Exposure blending help for property/architectural photography

[Adg]

Hi All

Just looking to get an idea of how everyone who uses this method of editing goes about it on photoshop.
I know the concept of bracketing exposures and using them for highlights/shadows/details etc its the finding an efficient way to blend them together that i occasionally struggle with. Watching tutorials does confuse the matter as everyone has quite different methods and various plug-ins etc and some tutorials do seem convoluted. I often have to turn around images back to clients quite quickly so admittedly i dont have the luxury of perfecting every single image.

I photograph property so i will use flash and the best method i have found so far is the ‘flambient method’ of combing flash and ambient light on images through layer masks on photoshop. I have tried HDR but find it doesnt give the level of control im after and does tend to leave smudgy looking shadows- however it is definitely the quickest ive tried so far.

I find so far using luminosity and darken masks the best method out of what I’ve encountered but am curious as to what others tend to do or if anyone doesnt even bother with this and sticks to global edits of one exposure.
Ive also seen some (mainly architectural) photos consisting of 5-7 exposures using just natural light but was also interesting in what methods they employ as most techniques ive seen have involved double masking which looks very complicated.

Much appreciated!

 

[LongLensPhotography]

if anyone doesnt even bother with this and sticks to global edits of one exposure.

I appreciate your client may not care about quality at all but frankly have no respect at all to anyone selling such services
I had picked up a few clients fed up with such work.

I often have to turn around images back to clients quite quickly so admittedly i dont have the luxury of perfecting every single image.

You need to discuss with clients if they prefer quality or speed. One or the other not both. They need to clearly realise that. If it means delaying other work where acceptable raise the fee accordingly. You don't get pheasant roast at McDonald's and there is a reason why

Watching tutorials does confuse the matter as everyone has quite different methods

Yes, you will have to find your own way that works. Every angle and property can be quite different and may need or require quite different treatment. It also depends on budget if they are content with decently exposed and lit basics or they want far more elaborate lighting setups.

 

[ecoleman]

Funny that you use the term "flambient"

Have you watched any of Nathan Cool videos. He uses the "flambient" method and has a number of videos on his post processing.
I'm not a property photographer but I've tried his methods on my own home and it's pretty simple and I'm sure once you get the hang of it, quick.

https://www.youtube.com/@NathanCoolPhoto

 

[Adg]

I appreciate your client may not care about quality at all but frankly have no respect at all to anyone selling such services
I had picked up a few clients fed up with such work.

You need to discuss with clients if they prefer quality or speed. One or the other not both. They need to clearly realise that. If it means delaying other work where acceptable raise the fee accordingly. You don't get pheasant roast at McDonald's and there is a reason why

Yes, you will have to find your own way that works. Every angle and property can be quite different and may need or require quite different treatment. It also depends on budget if they are content with decently exposed and lit basics or they want far more elaborate lighting setups.

I do see exactly where you are coming from. Unfortunately in my position I am in no position to dictate timescales. We quote a 48hr turnaround as we are an in house agency for a large estate agency and this is something that is explained to vendors when they decide to use their services. As most of the houses are not classed as high end multi million £ homes they see this as justified (More upper mid market). Personally I would allow a longer turnaround if it was my decision in order to offer better results - which is why I would like to investigate techniques to offer more polished images. I currently use a single strobe flash setup so I want to make the most of that.

Funny that you use the term "flambient"

Have you watched any of Nathan Cool videos. He uses the "flambient" method and has a number of videos on his post processing.
I'm not a property photographer but I've tried his methods on my own home and it's pretty simple and I'm sure once you get the hang of it, quick.

https://www.youtube.com/@NathanCoolPhoto

I have indeed, as well as another Youtuber Spencer Davis. I find his easier and better paced in the information he gives but both explain the same methods. Ive used this method for the last week or so and it has given some good results! And is fairly straightforward. I tend to reserve it for houses with large windows and tricky lighting at the moment as it does add extra editing time however I think I am gradually getting the hang of the editing side of things. Ive always thought bracketing is important anyway however I think flambient is a straightforward means of getting natural looking results. I will look into Blend If and Apply image methods on photoshop but these appear more intricate.

 

[swanseamale47]

I had to look up flambiant. That said thats more or less the way I did it some years back, it's fairly easy if your good with layers and blend modes, you could action it if time is an issue.
Personally I hated doing stuff for estate agents, the houses were always a shambles and it took way longer tidying the place than shooting it.

 

[Adg]

Using the exposure blending so far seems to be getting some really good results. Especially on property on sunny days. Im fortune enough to visit houses with good views outside eg. Rivers, lakes. They do appear to seem more professional and polished looking and would certainly recommend ambient/flash blending . Ill try and post some examples soon. The one area i do seem to struggle still though is colour casts so ill investigate some methods to reduce orange casts from halogen bulbs.

 

[Dave Canon]

It is very straight forward. Just take multiple exposures usually 3 at 2 stops apart for Raw files. Then select the Raw Images and right click. Choose Photo Merge> HDR and a 32 bit HDR file is created. This can then be edited using the normal editing tools on LR but the range of each control is extended. So exposure had 10 stops adjustment rather than just 5. You can produce a normal image using this method that does not have the exaggerated mid tones and altered colours associated with most HDR software. This facility is also available in PS Camera Raw. This method is fairly quick and easy and, I believe, produces the best results. I would assume that, if you are a professional photographer, you would have the current version of LR/PS. However, I think that this was originally introduced in LR v4.2.

Dave

 

[LongLensPhotography]

The one area i do seem to struggle still though is colour casts so ill investigate some methods to reduce orange casts from halogen bulbs.

Seriously switch all that trash off. Or kill it with your own daylight balanced studio lights.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Just take multiple exposures usually 3 at 2 stops apart for Raw files.

good luck with that. You are likely to need 4-6 frames for anything with window in it. With stupid cameras featuring film era bracketing features you may as well set it to 5 and forget.

Choose Photo Merge> HDR and a 32 bit HDR file is created.

only because it is quick and convenient, but it fails to compensate for any movement of trees or anything else outside, and there is lens flare and all other issues. It saves time with blending but mostly does not replace it. these HDR files need very serious pushing with multiple heavy local adjustments to resemble anything reasonable.

 

[Dave Canon]

good luck with that. You are likely to need 4-6 frames for anything with window in it. With stupid cameras featuring film era bracketing features you may as well set it to 5 and forget.

only because it is quick and convenient, but it fails to compensate for any movement of trees or anything else outside, and there is lens flare and all other issues. It saves time with blending but mostly does not replace it. these HDR files need very serious pushing with multiple heavy local adjustments to resemble anything reasonable.

I use 5 or 7 if needed but suggested 3 as it covers most situations. I am quite capable of measuring the DR of the scene and know the range of my camera. I do not use it just because it is quick and convenient as I have tried many HDR software packages and most give distorted colours. LR and ACR does have a De-ghosting which is as effective as any other HDR software, I accept moving trees on the other side of a window would be more of a challenge (never been a problem for me) but I thought that we were suggesting methods that produced good results in most cases as opposed to just a few quick JPEG single exposure snaps to save time and ignore quality. What is causing your lens flare?

Dave

 

[LongLensPhotography]

I am quite capable of measuring the DR of the scene and know the range of my camera

You are usually surprised by some nasty highlight or partially blown colour once you load them on a pc. It is better to have it than not. Magic lantern takes care of that for me

I do not use it just because it is quick and convenient as I have tried many HDR software packages and most give distorted colours. LR and ACR does have a De-ghosting which is as effective as any other HDR software,

Lr is acceptable, and all others including Photoshop are not even that.... Just nasty. De ghosting is a total waste of time and only degrades iq very severely. I would never use it. Ever. You just go back to relevant exposure and blend it back in, possibly with some denoise ai to clean it up first. +4ev will never look good direct from lr. Other software are as bad or worse for deghosting

What is causing your lens flare?

Windows particularly against dark objects. It's the worst design flaw canon 16-35 f4 has.

 

[sk66]

I like luminosity masks, but I use a simple "apply image" function (keyboard shortcut) to create a highlights or shadows mask (in PS)... if I need I can edit that mask directly to refine it quite easily (brightness/contrast, curves, levels). And then throw that layer into a group with a mask if I want to do more coarse masking w/o messing up the underlying luminance mask.

 

[Brazo]

The high end estate agents often have these ghastly and I mean god awful HDR photos that just look so fake.

When I shoot interior’s I expose for the external light (window) and then use off camera flash guns (several) to light the room in one exposure.

 

[Adg]

I like luminosity masks, but I use a simple "apply image" function (keyboard shortcut) to create a highlights or shadows mask (in PS)... if I need I can edit that mask directly to refine it quite easily (brightness/contrast, curves, levels). And then throw that layer into a group with a mask if I want to do more coarse masking w/o messing up the underlying luminance mask.

This is the next technique that i will be looking into. I know landscape photographers like this method but it would be handy in cases where im pushed for time working with multiple exposures (im assuming this is done with one exposure?)

The high end estate agents often have these ghastly and I mean god awful HDR photos that just look so fake.

When I shoot interior’s I expose for the external light (window) and then use off camera flash guns (several) to light the room in one exposure.

Yes they do! Im in the process of looking at property listings for my own sake and not for work and im shocked at how bad the quality is on some! I dont claim to be the best property photographer but it does make me realise how much effort i put into my photos compared to some! And high end estate agents are certainly among the offenders.

 

[sk66]

This is the next technique that i will be looking into. I know landscape photographers like this method but it would be handy in cases where im pushed for time working with multiple exposures (im assuming this is done with one exposure?)

It can be done with one image... especially if you have a (nearly) ISO invariant camera and have exposed for the highlights.
With an ISO invariant camera there is no benefit to taking multiple exposures at multiple ISO's, you just need the one exposure that retains the (required) highlights using the lowest ISO possible.
The you can use things like multiple curves adjustments with luminosity masks to adjust the exposure of different regions separately.
I made a video on how I do luminosity masking... it's a bit different than most.

View: https://youtu.be/R6QSQfDU4ik