Terminology

Explanation

Application

Exposure Correction

Adjust the brightness of the photo to balance the light, avoiding overexposed (too bright) or underexposed (too dark).

Fix outdoor photos taken under harsh sunlight, highlighting interior details without looking unnatural.

HDR Merging

Combines multiple photos with different exposures into a single photo, preserving details in bright and dark areas.

Ideal for photos with mixed lighting that have areas that are too bright or too dark

Color Correction

Color correction for realistic photos, removing off-tones

Make the house look more natural, increase attractiveness when marketing

Color Cast

Color cast is an unwanted color change across an entire image, often caused by incorrect lighting conditions or ISO settings.

Photo editors often need to remove this effect to restore the true color of an object.

Hue

Hue is the component that represents the basic color of an object, such as red, green, blue, etc. It is made up of two main color systems: Additive (RGB) and Subtractive (CMYK).

Editors often adjust Hue to make wall, interior, or landscape colors more harmonious or uniform in tone.

Noise Reduction

Reduces blur and tiny grains on the image that make the image blurry, reduce sharpness and make it difficult to see details clearly.

Smooths dark and light areas, retains details, and enhances the quality of printed brochures.

White Balance Adjustment

Balance the color temperature so that the white is truly white, avoiding warm/cool tones.

Fix interior photos under LED light, keep true color for wooden floors or painted walls.

Contrast 

The difference between the lightest and darkest areas in an image. High contrast creates a strong, bold feel, while low contrast creates a soft, flat feel.

Highlight structure, sharpness and increase spatial depth

Brightness

Brightness is the overall lightness or darkness of a photo.

Make sure the interior colors are displayed correctly, creating the feeling of a more spacious room.

Highlights 

Highlights are the brightest areas in a photo, usually close to pure white. If the highlights are too strong, the photo will be overexposed and lose detail.

Reduces window or light burn-in. Retains details of ceilings, curtains, and interior surfaces in bright areas.

Perspective Correction

Corrects perspective errors, straightens distorted horizontal/vertical lines caused by wide lenses.

Adjust low angle shots to make tall buildings look professional and accurate.

Cropping and Straightening

Crop and straighten photos to focus on the subject.

Optimize aspect ratio for Instagram or Pinterest, increase engagement.

Object Removal

Remove unwanted objects such as cars, wires, or trash from the frame.

Clean exterior photos, focusing on the main property without distractions.

Blending

Combining layers of photos at different exposures to create a complete final photo.

Use in HDR or add artificial light for night photos.

Replace the sky or lawn

Replace the gray sky with blue sky and white clouds, Or replace the mottled lawn with green grass

Enhance photos of cloudy days or unsightly lawns, making properties more attractive during the off-peak season.

Virtual Staging

Add virtual furniture to empty room photos.

Help buyers visualize living space, popular for newly built houses that have not been decorated.

Retouching

Tweak small details like smoothing wall skin or increasing floor gloss.

Overall photo upgrade, makes the property look more upscale.

Histogram 

Histogram is a graph in photo editing software that shows the brightness distribution of an entire photo.

Adjust shadows, midtones, and highlights to preserve full detail

Recovery 

Recovery is the process of restoring lost details in highlights due to overexposed images.

This technique often uses sliders like Brightness, Highlight or Contrast to bring back details of windows, light sources, and burnt-out wall surfaces.