Make use of one of Photoshop’s simplest, most effective tools to transform your real estate photos. 

The Pen Tool is one of the core tools of Photoshop, used to make precise selections and define an area to separate it from its background.

In real estate photography, it is frequently used to improve aspects of the image, such as furniture or window views. This, to help increase the quality of the final image.

So, in this post, we’ll show you how to use the Pen Tool in Photoshop for real estate photo editing. But first, let’s explain what the Pen Tool is and what it’s used for.

What Is the Pen Tool and What Does It Do?

The Pen Tool provides an easy way for the user to interact with an image in Photoshop.

It’s used to create paths and shapes with anchor points which can then be used to create complex edits, masks, and removals. 

There are a number of different Pen Tools that you can use for different cases, including:

These Pen Tools are endlessly creative and have helped to make Photoshop the world leader in digital image editing software.

When to Use the Pen Tool in Real Estate Photo Editing

Using the Pen Tool is a simple way to select and define an area in Photoshop. And it’s much more efficient and offers more control than the Lasso Tool.

For instance, it’s used in real estate photography for “window masking.” Or painting in the proper exposure into a window that shows little detail or is “blown out.” 

Alright, let’s get started!

How to Use the Pen Tool for Real Estate Photo Editing

To begin, the Pen Tool is grouped in the Tools together with the Shape Tools, the Type Tool, and the Path Selection (the white arrow), and Direct Selection (the black arrow).

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1. Click on the image where you want to begin your path. A path is simply a line that goes from one point to another. It may be straight or curved and is independent of the image beneath it.

2. Click the image where you want the path to begin and the path to end. This creates the first segment of your path. You should see a straight line appear. The more points you click, the more complex a shape you’ll make.

3. To close a path, you click again on your initial starting point. And by hovering your mouse cursor over the starting point, a small circle appears in the bottom right corner of the pen icon. That means you’ve come full circle and clicking the starting point finishes the path. 

4. After you’ve created the path, you can save it to a Selection. Now, you can do different things with your Path. For example, you could fill the path with a foreground color or apply a stroke to the path using the brush you have selected.

5. If you prefer keyboard shortcuts as a way of turning a path into a selection, you simply press Ctrl+Enter (Win) / Command+Return (Mac) and Photoshop will go ahead and convert the path into a selection. 

Wrapping Up

The more you use the Pen Tool in Photoshop, the more you get used to it. You’ll also see all the possibilities of what it can do. 

But if you’re still not getting the kind of results you were hoping for after using the Pen Tool, then maybe you should consider using a real estate photo editing company, like PhotoUp.

We have teams of experienced photo editors ready to provide you with the style and quality of editing that you’re used to delivering to your clients. 

Create your free PhotoUp account today, and get 5 free credits to try our editing service. Thay way, you can see what our team is capable of and take it from there. 

We hope this post helped you learn how to use the pen tool in Photoshop to edit your real estate images. If you found this post useful, you may also want to check out the following resources: