a little annoying! I also have to tell myself I'm relying on software to complete a pretty difficult task, so I have to cut it some slack. If I was truly worried about optimal quality I would be using strobes. ;) I'll keep working at it though and seeing if I can find a middle ground. I think Photomatix has the most potential because of the flexibility with the settings, unlike Enfuse.

[@Apimagery]

UEPVideos I found that prior to exporting for processing, go ahead and bring down the highlights a tad and bring up the shadows about 30-50 and that will give the processed image more shadow room to work with. Also, do you have a spot on your blog for your exterior settings?

[@edmontonrealestatelistings1936]

Thank you for the tutorial. Trying to get my BIG sur to work . I was using ENFUSE before, but now am loving the PHOTOMATRIX< because it brings out the windows better. I used basic "interior" setting. I you guys have a better setting, let me know. Its natural so far!!

[@guitarplayer5932]

why is it every tutorial video is the same, 2 minute intro with crappy music, then some babble about nothing for another 2 minutes then finally getting into the subject matter

[@UEPVideos]

Just skip ahead! haha Sorry you didn't like the crappy music! :(

[@criticaltinker]

i'm sorry but those are horrible result.

[@anthonyhitchings1051]

IMO not helpful

[@hdrkid]

Hey, using HDR in real estate photos is so obvious, like Michael Jackson becoming a Catholic Priest.