OK...I've seen it all. HDR realstate.

[venchka]

Last night, or maybe night before last, E News ran a story about some celeb's mega bucks house for sale. They ran several over the top Photomatix/Photochopped images just like the ones linked to above. Cliche dujour.

[Saltwater Servitude]

I've worked both sides of this fence, as the photographer and as the Realtor. What the agent/broker wants for their business cards/MLS is cyclic to an extent.

When I first got into it, everyone and their dog's uncle had their business cards/advert photos of them on the phone. Really? Too busy to put the phone down to take a picture? I thought it was heinous then and had my own shots done in a more traditional fashion.

I took a required renewal course for my license at San Antonio BOR. Kinda figured out where the trend might be starting for some of that. Instructor in the course was using all kinds of warped logic to tell 150 participants in the class how different poses on their cards relayed different messages to their potential clients. Most of it was based on her favorite poses. I remember thinking that her business cards looked like **** and that her grandkids were going to come running into the frame the second after the shot was taken. To her though, the open arms smile was the best shot possible for attracting business.

All that said, over-the-top HDR might be a trend that someone talked about in Realtor Magazine, or saw in a conference somewhere. It looked different, and being that the Realtor didn't know jack crap about photography, they thought it was the next big thing in marketing.

Turd on a stick is still a turd on a stick no matter if it's overdone HDR or a "OMG, my EVO does 8 megapixels!" popping up on the MLS report.

I will say this, my first house I ever sold was bought sight unseen by a couple across the country who had their agent verify that my virtual tour accurately depicted the house. They flew in, saw the house, then went to the closing that same afternoon.

That said, Realtors are a CHEAP group of people to work with. I had a few requests for the same tours I put together for my listings, but they wanted my hours of work shooting , stitching, and publishing to a custom made website for a fraction of what I considered fair market value.

[Steelsun]

Yeah, way overdone and may be considered misleading/misrepresentation if a prospective buyer wants to challenge them (i.e. changed the tone/color of the actucl property, etc)

I had a client that had me photography a commercial property and wanted some extreme HDR work done on it. I did that and a more subtle Tone Map and showed him both and explained that the super HDR may hurt more than help. He picked the Tone Mapped image (used for a corporate brochure).

[L Stegall]

Originally Posted by Nikonfan

Wow, that's nuts. I agree that it looks like smoke damage on the walls thanks to the processing. I do some Real Estate photography from time to time and it pays very well. I use HDR so that the windows are exposed correctly. However, it looks NOTHING like the cartoon house in this post. Here are a few of the ones I have taken. You really can't tell that it's HDR. You can see some examples here:

Ft. Worth Wedding Photographer | David Lunt Photography | DFW Dallas, Texas Tx/blog - Ft. Worth Wedding Photographer | David Lunt Photography | DFW Dallas, Texas Tx

David, great examples in your link. Nicely done! And, you're right, the HDR is so subtle that it looks natural. THAT's the way to do HDR, in my book.

[texxter]

I agree with the posts above that HDR doesnt have to look crazy, e.g., apartment, recreation center, cellar...

[r0xikat]

nothin' like a toilet in HDR. ooo baby.

not like I'm an expert but ... yeah.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by texxter

I agree with the posts above that HDR doesnt have to look crazy, e.g., apartment, recreation center, cellar...

Those are really nice, Paco. The cellar shot is great with the garage-door apartment a close second.

[Nikonfan]

Originally Posted by L Stegall

David, great examples in your link. Nicely done! And, you're right, the HDR is so subtle that it looks natural. THAT's the way to do HDR, in my book.

Thank you very much Lisa! I appreciate your comments.

I am shooting another complex later this month as soon as they finish renovating it. I will post some of those images once they are done. HDR can be a wonderful tool as long as it's subtle.

[venchka]

I saw photos on E!News on TV. Same treatment. Some celebs megabucks house. Who copied who?

[sragnar]

it can be done.
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this like everything else is a question of taste and visual impact. when overdone well the person judging it overdone has one vision that does not fit all.
it caused an impact, we are taking about it :)

[Saltwater Servitude]

Originally Posted by sragnar

it can be done.
MobileMe Gallery

this like everything else is a question of taste and visual impact. when overdone well the person judging it overdone has one vision that does not fit all.
it caused an impact, we are taking about it :)

It caused an impact but we're lampooning the effort as originally posted, not lauding it.