I can’t see through the windows on the video tour and the windows are bright white, yet I can see clearly through the windows on my HDR photos. How is that possible?

In order for you to understand why this can happen, we need to explain light sources and how it affects a camera.  When the camera is pointing toward a window, unlike the human eye which can clearly see both the inside and outside of a room at the same time, the camera is only able to see one light source at a time.  Daytime outside natural light is always much brighter than interior light, even with the lights on.  Because of this, you have to set the exposure on the video camera to see one or the other.  If its an interior video scene, naturally the exposure is set to see the inside of the room. This most often will result in the windows being whited out on the video sometimes to the point of not being able to see through the window at all (especially if it's a bright sunny day outside).  If there is a view from the window that you wish to show, we overcome this by setting the camera on auto exposure and panning from the room to the view outside.  When you view your video, you will notice that as the camera gradually points toward whats outside the window that the room darkens (sometimes to almost black).  This should clearly demonstrate the difference in the brightness between inside exposure and outside exposure. 

At this point you may be saying 'but I've been able to see whats outside and whats inside at the same time on some of your videos before!’. So how can the above explanation be true?  We’ll explain how this can happen under certain circumstanses.  

If the sun is blocked due to could coverage, this can greatly lower the brightness of the outside light. Add to this that the suns is position is on the opposite side of the home relative to the window, plus a patio overhang such as a lanai and a heavy tint on the windows, and it results in lowering the brightness of the exterior light.  As the outside light has been lowered, its now closer to the exposure of the inside light thereby allowing you to see through the window at the same time. Theres only way we can guarantee being able to see both inside and outside at the same time and thats by ordering our custom Ultimate Package.  And why does that make a difference?  Because we shoot the inside of the home in the evening hours after the sun has set.  We choose the time to film when the outside and inside light are even exposures thus allowing to see clearly whats outside and whats inside. 

So whats the deal with photography? With regular photography you are capturing a single image again means that the camera can only be exposed to one source of light, either inside or outside. Again, if its the inside you are shooting, then the exposure is set for that which can result in the window being whited out.  To be able see both the inside and outside the window in a photo, then High Dynamic Range photography is needed (otherwise known as HDR photography).  With HDR photography, multiple exposures are taken set to capture both inside and outside light sources.  They are then merged together using special software (each done by hand) which results in a photo where you can see whats both inside and outside.