Smoke Damage?

The first time I saw a listing photo like this, I thought the house had smoke damage.

A buyer I was working with at the time brought it to my attention and said they might want to see the house, but the photos looked liked something was wrong with it. Long story short, they didn’t buy it and after 8 months, neither did anyone else. Funny thing is that it was a really nice house in a good location and was priced fairly – I’m guessing the pictures helped turn people away instead of drawing them in.

The photos were processed using a method known as HDR. Usually, HDR produces an image with over saturated colors and an over-sharpened cartoonish look, but the look can change depending on how various adjustments are made to the software.

The method used here, left a smoke-like residue on walls and ceilings, and overall, gave the photo an unsaturated brown and white look. So basically, it projects an unnatural, nearly colorless look that lacks the ‘pop’ needed to grab the attention of a homebuyer shopping on the internet.

I’ve recreated the look to compare it to a natural looking image. Click and drag on the slider bar in the middle to see the difference between a smoke stained look and an accurate natural color look.

Which do you prefer?  Which one do you think a buyer might be attracted to and which one do you think a home seller would prefer?