New features in CAMAvision: blurring parts of an image

With increasing concern about privacy in the last few years, making a habit of reviewing new photos used in CAMAvision before adding them into the system is a good practice. Photos appear in reports, can get uploaded to a website or can be seen by anyone requesting a copy of the data.

With images serving a valuable purpose for appraising property, taking steps to protect sensitive information is a must in 2015.

A new feature introduced in CAMAvision 18 within the effects screen of PhotoVision™ now gives the user the ability to blur out specific sections of an image.

For this example, a photo of a garage is used with a car in front displaying a license plate. The goal here is to obscure the license plate. By loading an image into PhotoVision and clicking on the effects button, the user is given the option to select a portion of the image to edit.

Once the area is selected, a menu can be produced by right clicking and selecting Blur Section. Once executed, the area selected will be transformed and will now feature a blurred effect. An added zoom in the example shows what the finalized image looks like.

The Blur Section is not the only feature available in the effects area of PhotoVision. Other features like sharpness, contrast and brightness can also enhance the presentation of a photo.

With any kind of image editing, you run the risk of crossing the line into doctoring a photo. A balance between what should be edited and what should be left alone should be under consideration at all times. Establishing rules about how much an image can be edited is another good practice.