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07-03-2019, 07:29 AM   #1
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Real Estate Photography - Awful Colours

Hello everyone,

I have side gigs as a real estate photographer.
One of the hardest things to shoot is windows - due to what I suspect is chromatic aberrations
My main goal in most shots, at least ones that have a high dynamic range, is to expose for the highlights and bring up the shadows in post-production.
When I complete this process, there seems to be irremovable aberrations in the windows - Lightroom cannot seem to manually remove this purple throughout the windows or purple reflections along the floors (see picture attached).
I'm using a Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 usually stopped down to at least f/7.1 to f/16. Doesn't stopping down usually helps chromatic aberrations?

1) Is there something else I can do with my technique (in the field or in post) to reduce the purple?
2) Is it just the lens? I can't afford an expensive lens (DA* 11-18 *drools*) but what might work better but still affordable?

Thanks for any tips!

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Last edited by FozzFoster; 07-03-2019 at 08:10 AM.
07-03-2019, 07:49 AM - 1 Like   #2
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I don't see the PF in this image. Have you tried a different lens in the same situation to see if it produces any PF? Shooting high contrast scenes like this one is the toughest test of a lens.
07-03-2019, 07:55 AM - 1 Like   #3
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Why not use a program like Raw Therapee or Lightroom that has one click correction of PF? Lightroom has a dropper too, but I seldom need it as one click is typically adequate.
07-03-2019, 07:59 AM - 1 Like   #4
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Are you sure it's chromatic aberration? The purple in the floor could well be a white balance issue. You have daylight and various artificial light in the same shot, colours will go all over the place in those conditions. I can't tell from your low res photo but chromatic aberration is usually thin lines along high contrast edges and I cant see any of that.

If it's a white balance issue you have to either control the light or fix the white balance, by area, in post. In this case you'd have to mask off the areas most affected by daylight and change the white balance. I'm not a lightroom user so can't help you with achieving it in that specific software.

07-03-2019, 08:03 AM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by BugsDogsAndSunsets Quote
simply dropping the saturation on that purple color? You could also try to remap purple to blue.
Thanks for that tip, I'll give it a try!

QuoteOriginally posted by wtlwdwgn Quote
I don't see the PF in this image.
Really? I guess I might be referring to it incorrectly, but the window in the back and the reflection on the floor look awfully like some sort of aberration to me.
I don't have any other lens that is wide enough to complete the job.

QuoteOriginally posted by Rondec Quote
Why not use a program like Raw Therapee or Lightroom that has one click correction of PF?
QuoteOriginally posted by FozzFoster Quote
Lightroom cannot seem to manually remove this purple throughout the windows
I do use Lightroom and have tried to use the dropper tool. LR tries but does not remove the fringe sufficiently, even turned up all the way and playing with the settings.

Thanks everyone for the comments!

---------- Post added 07-03-19 at 09:06 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by house Quote
Are you sure it's chromatic aberration? The purple in the floor could well be a white balance issue.
Thanks for this comment! I didn't think about a white balance issue on this! I will investigate trying to mask in different white balances!
07-03-2019, 08:13 AM - 5 Likes   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by house Quote
Are you sure it's chromatic aberration? The purple in the floor could well be a white balance issue. You have daylight and various artificial light in the same shot, colours will go all over the place in those conditions.
Yeah, this is a color temperature problem. Daylight is a lot more blue than incandescent light. That's why the windows and their reflections on the floor are shifting towards blue. To fix the problem, you need to make the two light sources match. You could do that by changing out the light bulbs in a room and putting in daylight balanced LED bulbs. Or you could gel the windows to make the daylight match the interior lights (not recommended...huge pain in the booty). Or you could use flash as the primarily light source in your scenes and just let the gold from any table lamps act as a warming accent. The simplest thing would probably be to simply be aware of the white balance conflict and choose viewpoints and compositions that minimize those conflicts. For example, don't shoot with the windows in the background...stand next to the windows and shoot back towards the room, letting the window light be the primary light for your shot. It's always a problem because most average folks aren't aware that light comes in different colors. Good luck!
07-03-2019, 08:34 AM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by TaoMaas Quote
simply be aware of the white balance conflict
Thanks for the comment! I can now move forward knowing this is a white balance issue and not a chromatic aberration!
Thanks again!

07-03-2019, 08:54 AM - 1 Like   #8
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QuoteOriginally posted by wtlwdwgn Quote
I don't see the PF in this image.
Neither do I.

QuoteOriginally posted by FozzFoster Quote
When I complete this process, there seems to be irremovable aberrations in the windows
This is not CA, nor any other optical aberration. What you are seeing is the difference in spectral composition between the inside lighting and the light coming in through the windows and reflecting off the floor.


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07-03-2019, 08:56 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
This is not CA, nor any other optical aberration.
Good to know it's not the lens! Although I would love to have more/better gear, it's nice to know that what I have now should work just fine
Thanks for the comments!
07-03-2019, 09:14 AM - 1 Like   #10
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You've also got artificial light and daylight bouncing off the coloured walls which isn't helping.
07-03-2019, 09:17 AM - 2 Likes   #11
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In addition to shooting with vastly different color temperatures, you're shooting a scene that is well beyond the dynamic range of your (and most likely any) camera. My advice for any rooms with windows that you cannot or do not wish to shade, is to turn off all of the lights inside. From this point, you can choose to balance the indoor exposure level with outdoor in one of two ways: use your own lighting to match the indoor exposure level with outdoors (if needed, gel it to match the light temperature) or use exposure bracketing (ie. HDR).
07-03-2019, 09:21 AM - 1 Like   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by FozzFoster Quote
Thanks for that tip, I'll give it a try!



Really? I guess I might be referring to it incorrectly, but the window in the back and the reflection on the floor look awfully like some sort of aberration to me.
I don't have any other lens that is wide enough to complete the job.




I do use Lightroom and have tried to use the dropper tool. LR tries but does not remove the fringe sufficiently, even turned up all the way and playing with the settings.

Thanks everyone for the comments!

---------- Post added 07-03-19 at 09:06 AM ----------



Thanks for this comment! I didn't think about a white balance issue on this! I will investigate trying to mask in different white balances!
Aberrations are only a few pixels to few dozen pixels wide (at 100% pixel peeping zoom) and are most visible at strong dark-to-bright edges. PF (purple fringing) is typically a bleed some few/dozen pixels wide of purple/magenta from a blown white/highlight area into a dark area especially in corners of the frame. Aberrations are caused by the lens' inability to focus all wavelengths of light from across the entire aperture of the lens to the same place.

The broader areas of weird colors in these images (and other real estate images) arise because of white balance issues. The interior room lights probably have a color temperature of 2,700 K (lots of red light and very little blue light). In contrast, the scene out the window (and reflections of that scene on the floor) probably have a color temperature of at least 5,500 K and maybe as high as 20,000 K (lots of blue light, little red light).
07-03-2019, 09:52 AM - 1 Like   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by FozzFoster Quote
Although I would love to have more/better gear, it's nice to know that what I have now should work just fine
Yeah, I often find that upgrading myself as a photographer makes my gear work better.

QuoteOriginally posted by TaoMaas Quote
you need to make the two light sources match. You could do that by changing out the light bulbs in a room and putting in daylight balanced LED bulbs.
That's what I was thinking too. I had to do this on a commercial product photo shoot. When you get a real estate gig, toss some daylight balanced LED bulbs in your car in case you need them. Maybe some daylight fluorescent bulbs too, which is what I had to do. That way, in a situation where window light is desirable and/or you can't change your shooting angle, you can make a stab at harmonizing the color temperatures of all the light sources. Outdoor light on a cloudy day will be bluer than on a sunny day, but at least the electric lights will be in the ballpark.
07-03-2019, 10:19 AM - 2 Likes   #14
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Too many different color temperatures. PP nightmare. Perhaps bounce flashes on camera and remote in the other rooms. A flash is more color balanced with the outside reducing your variables. Or bring your own 5000K light bulbs and replace the ones in the house for the picture.

Last edited by tuco; 07-03-2019 at 10:24 AM.
07-03-2019, 12:09 PM - 3 Likes   #15
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I am certainly no indoor architectural photography expert, but it does interest me so I bought the Photomatix Pro HDR software. They tout their software as being very good for processing architectural HDR photography. I have used it with similar shots as yours with strong outside light through windows, and I have to say that I was very pleased with the results. They have great tutorials on how to get better interior shots even if you don't buy the software. You can go to their website: Photo Editing Software for HDR & Real Estate Photography | Photomatix
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