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Twilight editing is powerful when you want to create stunning real estate photography that captures buyers’ attention. Twilight photographs are very pleasing to the eye because they capture “the golden hour” at sunset which adds a romantic and mysterious glow to your photos. 

In this post, we’ll discuss why twilight real estate photo editing is powerful and how it can help you create stunning images that will get buyers to pay attention to your listing.

Let’s first explain what twilight editing is and why it’s beneficial.

What Is Twilight Editing?

Twilight is the process of taking an exterior photo of a home taken during a sunset or sunrise — the golden hour, and editing it to enhance or alter its colors and/or light.

They offer the perfect combination of vivid blue and purple skies and enhanced warm interior lighting. 

But what is the golden hour?

The golden hour in real estate photography is a time period during which the sunlight is especially vibrant and warm. This period usually occurs around sunrise or sunset, which is a great time to take photographs of real estate. 

The golden hour can produce stunning pictures and can often make rooms look brighter, more inviting, and more attractive than without special lighting.

However, the window to shoot exteriors during the golden hour is so short, and that’s where twilight editing is a powerful tool to recreate this warm and mysterious glow to any image.  

Overall, the editing process for twilights is similar to daytime exterior shots but the focus is on bringing out the yellows in the interior lights in the windows and the deep blue colors of the sky.

This type of editing allows real estate photographers to bring out the unique beauty of the twilight, sunrise, or sunset in a photograph.

Why Should You Invest in Twilight Editing?

Investing in twilight photo editing is a great way to make a photograph stand out. The majority of real estate photographs are taken in broad daylight.

While that’s an excellent approach to showcasing every detail and vivid color of an image, traditional daytime photography doesn’t always result in an interesting photo that will capture a buyer’s attention.

Especially when listing after listing shows pretty much the same scenes.

Twilight photos often have a unique quality that can be difficult to capture in a standard photo. They have a romantic feel to them that’s very appealing, and investing in the editing process can help bring out that quality even more. 

Furthermore, elegant nighttime photos can also give sellers and agents the chance to highlight aspects of a house that are hidden during daylight. Or that might not look all that great on their own.

For instance:

  • Accent lighting doesn’t show up well in direct sunlight. But when it’s coordinated with the interior lighting of a house and the golden rays of the sunset, it may produce seductive and eerie shadows that add a layer of interest to the property
  • Also, in the light of the rising or setting sun, many objects such as a deck, pool, or a patio fire pit, can take on a whole new look
  • Plus, editing a twilight photo can help correct any minor flaws or mistakes in the image, resulting in a more professional-looking photo

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Outsource Photo Editing?

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How to Convert Daytime Shots Into Twilight Images

Professional real estate photo editors can quickly transform daytime photos into dusk by using the perfect filter in conjunction with the ideal mixes of color, brightness, texture, and contrast. 

Here are some techniques/steps to convert daytime shots to mysterious and glowing nighttime images:

  • First, choose two or three of your best ambient exposures, one for the sky and one for the foreground. Open these two to three ambient exposures in camera RAW
  • Then, start the twilight editing process by adjusting the brightest and contrast, lightening shadows, and highlighting features in the image
  • Next, replace the exterior sky by transforming colors to ensure warm color temperature —  blues, purple, and yellow tones 
  • Also, turn on interior/exterior lighting and pool/garden lights
  • Don’t forget to straighten vertical and horizontal lines, and declutter where it’s necessary 
  • Finally, add fire to the fireplace, plus moons and stars in the sky

If you use these editing techniques, you’ll be able to transform daytime shots into stunning twilight photos.

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Freelance Photo Editors

Try editing from 3 professional photo editors. Screened and ready-to-hire.

Get Professional Twilight Editing Help With PhotoUp! 

If you don’t have time to edit your twilight or day-to-dusk images, PhotoUp’s team of professional real estate editors is ready and eager to do it for you! 

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Real Estate Photo Editors

Ready-to-hire editors for real estate photo editing, video editing, and more.

PhotoUp has more than 10 years of experience in the business and employs several hundred photo editors around the world, making it hard to match PhotoUp’s quality, service, and pricing. 

For example, our real estate editors can help you with:

  • Image brightness and exposure correction 
  • Color and tone adjustments 
  • Window masking and glare reduction
  • Clutter and advanced object removal
  • Line and angle corrections
  • HDR editing and manual blending
  • Harsh shadows, lack of light, etc. 
  • And much more.

You may also be pleased to know that you can find everything you need for your real estate marketing needs under one roof, as PhotoUp also offers additional services such: 

Easy Ordering and Upload Process

Getting started using PhotoUp’s real estate photo editing service is super easy.

All you need to do is sign up for a free PhotoUp account, upload your images, choose export setting and turnaround time, and that’s it! 

Check out our real estate photo editing uploader tutorial below to see how easy it is to get started.

PhotoUp Real Estate Photo Editing Uploader 

It’s really that easy!

Sign up with PhotoUp today, and let PhotoUp help you create stunning twilight real estate photography!

We hope this post helped you understand why twilight real estate photo editing is a powerful tool to capture buyers’ attention and get your listing to stand out from the competition. 

Before you go, you may also want to check out the following related resources:

Stina Pettersson

Professional Blogger

Stina is an entrepreneur, digital marketer, and professional blogger who's passionate about real estate photo editing, being outdoors with her pup, and sweaty gym sessions. She loves the written word and has been writing for publications like Forbes and Thrive Global. Originally from Sweden, she's called South Florida her home since 2013.

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