Your thoughts on HDR Photography?

[yasunobu13]

irregardless of what app you use, isn't it the point to have your slick 8mp SLR take really good photos at different exposures to get a really great image. Just manipulating one image I would think should kill the quality

The problem with a single image is that is has a fixed range. You need those extra pictures to increase the range (hence "High Dynamic Range"). A single image with a brightness boost is completly different than taking the picture with a different exposure time.

[aversion]

Yeah, you're really limiting the HDR by using different versions of the same RAW file, and you'll get a lot, a hell of a lot of noise. If you take different exposures then you're really creating HDR, but with different versions of the same file you're just manipulating the limited detail that's there.

[robbmcaulay]

I watched Brokeback Mountain for the second time last night, there seems to be alot of HDR effects in there, especially near the start.

Anyone else notice this?

[phil-ray]

so u take 2 or 3 pictures of the same subect but with a one exposure a bit less or a bit more then the other one and combine them? am i right>

would this also work if u say u want the forground and background to be both very sharp detail

[JWin]

yeh thats the point but people are taking 15 or more for single images. Obviously you can do however much you feel is necessary

[phil-ray]

ahh i get it now.

night have to try this at the weekend and see

[slinky2000]

just trying it out today for the first time, stuck a few of them on my blog:

http://slinky2000.blogspot.com/

most are a tab "noisey" though

[ctranter]

what is HDR?

Just what I was thinking : I've actually kinda been doing it without realising - exposing for the foreground and skies differently and then combining in photoshop for nearly all my landscape shots.

[WannaBe_80z]

Put that 30D to the test. Take a new one for this thread

[phil-ray]

slinky some of them are fantastic, u dont realise the diffrence it makes untill u do it

[ctranter]

Put that 30D to the test. Take a new one for this thread

Well not for this thread per se... but it is new :

[phil-ray]

just seen some more of slinkys images he sent me by email, totaly awe inspiring. deffo has made me want to do this when i get a spare day off.

ctranter that image is lovly, thop job

[slinky2000]

top job

[Juztin180]

yes, I know its not idea to use the same image, thats why photoshop won't even let you use the same one. Its just all I had to play with at the moment. You'll notice it was just me playing with the program

[PCRIDE]

http://www.fieldofview.com/rd-adr#exposures

That is cool

I attempted to use the HDR Photmatix program, I tried taking multiple shots with a tripod but even the wind blowing my object blurred the shot. I was reading how you can use frame bracketing and multiple exposures, how would you do that? Also if you take multiple exposures of the same image, like a river, clouds or trees blowing in the wind, wouldn't that make the final result blurry.

I cheated with photoshop using the levels to make them appear different exposure, it does look better and more realistic
http://www.gradax.com/solie

[slinky2000]

theres a few ways to cheat!

take 1 image in raw format and then use a raw editing program to save three copies, one underexposed compensation and one over, and then in photomatix use the same system as you would with three different shots,

not toally effective but good if taking a hdr image of sometihng moving

the other way is to take your one raw image and in photomatix you can apply tone mapping to it by itself.

again not great but some good results to be had if the normal method turns out blurred

[PCRIDE]

ok i tried another one, this time I used 3 raw images and adjusted the exposure +1, 0, and -1 and ran it through photoshop.

Before


see 1280X 800 here


After



see 1280X 800 here


question,
working on a RAW image adjusting the exposure, is that really adjusting the exposure like the camera wouuld digitally? I have a wanna be DSLR so would the exposure be "fake" in some way?

[phil-ray]

thats a very nice image there PCRIDE to bad about the wee water marks.

[robbmcaulay]

Pcride, I really like that example, shows how subtle it can be whilst making a huge difference to an image.

[slinky2000]

question,
working on a RAW image adjusting the exposure, is that really adjusting the exposure like the camera wouuld digitally? I have a wanna be DSLR so would the exposure be "fake" in some way?

from what I've tried, no it's not the same as actually doing it through the camera but does improve the picture anyway, from normal. its alot more subtle doing it from one raw rather than three different manual exposures and usually comes out clearer cos theres no differences in the images.

If you can get three different manual exposures right, I prefer this way