HDR Photography

[Argee]

I've been interested in trying this out for a while, so on an overcast day I went to Eastbourne and here's the result:

There's a larger version here for a "closer look."

Ray.

 

[Paul Chapman]

What's HDR, Ray?

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Argee]

What's HDR, Ray?

Cheers :wink:

Paul

I should have put that in the OP - DOH!

It stands for High Dynamic Range and involves taking a number of exposures of the same scene at different shutter speeds. Each different speed results in an exposure difference (+ or - !EV or greater), so that all the subtleties of tone are captured. The images are then combined into one, then downsampled to produce a .jpg or .tif file.

Obviously, you don't want any movement and need a sturdy tripod. No movement on a public beach is difficult, so there may need to be a bit of "tweaking" after the event - wispy seagulls in this instance. HTH

Ray.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Thanks, Ray, that's helpful :wink:

I presume that the main purpose is to control different brightness ranges (eg very bright sky compared with less bright beach), as you would with "burning in" (giving more exposure to) the sky when making a conventional silver black and white print?

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Steve Maskery]

I can imagine that being useful for photographing in the workshop Ray. Sometimes it's difficult to illuminate scenes properly, especially on sunny days with a window in the background.

Do you need any special software or is ti just a case of Smart Fix in PSP, for example?

S

 

[Argee]

Do you need any special software or is ti just a case of Smart Fix in PSP, for example?

There are some HDR programmes, such as PhotoMatrix, but I use PS CS3 which has it built in. It's basically tone mapping twiddly bits.

Here are a selection of much better examples. Here's a tutorial that explains the procedure well.

Ray.

 

[Smudger]

It's an amazing technique - my son tried to get me to use it some time ago, but I never made the effort. I believe that it is, in effect, mimicking Ansel Adam's Zone Exposure method, but with more subtlety.
He has a way of doing it with RAW images - I'll ask again.

 

[Argee]

He has a way of doing it with RAW images - I'll ask again.

Something else I didn't clarify in the OP - it's most suitable when shooting 32bit RAW images (that's what I do), but it's not impossible to do well in high-quality .jpg either.

Ray.

 

[Paul Chapman]

Here are a selection of much better examples. Here's a tutorial that explains the procedure well.

Thanks, Ray - very helpful. Some of those images are quite stunning.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Green]

Very nice, Ray.

 

[iajon69]

Hi Ray

Hope you don't mind me jumping in on your thread, only I attempted HDR for the first time this week as well!

Here's my effort:

Caerphilly Castle last weekend - didn't take the photo with the intention of trying HDR but found a tutorial on the net and decided to try it.
The original image was shot in Raw but I done most of the work with JPG's - because I didn't intend to do an HDR shot then I only had the one Raw file so had to play around to get 3 different exposure first, hence working with jpg files!
Next time I will do it properly!

Ian

 

[Smudger]

That looks great.
So, basically, you took 1 shot in RAW, made 3 different files with different EVs and then combined them?

I'm not sure I can do that with my version of PS.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Here is a couple of workshop shots. The originals were bigger files and in TIFF format, but they have been transformed to JPGs and shrunk for display.
First is the Auto function of the camera (Fuji S602), and it's what I use 99% of the time'

The second is the hdr image of the same scene

You can see how the wrinkles of my shirt are more defined, it looks less burned out (or more dirty if you prefer) the sawdust is clearer, the reflections in the bandsaw paintwork are sharper and so is the penciled grid on the MDF. All in all it is a more interesting picture. The only real downside is that it makes me look even more grey than I am in real life!

Ray, thank you very much for introducing me to this, I can see it being a boon to someone like me who is a photography novice but who needs to get decent pictures. I guess it means buying yet another hard drive though (as well as a bottle of Just For Men)!

Cheers
Steve

 

[Argee]

That's a good example, Steve, especially when you look at the shelf contents and your hair. The single shot couldn't capture all the details (unless some additional lighting was used), due to the way cameras meter a scene, whereas the HDR merge - even from different exposures of one image - shows what can be done with a bit of care.

Next time, try using an edge sharpen filter, but don't overdo it!

Ray

 

[Steve Maskery]

Next time, try using an edge sharpen filter,

You mean I can sharpen my tools just by photographing them? Wow! That'll save me hours!

OK, I really do know what you mean. At least I think I do. My camera has a Sharpen/Soften function which I have never used. I take it that is what you mean? I certainly don't have any physical filters, and I'm not even sure if it will take any. I'm sure I'd have to buy some sort of adapter.

Stop it, Ray, you are starting to cost me money.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Argee]

Hope you don't mind me jumping in on your thread, only I attempted HDR for the first time this week as well!

Not at all - that shows a more complete range of tones than ordinarily possible, even if from a single image. I'd probably have cropped the right-hand side tighter to the nearer castle wall, to match the left-hand side and cut out what looks like it might be a boat. Otherwise, great picture!

My camera has a Sharpen/Soften function which I have never used. I take it that is what you mean?

I meant a filter within the software you used to create the example. As you didn't say what you used, I could only make a general suggestion. Using in-camera processing is not usually a good idea, because it can limit what you can do later on with the result.

Oh - please don't give me any stick about costing you money - this forum is probably responsible for a larger percentage of my spending than any other cause!

Ray.

 

[p111dom]

So how do you combine them if it's not done in the camera? Photoshop? If so it would be good to know how?

 

[Argee]

So how do you combine them if it's not done in the camera? Photoshop? If so it would be good to know how?

Have a look at the sixth post down on page one.

Ray.

 

[iajon69]

That looks great.
So, basically, you took 1 shot in RAW, made 3 different files with different EVs and then combined them?

I'm not sure I can do that with my version of PS.

Hi Smudger - I took the original shot in RAW and then converted one photo +2 EV, 1 photo -2 EV and one normal exposure and then merged the 3 photos and that was pretty much it!
Because they were done using JPEG's then you lose some of the details and apparently you get much better results using 3 RAW pictures.
There is another way of getting simular results with 2 photos and using layers in Photoshop - I will have a look to see if I can find the tutorial.

Not at all - that shows a more complete range of tones than ordinarily possible, even if from a single image. I'd probably have cropped the right-hand side tighter to the nearer castle wall, to match the left-hand side and cut out what looks like it might be a boat. Otherwise, great picture!
Ray.

Thanks Ray - I didn't do any cropping on this photo as it was just a quick play around with HDR, but yes it should have been cropped. I should have posted the original as well so that the difference can be seen!

Steve - if you are shooting in RAW then the photo's need sharpening afterwards but if you are shooting in JPG then the photo's have already been sharpened by the in-built software in the camera and if you switch the option on to sharpen more in the camera then it can look a little over the top! If you sharpen in an editing program like photoshop, picasa etc, then you have much more control over the amount of sharpening.

If you think woodwork is a slippery slope, walk away from the camera now

Ian

 

[Steve Maskery]

Ah, these are shot as JPGs, I'm not sure if my camera does RAW, I'll find out. It certainly doesn't do +/-2 stops, one-third, two-thirds and 1 are the options for auto-bracketing. But even so, I'm pleased with the results.
(which is more than can be said for my keyboard)
Cheers
Steve