Behind the Lens With CS3: Post-Production Process & Editing Practices

At CS3 Photography, we believe your time is best spent running your business, not working all day with a photographer. That’s why our goal is to use less time on-site and more time in post-production. 

Most agencies spend all day on a shoot, picking up every little piece of trash from the ground, straightening lampshades or touching up paint. Our Orlando-based office is designed and built to provide fast and beautiful post-production to your images so we can take care of those last-minute changes and clean-ups without taking up a great deal of your time on-site. 

2026 Editing Trends Shaping Real Estate Photography

Before diving into our process, it’s worth highlighting a few editing trends defining real estate photography in 2026 and beyond:

• A clear move away from heavy HDR in favor of natural, realistic edits
• Increased reliance on exposure blending for balanced interior and exterior lighting
• Greater demand for consistency across multi-property portfolios and markets
• Post-production clean-up replacing time-consuming on-site adjustments
• Photography optimized for mobile-first listing platforms and digital tours

These trends directly influence how we edit every project at CS3 and why our post-production workflow looks the way it does.

The Process

So what is our post production process and what happens with your images after the photographer sends them to us? We regularly receive questions about what happens after the shoot, what goes into the editing process and what’s included. 

Well, the answer isn’t completely black and white because every property is different and there’s a level of subjectivity to assess with each. We may be doing an aerial photography shoot, a custom virtual tour, a Google Street View virtual tour, virtual staging or another of our various services — so the answer might depend.

What remains consistent is our set of foundational editing standards, paired with advanced techniques that reflect current and future market expectations.

Framing the Image

After the photoshoot, we load your images and review the strongest shots for editing.

The first step is framing and cropping each image to ensure everything is straight, level and visually balanced. Since much of our work involves real estate and architectural photography, we select angles that show the space clearly and efficiently within a single frame.

As always, this part of the process involves professional judgement shaped by years of experience, ensuring each space is presented in its best possible light.

Brightening & Enhancements

Our goal at CS3 is to edit photos so they appear bright, clean and crisp, without looking artificial or over-processed.

One of the strongest editing trends heading into 2026 is the continued move away from aggressive HDR (high-dynamic range). Over-reliance on HDR can make spaces feel unrealistic, which can reduce trust and authenticity for potential renters or buyers. Instead, we focus on natural color correction, balanced contrast and subtle sharpening.

Our photographers capture multiple exposures for every image, allowing our post-production team to blend the best elements from each shot.

Our editors will take the best elements from each exposure and blend them into a perfectly lit and balanced image, creating a beautiful end result you can be proud to own and publish across the web.

Blemish Removal

A key differentiator for CS3 is our ability to minimize your time on-site by handling many visual distractions in post-production. Rather than spending valuable shoot time hiding cords, adjusting fixtures or fixing minor imperfections, our in-house editors can digitally remove many of these elements after the fact.

This includes removing cords, cracks in pavement, wall blemishes, sprinkler heads, smoke detectors and other distractions whenever possible. This approach keeps shoots efficient while still delivering polished final images.

Less time on-site means less disruption to your property and more time back in your day.

Quality Assurance

The final step in our post-production process is quality assurance. Every image is reviewed for consistency in lighting, color balance and overall look. This is especially important as portfolios grow and span multiple locations. Whether your properties are photographed in Miami or Anchorage, we ensure a cohesive visual standard across every album.

Interested in Requesting a Quote?

Now that you’ve seen how our post-production process aligns with current and emerging editing trends, let’s put it to work for your property.

Request a quote today and our team will follow up with next steps.