Table of Contents
- Why Background Color Matters in Real Estate Photography
- When to Change the Background Color
- How to Change the Background Color in Lightroom
- Save Time and Money With Professional Photo Editing
One often overlooked aspect of real estate photo editing is the background color. While this may seem minor, changing the background color in Lightroom can dramatically enhance an image, making it more visually appealing and professional.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to change the background color in Lightroom. We’ll also cover why background color matters and when it’s good to change it in real estate photography.
Let’s get started!
Why Background Color Matters in Real Estate Photography
The background color in real estate photos plays a significant role in setting the tone and mood of the image.
A dull or distracting background (for example an overcast sky) can detract from the subject — in this case, the property itself.
Editing the background color can help:
- Highlight the Main Subject: Changing the background color can make the property stand out, drawing the viewer’s eye to the most important aspects of the image
- Create a Mood: Different background colors can evoke various emotions. A warm sunny sky can make a home feel cozy and inviting, while a dull one may make it look less appealing
- Enhance the Overall Look: Clean, neutral backgrounds tend to create a more polished, professional look, which is crucial in competitive real estate markets
- Correct Visual Distractions: If there are unwanted objects or colors in the background, changing them can help neutralize distractions
With this in mind, let’s take a look at situations where changing the background color will help enhance your real estate photography.
When to Change the Background Color
Changing the background color can be useful in a variety of situations, such as:
- Correcting Sky Color: As mentioned, if the sky in a real estate photo looks overcast or dull, doing a sky replacement and changing its colors can create a more inviting and vibrant atmosphere
- Removing Distractions: Sometimes, unwanted objects like cars, construction, or clutter can appear in the background of exterior property shots. Changing or neutralizing these distractions can enhance the property’s overall appearance
- Virtual Staging: When virtually staging a property, adjusting the background color to complement the staged furniture can create a more harmonious and appealing presentation
- Twilight Conversions: When converting daytime shots to twilight images, you may need to adjust the background colors to create a realistic sunset or evening effect
These are situations when changing the background will help enhance your real estate photos and make them look inviting, clean, and professional.
Ultimately, this will help to captivate buyers’ attention and sell listings faster.
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How to Change the Background Color in Lightroom
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to change the background color in Lightroom for real estate photo editing.
You can either watch the video tutorial or continue reading the text below:
How to Create an Automatic Background Mask
Step 1. Open Lightroom and Import your photo. Navigate to the Develop module located at the top of the screen. Click on the Masking icon. It looks like a circle with a dotted line around it in the toolbar.
Step 2. For the masking options, select Background. Lightroom will automatically detect and create a mask for the background.
How to Refine Your Background Mask
Step 3. If the automatic selection isn’t perfect, you can refine it. Click on Add or Subtract in the Masking panel to include or exclude areas from the mask using tools like the Brush, Linear Gradient, or Radial Gradient.
Step 4. Use the Feather slider to soften the edges of the mask for a more natural blend.
Step 5. With the background mask selected, go to the Color panel in the right-hand sidebar. Use the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance sliders to change the background color to your desired shade.
Step 6. As you adjust the Color settings, preview the changes in real time to see how the new background color looks with your subject.
Step 7. Lastly, continue tweaking the Mask and Color settings until you are satisfied with the result.
And that’s it! You’ve now learned how to change the background color in Lightroom.
Wrapping Up
Changing the background color in Lightroom is a powerful technique for enhancing real estate photos.
By adjusting the color of the sky, walls, or other elements, you can make the property stand out, remove distractions, and create a mood that will appeal to potential buyers.
Whether you’re correcting an overcast sky, creating a twilight conversion, or staging a property virtually, understanding how to manipulate background colors can take your real estate photography to the next level.
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Save Time and Money With Professional Photo Editing
Real estate photographers often face the challenge of balancing the need to produce high-quality images with tight deadlines and the desire to maintain a manageable workload.
Outsourcing photo editing can significantly alleviate this pressure, allowing photographers to focus on shooting properties and growing their business.
PhotoUp offers an excellent solution by providing affordable and professional real estate photo editing services with a fast turnaround time.
By partnering with PhotoUp, photographers can delegate time-consuming tasks such as:
- HDR blending
- Sky replacement
- Perspective correction
- Twilight conversion
- Advanced object removal
- Panoramic stitching
- Virtual staging
- Virtual renovation
- And more!
This frees up valuable hours that can be better spent on securing more clients or fine-tuning their craft.
Affordable Pricing
PhotoUp offers various pricing plans to cater to different needs and budgets starting from $0.50 per image (for dedicated editing), ensuring that photographers only pay for the services they require.
Fast Turnaround Time
Another key advantage of outsourcing to PhotoUp is their rapid turnaround time.
Real estate photographers often need their photos ready within 24 to 48 hours to meet listing deadlines, and PhotoUp excels in delivering fast and high-quality results.
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On top of that, PhotoUp has everything you need for your real estate marketing needs on one platform and also offers additional services such as:
- Virtual staging
- Virtual house tours
- Video editing
- Real estate photographer websites
- Single property websites
- Floor plans
- Property flyers
- House portraits
- And Virtual Assistants
Adding these services to your product offerings will make you a more valuable asset for your clients and help scale your business rapidly.
Easy Ordering Process With PhotoUp
Getting started with PhotoUp is super easy! This is the process in short:
- Sign Up: Create a free PhotoUp account in less than a minute
- Upload Images: Use PhotoUp’s easy-to-use platform to upload your photos and provide instructions
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PhotoUp Real Estate Photo Editing Uploader Demo
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It’s really as simple as 1-2-3 to perfect your real estate photography!
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We hope this guide helped you learn how to change the background color in Lightroom. Before you go, you may also want to check out the following resources:
