There are many software and tool options available, but some of the most popular include Adobe's Lightroom, Photoshop, and Camera Raw. These programs allow you to import, organize, and edit your photos in a non-destructive way, as well as apply presets and filters to enhance your images. You can also use specialized plugins for architectural photography, such as DxO ViewPoint, Luminar, or Capture One, which offer more advanced features for correcting perspective, distortion, and lens issues.
One thing I always tell my students is SHOOT SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO PHOTOSHOP. In other words, know your camera so well that you get the shot with the right exposure and white balance. Then you can basically edit it even on iPhotos. Editing shouldn't be extensive. It should be something you use as last resort. To organize I personally use iPhotos but Adobe Lightroom is really useful. Lightroom is great because it has plugins that you can install and use which will deploy html pages on your website so clients can pick and choose photos. It has saved me hours of back and forth with clients if they can pick the best photos they like. They love looking at the photos right away and being part of the process. It makes them feel included.
Exposure is the amount of light that reaches your sensor, and contrast is the difference between the dark and light areas of your image. Make sure your photos are well-exposed, meaning they are not too bright or too dark, and have a balanced and dynamic contrast, which means they show a range of tones. The histogram, exposure slider, and tone curve can help you adjust the exposure and contrast of your photos. Highlights, shadows, whites, and blacks sliders are also important to fine-tune the brightness and darkness of specific areas of your image.
There are also some tricks while shooting : exposure compensation is a feature that lets you adjust the exposure by making your photos brighter or darker than the camera's metering system suggests. You can use exposure compensation to correct for overexposed or underexposed photos, or to create a different mood or atmosphere. Bracketing is also a technique that involves taking multiple photos of the same scene with different exposure settings. You can then choose the best photo or combine them using software to create a high dynamic range (HDR) image, which can show more details in the shadows and highlights.
In my post-production workflow, I primarily use Adobe Lightroom. I start with subtle adjustments to exposure, contrast, highlights, and shadows to ensure the image has a balanced and pleasing tonal range. Color grading and mixing are crucial steps, as they establish the overall mood and tone for each project, allowing me to convey the desired narrative or emotional impact. Each project has its unique color pattern, to enhance the visual storytelling. Framing and composition play pivotal roles in the final image. While it’s best to capture a well-composed shot initially, Lightroom's powerful tools enable me to correct up to 90% of compositional issues in post-production through cropping and perspective adjustments.
Perspective is the way objects appear to change in size and shape depending on their distance and angle from the camera. Distortion is the way lenses bend and warp the straight lines of objects. Both can affect the accuracy and realism of your architectural photos, especially if you are shooting with a wide-angle lens or from a low or high angle. You can correct the perspective and distortion of your photos using the transform panel, lens correction panel, or crop tool in your editing software.The manual or guided modes can also adjust the vertical, horizontal, and rotational aspects of your image.
In Adobe Camera Raw, you can correct the perspective with the tools under Geometry. Click on the various icons to see how they work, or use the control bars underneath.
Tilt Shift lenses allow you to control the plane of focus creatively and correct for perspective distortion. They are expensive, but well worth it.
Ensure that your photos have accurate and consistent colors and white balance, as well as a pleasing and harmonious color scheme. Use the white balance slider, eyedropper tool, or presets to adjust the color temperature and tint of your photos. You can also use the HSL panel, vibrance and saturation sliders, or split toning panel to adjust the saturation and luminance of specific colors or regions of your image.
Final touches can improve photo quality, sharpness, and style. Some of the final touches that you can apply include noise reduction, sharpening, vignette, and spot removal. Use the detail panel, effects panel, spot healing brush, or adjustment brush to apply these touches to your photos. Once you are happy with your edits, export your files in the appropriate format, size, and resolution for your intended use.