# Deep RICH Smoooooth Color.  Only a few people I have seen master this. Help!



## topendprops

I would like to get Deep RICH Smoooth color such as the photos in these examples.  I have tried many different adjustments in lightroom/photoshop and I get decent color, but nothing as crisp and pleasant to the eye as these.  Please direct me if you know anything.  One of the photographers would only say "Its the color flux algorithm.  Its proprietary." .. another has a 'boot camp' that is not currently in the budget.

HD Estates  High Definition Real Estate Photography

Michael James - 850-450-2400 - digitalcoastimage@gmail.com

thanks in advance!


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## Rephargotohp

They are well done HDRs

Shooting Architectural Interiors &#8211; Processing with Nik HDR Efex Pro


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## MLeeK

Good exposure. Full frame. *Noise removal.*


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## topendprops

This is what I have so far. 

http://www.topendproperties.com/12r/DSC_3207xxx_3b.jpg



A full-frame is needed for the clarity and sharpness found in the original examples?


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## MLeeK

NO, not necessarily! You can definitely do it with a crop sensor!


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## Robin Usagani

I am pretty sure they use something like 17mm t/s lens.  That is over $2000.


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## topendprops

by the way, I am using Nikon D300s with Nikon 10-24mm lens .. 9-exposure bracketing with Enfuse exposure blending.


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## o hey tyler

topendprops said:


> This is what I have so far.
> 
> http://www.topendproperties.com/12r/DSC_3207xxx_3b.jpg
> 
> 
> 
> A full-frame is needed for the clarity and sharpness found in the original examples?



No, basically a wide angle lens and knowledge of HDR photography and photoshop and you can do it.

It sounds like you have a fine setup as it is. You don't necessarily need 9 exposures in all situations, but you should be shooting around f/8 or so to maximize sharpness throughout the frame.


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## Robin Usagani

Sometimes they take multiple exposure with different WB.  One for the window with sun light, one for the fluorescent light, one for tungsten light.. then somehow they merge it like HDR.


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## vipgraphx

Yeah those look like HDR photos to me. With some sharpening and noise reduction. Contrast high with blacks +

here is an image I did similar to this 




church photo by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

This is an HDR image.


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## Rephargotohp

Make sure when you shoot anything Architectural you shoot it straight on and level to the subject so you don't get Keystoning or other lens aberrations. If you don't have a tilt-shift lens you can also use the lens correction in lightroom

Watch your angles there Skippy!


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## topendprops

Camera was level (if I remember correctly) and I just gave it a slight angle to show dimension.


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## topendprops

This one I think has a little bit better color, but its still blah:  http://www.topendproperties.com/12r/DSC_3207xxx_3.jpg    .. and just for the record .. I'm pretty much a noob to photography.


added: .. honestly I don't like my color in any of them  ..


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## Rephargotohp

topendprops said:


> Camera was level (if I remember correctly) and I just gave it a slight angle to show dimension.



No, It's a good shot, but look at the flag pole and you will see what I mean, It can be corrected in lightroom and some later versions of ACR. It's not a big deal but sometimes it's the little things that get you hired


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## topendprops

Flag pole looks fine to me :\   (assuming its supposed to be slightly wider at the base)

Downloading Nik Dfine and HDR now to see if I can mimic the clarity of the examples.  If anyone thinks they can make it happen with my photo .. I would love to see it!  So far the noise reduction i've used in photoshop reduces detail sharpness considerably.


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## topendprops

Heres the result from Photomatix, which I supprisingly like better.   http://www.topendproperties.com/12r/DSC_3208And8more_tonemapped-2.jpg   .. but still dull :\


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## Rephargotohp

topendprops said:


> Flag pole looks fine to me :\ (assuming its supposed to be slightly wider at the base)
> 
> Downloading Nik Dfine and HDR now to see if I can mimic the clarity of the examples. If anyone thinks they can make it happen with my photo .. I would love to see it! So far the noise reduction i've used in photoshop reduces detail sharpness considerably.



Actually my bad the flag pole is fine
.
Just remmber no matter which software you use and HDR Efex Pro and Photomatix both look very different. They are not the end of the game and Images should be finished in Photoshop or lightroom.

Plus you shot late under very flat light which is good for tone...But it still gives you very flat light look


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## mistermonday

topendprops said:


> Heres the result from Photomatix, which I supprisingly like better.   http://www.topendproperties.com/12r/DSC_3208And8more_tonemapped-2.jpg   .. but still dull :\


Don't spin your wheels with Photomatix or Nik. For architectural work just like the examples you linked to in your OP, try out Photoengine from Oloneo.com.  
Regards, Murray


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## Rephargotohp

One thing that is really making your images look flat online is that you have them in Adobe RGB and that doesn't look good in most Browers. You should convert the images to sRGB and they will look alot better on the internet

The image looks a lot better in Photoshop, whcih is color managed, then they do online


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## topendprops

Yes I did shoot late in order to avoid nearly all shadows (I'm anti-shadow).  I was hoping to bring back the brightness in lightroom/photoshop.

Also I believe the DigitalCoast images are processed using just Enfuse and Lightroom/Photoshop.  I just cant figure this out.  Theres just something different.  I feel like their images are smooth and sharp at the same time and their color seams rich and perfect every time.


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## topendprops

I may be onto something here.  Using 2 photos of the same exposure the blending programs can totally eliminate noise.  I'm thinking if I take two 9-exposure bursts instead of 1 .. then blend each of the the identical exposures for for noise reduction .. THEN blend the exposures for HDR .. I will have a crystal clear image.  Hope to find out tomorrow


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## SlickSalmon

The images in the original post appear to have been run thru a Topaz filter.  You'll see similar crispness and coloration in the wide angle shots recently posted here by janok.

An additional trick for smooth color is to adjust the WB of each of the raws before you process them thru your HDR processor.  Doing so helps to keep the individual color channels from getting blocked.  You'll end up with richer color without having to artificially crank up the saturation.


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## mistermonday

topendprops said:


> I may be onto something here.  Using 2 photos of the same exposure the blending programs can totally eliminate noise.  I'm thinking if I take two 9-exposure bursts instead of 1 .. then blend each of the the identical exposures for for noise reduction .. THEN blend the exposures for HDR .. I will have a crystal clear image.  Hope to find out tomorrow



There really isn't a need to over-complicate the process.  Getting the "even / flat" look like HD Estates photos involves a tone mapper that allows you to brighten the shadows and attenuate the highlights until almost everything in the image is in a mid tone range. The way to eliminate the noise is to set the camera to aperture preferred and lock the ISO to its lowest level so you eliminate the noise in the source exposures.   Some HDR s/w does not do well for architectural scenes. For example the output from Photomatix's Detail Enhancer tends to be "fuzzy".  Some HDR apps have difficulty eliminating halos. Others enhance contrast of edges of fine and course radii, differently.  To produce images like HD Estates, you need a combination of good photography, good HDR s/w, and careful processing.  Even with all that, you still need to pay attention to detail. For example, if you look at HD Estates image lg010 (the bathroom), the view thru the 2 main windows is nice. However the window which is reflected in the mirror (the left window) is badly blown out.


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## EchoingWhisper

SlickSalmon said:


> The images in the original post appear to have been run thru a Topaz filter.  You'll see similar crispness and coloration in the wide angle shots recently posted here by janok.
> 
> An additional trick for smooth color is to adjust the WB of each of the raws before you process them thru your HDR processor.  Doing so helps to keep the individual color channels from getting blocked.  You'll end up with richer color without having to artificially crank up the saturation.



Which Topaz filter? Adjust or Detail?


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## SlickSalmon

EchoingWhisper said:


> SlickSalmon said:
> 
> 
> 
> The images in the original post appear to have been run thru a Topaz filter.  You'll see similar crispness and coloration in the wide angle shots recently posted here by janok.
> 
> An additional trick for smooth color is to adjust the WB of each of the raws before you process them thru your HDR processor.  Doing so helps to keep the individual color channels from getting blocked.  You'll end up with richer color without having to artificially crank up the saturation.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Which Topaz filter? Adjust or Detail?
Click to expand...


I'm not sure.  They just have that 'Topazed' look.  You might ask janok for his opinion.


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## Bynx

mistermonday said:


> topendprops said:
> 
> 
> 
> I may be onto something here.  Using 2 photos of the same exposure the blending programs can totally eliminate noise.  I'm thinking if I take two 9-exposure bursts instead of 1 .. then blend each of the the identical exposures for for noise reduction .. THEN blend the exposures for HDR .. I will have a crystal clear image.  Hope to find out tomorrow
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There really isn't a need to over-complicate the process.  Getting the "even / flat" look like HD Estates photos involves a tone mapper that allows you to brighten the shadows and attenuate the highlights until almost everything in the image is in a mid tone range. The way to eliminate the noise is to set the camera to aperture preferred and lock the ISO to its lowest level so you eliminate the noise in the source exposures.   Some HDR s/w does not do well for architectural scenes. For example the output from Photomatix's Detail Enhancer tends to be "fuzzy".  Some HDR apps have difficulty eliminating halos. Others enhance contrast of edges of fine and course radii, differently.  To produce images like HD Estates, you need a combination of good photography, good HDR s/w, and careful processing.  Even with all that, you still need to pay attention to detail. For example, if you look at HD Estates image lg010 (the bathroom), the view thru the 2 main windows is nice. However the window which is reflected in the mirror (the left window) is badly blown out.
Click to expand...


That would indicate to me that the two main windows were cut and paste from another image that exposed for the windows otherwise all 3 windows would be have the same look. There are so many ways to come up with a good image, but the trick is coming up with the right combination to give you the best image.


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## topendprops

Yes the windows are probably a different layer from the lower exposure image.  My problem is getting the image clarity and color.  I'm wondering if its the lens? :\


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## topendprops

Ok enough of the guess work.  Lets put the tires to the pavement.  I'de like to see somemone post a similar quality photo


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