Best Filter Settings to Use for Real Estate Photo Edits

Want to get the most out of your time? There’s outsourcing, batch editing, artificial intelligence, and then there’s good old pre-sets. Doing a real estate photo edit of images using filters is one of the best kept secrets of most professionals. It’s quick, easy, and customizable. It saves a lot of time in terms of applying the right lighting and colors. Furthermore, it incorporates elements of high-end real estate photo editing that sometimes looking for that favorite pre-set is the end-all of your enhancement process. Of course, do not forget to perform the retouching required to make sure the photo looks complete and on a totally different level.

A real estate photo filter though should be selected carefully. You cannot simply throw in any creative-looking option that won’t make sense. For instance, the pixelated filter to give off a dystopian vibe might look good and unique, but it won’t help sell the property for what it’s worth. Your choices then of a real estate photo filter must reflect professionalism without missing the opportunity to showcase its true beauty.

What is a Filter?

Defining a filter is straightforward. Before the digital age, it meant to put a screen on top of something to get rid of the things that you don’t need and retain only the ones relevant to your intended purpose. With the task of doing a real estate photo edit, the essence remains the same. The filter is meant to put on a layer that shows the best parts while eradicating the uglier version of it. Therefore, a filter is a mask that you put on a photo with the intent to boost it aesthetically with an adjustment on color and light. These are normally pre-made to suit different situations but don’t fall into the trap of it being a one size that fits all solution.

Filters for real estate photography and editing are also two different things. When defining a filter in the former sense, it refers to the cover on the lenses to provide the effect there and then on the raw image. The latter refers or is also known as pre-sets. The term means putting something on that has been made beforehand and just literally slapping it on. Filters can come in packages in your software and can even be customized or built from scratch. Doing a real estate photo edit with filters can then be both a creative and an efficient process.

What Filters Do Real Estate Photographers Use?

Okay, so we’ve talked about being professional with your selection of a real estate photo filter. There are choices which are acceptable and alluring at the same time. While this list may talk about only a handful of real estate photo filters, it doesn’t and shouldn’t stop you from exploring others found in the digital world. You can download additional styles or even make your own which is way cooler.

1. Nature Effects

This may work well for exteriors especially when your property is located in a lush green area. Such filters allow you to intensify the natural beauty whether it is a forest or beach, providing the depth and heaviness of the vibe. Creating a real estate photo edit with this choice might be limited to the exterior but that shouldn’t be a problem because most viewers normally start off with how the property looks on the outside before venturing into the interiors.

2. Dawning Pre-sets

Dawning effects on pre-sets are useful for photos that might have been captured with poorly lit skies. This real estate photo filter allows you to easily transform the image into a bright and warm frame without having to go through adjusting each and every single parameter, not to mention attempting your hand at sky replacement.

3. HDR Application

Who knew HDR effects can be a filter? If you look deep enough into your real estate photo editing software, you may just find one that mimics HDR stacked images. This gives you great lighting, exposure, and visibility throughout every detail on your photo. With this, HDR styled images aren’t just limited to bracketed shots and contrasting lighting conditions. You can slap it on as you wish anytime.

4. Warm and Organic Pre-sets

Exercise care when using this real estate photo filter but if done right, can give off one of the best vibes. It boasts of richness and darkness at the same time, providing a cozy tone while exuding the brightness any real estate photo should. At the end of the day, by using your real estate photo editing software, you must be able to draw in a potential buyer because they feel at home with the property they are looking at.

Do Professional Photographers use Filters?

The answer is nothing but yes. Using a filter or a pre-set does not diminish credibility nor ability to create a stunning image. In fact, filters nowadays are so popular that every application you see, whether mobile or desktop-based will possess a vast number of filters that you can easily use and choose from.

However, what sets apart professionals from the amateurs in using filters is the former’s ability to retouch the photos even after the filter is applied. Real professionals know what when they execute a real estate photo edit, they don’t stop with filter application. They scrutinize the overall image for sufficiency in attractiveness. Moreover, they scan the photo for possible application of object removal tools which ultimately adds another layer of pristineness to the photo. Lastly, they ensure that even if the filter already does the job in exposure and color, professionals ensure that the look stays natural. They continue to then incorporate adjustments in shadows, balance, and saturation, giving the look and feel of the photo enough to win over the hearts of potential buyers.

Final Thoughts

As a parting thought, the way you should look at filters is a partner in efficiency and there will be choices which would work for real estate images and there would be those that won’t. As a professional, the first step you must do is to make a sound choice and from there, continue the work to level up the image to new heights. Stopping with just the filter is a wasted opportunity to allow the photo to reach its maximum potential.