How to master removing color casts from real estate photos?

In real estate photo editing, different techniques contribute to a lot of stunning listing images online. It needs a skilled real estate photo editor to achieve compelling photos that can be used for both online listings and traditional marketing materials. This editor must know the basics of editing and the advanced methods used in the industry, and one of these is mastering color cast removals.

For better understanding, let us define first what is a color cast.

What is a color cast?

A color cast is an unwanted tint of a specific color seen in certain parts or the whole picture. It causes a color shift of the entire image, which is technically unpleasant to see in a photo, and that is why it needs to be corrected.

Now, let us try to take a look at what causes a color cast.

Causes of Color Cast in an Image

The common reason for a color cast is the reflection by a nearby object. However, certain light types can also cause this problem and low illumination of items with different color temperatures.

This time, it will also help to know some color cast basics that can help you as a real estate photo editor.

The Basics of Color Cast

When shooting images, it helps to remember the following basics of color cast. It is one way to minimize its presence in your raw shots and make real estate photo editing easier.

• Reduce your use of ambient light. Remember that the more ambient light you use, the more color casts you will be capturing on the images.
• The flash helps. When you add flash in your shots, it dominates the other light sources in the room, helping minimize the color casts.
• Use large umbrellas or giant white reflectors to avoid bouncing flashes directly from the wall.
• Utilize the best editing software like Photoshop and Lightroom in adjusting colors during the post-processing of the raw images. Doing this can help a lot in improving the shots.

This time, here are some of the pro tips you should know to master the art of color cast removal using software like Photoshop.

Four Expert Tips to Master Color Cast Removal

Indeed, learning how to do the proper way of doing color cast removal is not easy. It would help if you had constant practice before you can become a master of the craft. Here are some pro tips you can use to enhance your skills.

Remember the necessary parts of an image

For real estate images, you should also remove color casting on the walls and parts of the rooms, composite the windows, the ceiling, and all the hard flash shadows in brighter areas of the images.

Always begin by adding an adjustment layer

You need to import first the image then lock the original layer. After, create a new layer for photo filter adjustment, label it, and duplicate it as well before starting the editing process.

Adjust the opacity

Set the opacity on your layer between 50 and 75%, but do not merge any layers yet.

Edit the other elements

This time, adjust the vibrance, exposure, temperature, and contrast in-camera, so the raw file looks clear and without noise.

These four tips pretty much sum up the overall process you need to do when doing color cast removal. You can also check this guide if you want to learn a more neutral way of doing the technique. We hope that this article can help you become a master in color cast removal in no time. Keep on practicing!