Anyone into HDR?
- Thread starter surfy
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IPT
Active member
I agree with all that you said. Regarding the quote, that was not really my notion. More that film (an exposed slide) is concrete. It may not be an accurate representation of what was captured, however it is undeitable in it's raw format. Digital RAW files are purposly left open ended for post processing. I think very few people realize how much Ansel did in the darkroom. Thus as soon as it is digital there is the thought that it was heavily manipulated (by the general public) when they see crazy colors.
Having a slide that captured it and is uneditable (if you felt the need to defend yourself) could be proof.
Fact is, it is art and we can do what we want. I know I have slides (and I am sure you do too) where the colors look unreal. People don;t realize how much times is spent chasing that special light. just nice to have "proof" it wan't just done with the click of a few buttons.
ANyway, is HDR just photomerging or does it also increase color and saturation?
There are a number of different methods. One is to take a single RAW capture, and processes into two or three versions of the same file; adjusting exposure on each. Another method is to bracket, via shutter speed, the number of frames necessary to capture all of the data.
Those frames, regardless of how you got them, are then merged into one composite image. You can use Photoshop CS3 or higher, Photomatix, FDR, Enfuse or even do manual blending of the frames as layers. Color, saturation and contrast are often byproducts of that merging but aren't necessarily part of the process. As in Rich's architectural example HDR doesn't have to mean "other worldly."
Those frames, regardless of how you got them, are then merged into one composite image. You can use Photoshop CS3 or higher, Photomatix, FDR, Enfuse or even do manual blending of the frames as layers. Color, saturation and contrast are often byproducts of that merging but aren't necessarily part of the process. As in Rich's architectural example HDR doesn't have to mean "other worldly."
IPT
Active member
I see....thanks Doug. I think I have been doing that type of work for a long time and just never realized there was a name for it (LOL). I was just trying to get more detail on the paper/film/web so the image came closer to what I saw, verse what the camera was capable of capturing in a single frame regarding the latitude of exposure. It might be fun to play with that free version and compare it to what I might have done manually.
Both of those images look real good to me Blazer. Not overly saturated or too contrasty. Oh yeah, FWIW you had some coral images posted (well many actually) that just blew me away - awesome. Got me looking around here a lot more a while back and I guess I haven't stopped comming back since.
Both of those images look real good to me Blazer. Not overly saturated or too contrasty. Oh yeah, FWIW you had some coral images posted (well many actually) that just blew me away - awesome. Got me looking around here a lot more a while back and I guess I haven't stopped comming back since.
Iostream
Member
Yes, there is a big difference between really bracketing and changing the exposure in raw post processing. With bracketing, you are changing the exposure, and as a result what is caught by the sensor. A sensor only has a few stops of dynamic range. The whole purpose of HDR is to increase that beyond the capabilities of the hardware.
True, but there are many times when bracketing for HDR doesn't work well; i.e. the subject is moving.
While reprocessing your raw file can't get you as much range as multiple shots, if you really only need to pick up an extra 2-4 stops it can be a fine option. The sensor captures data beyond what is normally presented so going +2 or -2 usually works just fine. You may, depending on conditions, pick up some noise in shadows but that's easily corrected.
TitusvileSurfer
New member
RAW isn't cheating. RAW is common sense, even for bracketing. Now I would rather take 3 (or more) separate RAW images, but if the subject is moving that isn't an option. RAW bracketing is better than no bracketing.
surfy
Member
I agree! All of you have some very beautiful photos, and some very good eyes. I'm still new to HDR myself, so I have learned quite a bit from the discussions here.
If any of you are bored and looking for some photos to shoot in HDR, tis the season, and there are many beautiful christmas trees and light displays that would look awesome with a little HDR
I still have to say my favorite HDR photos are night shots displaying the city lights/street lights, etc.
If any of you are bored and looking for some photos to shoot in HDR, tis the season, and there are many beautiful christmas trees and light displays that would look awesome with a little HDR
I still have to say my favorite HDR photos are night shots displaying the city lights/street lights, etc.
IPT
Active member
Well, I see that the Photomatrix has a free trial download. I may have to try that on these images. I purposly took some shots with high contrast and a large range of light values (with lots of edges, but that just happened). I'll be curious to see what the program does with this. Here's what I managed.
Slakker
Premium Member
I downloaded the photomatix photoshop plugin...haven't done a lot of playing around with it yet but it seems to do pretty well.
Edit: Since I don't have RAW, what's best to bracket with? Should I use my "exposure compensation" setting or actually take a couple of stops either way with the shutter speed?
Edit: Since I don't have RAW, what's best to bracket with? Should I use my "exposure compensation" setting or actually take a couple of stops either way with the shutter speed?
Last edited:
IPT
Active member
Not sure if this was a question you had or not? Changing the shutter speed or using exposure compensation (in Aperature priority - usually AV) is actually the same thing. If you manually bracket you can choose the amount you want it to over or under expose. In auto it will keep the Aperature constant and take 3 images. I like to use the timer bcause then it will just take all three without me doing anything. If you press the shutter manually you'll have to hold it down for the three captures. You'll want the F stop to remain constant to not affect DOF (unless you are trying to stack for focus too).
Iostream
Member
RAW doesnt matter from an exposure standpoint, but it is the best to work with from an IQ perspective. If you cannot use RAW, and you don't have an auto bracketing option on your camera, I would recommend using exposure compensation. Perhaps -2 0 and +2 to get a good range. Moving the shutter speed will work in manual mode, but in shutter priority it will simply change your aperature so that all pictures are exposed "correctly" meaning the same, but with varying depth of field.
Slakker
Premium Member
Right right...I almost always use full manual mode on my point and shoot. I like having control over everything, and I feel like it'll give me a bit of a head start when I finally get a DSLR (i borrow a friend's from time to time and she's always a little bitter that I take better pictures with it than she does 
).
I'm pretty sure I don't have an auto-bracketing option, so I'll do a bit of playing around between the exposure compensation and the shutter speed and see what I can come up with...might be a bit of a trick to get the exact same shot three times with my mediocre tripod and with all of the mucking around in the menu i'll have to do...
Thanks for the help guys, i'll post up when I get something to show for all of my practice
). I'm pretty sure I don't have an auto-bracketing option, so I'll do a bit of playing around between the exposure compensation and the shutter speed and see what I can come up with...might be a bit of a trick to get the exact same shot three times with my mediocre tripod and with all of the mucking around in the menu i'll have to do...
Thanks for the help guys, i'll post up when I get something to show for all of my practice
juniormc8704
New member
Ok, ive got a quick question.
When shooting in RAW we all know that the camera isn't making any changes to the original image captured, i.e. sharpening.
When doing HDR, do you sharpen any before you merge the 3 or more files? Or do you wait to do any cropping and sharpening until after the image has been merged?
thanks
Junior
When shooting in RAW we all know that the camera isn't making any changes to the original image captured, i.e. sharpening.
When doing HDR, do you sharpen any before you merge the 3 or more files? Or do you wait to do any cropping and sharpening until after the image has been merged?
thanks
Junior
While you can feed RAW files directly into Photomatix, it's generally recommended (even by Photomatix) that you use your RAW conversion tool and output full sized images (TIFF) to Photomatix. So capture sharpening that gets applied as part of that process . You should wait until after the HDR process to do any effect or output sharpening.
