HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography - post your HDR

[mcmadhatter]

HDR is very useful for shooting interiors. I don't have any lighting set-up, and the dynamic range of a pic like this extends from gloomy corners to the light through the windows. Without HDR I'd be able to get the highlights right, or the shadowed areas... but not both.

For any Quakers out there, this is Swarthmoor Hall, near ulverston, home of George Fox...

LOL, I was going to say was that Swarthmore, with the HDR the rooms looker brighter and better than last time I visited, I like the picture too.

 

[Abstract]

I went and took a picture of our sauna. Three differently exposed RAW, a run through Photomatix and Pixelmator, and this is the end-result. HDR is not that obvious, but it's there . I'm not 100% sure how happy I am with the end-result, but it conveys the look and feel of the sauna quite nicely.

Why is it so blurry? Did you not use a tripod for the shots?

The Sydney Town Hall

How do you make it look cartoon-ish? I don't like the effect, but I'd like to know how to avoid it. It's as if you took 2 or 3 photos without a tripod, then put them together, hence the effect you see along edges.

Anyway, here's a photo for you.

 

[savar]

HDR is really fascinating...some of these photos are so fantastic, they look like computer renderings of a virtual scene -- like a video game.

 

[Rhosfelt]

So I have a question it is pretty much impossible to take a JPEG and transform it into RAW images with different exposures (using photoshop) and get a similar effect?

I keep getting super exposed images with like Yellow, and orange..Or is it because my picture is too bright (I don't think so..)?

Anyone help.. I'm really looking into photography as soon as I get some cash flow I will be getting a nice camera, but for now I am using my friend's pictures because he doesn't know photoshop at all

 

[valdore]

So I have a question it is pretty much impossible to take a JPEG and transform it into RAW images with different exposures (using photoshop) and get a similar effect?

I keep getting super exposed images with like Yellow, and orange..Or is it because my picture is too bright (I don't think so..)?

Anyone help.. I'm really looking into photography as soon as I get some cash flow I will be getting a nice camera, but for now I am using my friend's pictures because he doesn't know photoshop at all

Doing HDR from a single JPEG doesn't really work or achieve the goals of HDR because of the compression inherent in JPEG photos. Yes I have seen it done with a JPEG, but it doesn't really go nearly as far as it would had it been from a RAW. However, if you have multiple source images directly from the camera, then JPEGs work fine. A couple months back I started shooting RAW however even for my multiple source images from the camera because I wanted to perform edits on the sources before taking them into Photomatix.

 

[Rhosfelt]

Doing HDR from a single JPEG doesn't really work or achieve the goals of HDR because of the compression inherent in JPEG photos. Yes I have seen it done with a JPEG, but it doesn't really go nearly as far as it would had it been from a RAW. However, if you have multiple source images directly from the camera, then JPEGs work fine. A couple months back I started shooting RAW however even for my multiple source images from the camera because I wanted to perform edits on the sources before taking them into Photomatix.

So I am pretty much stuck for now..oh well I can't wait to get my hands on a decent camera! My little Fuji Z1 is good for messing around, but not for the artistic stuff I am trying to get into.

 

[valdore]

So I am pretty much stuck for now..oh well I can't wait to get my hands on a decent camera! My little Fuji Z1 is good for messing around, but not for the artistic stuff I am trying to get into.

If you're in a hurry to get started, just get a tripod and find a scene with no motion, and do it that way, changing shutter speed. You can still use HDR and a point and shoot that way, until you upgrade your camera.

 

[Rhosfelt]

If you're in a hurry to get started, just get a tripod and find a scene with no motion, and do it that way, changing shutter speed. You can still use HDR and a point and shoot that way, until you upgrade your camera.

There is no option to change the shutter speed on my camera...or at least I can't find it..its a decent "quick cam" but lacking the professional options that I need.

 

[Optimus Rhyme]

I want to start getting into HDR. Has anyone used Hydra? Just wondering how it compares to PhotoMatrix.

I just tried Hydra and I'd have to say I'm not a fan.

It has a very sleek interface, well presented, but just lacks features. If you have absolutely no idea what you're doing and just want the computer to make an HDR picture for you, that's what it does. It doesn't appear to do true tone mapping yet, but apparently it will be implemented in a future version.

In my opinion I'd say avoid it for now and stick with Photomatix, but keep an eye on Hydra as it could be a very good alternative once the program progresses.

 

[marclapierre13]

This is my favorite photo out of the 75 I took today, so i edited it a few different ways. Heres the HDR version, i like the way it turned out. But my favorite is the edited one i posted in the daily photo page. The only reason I kept the HDR version is it reminds me of a painting.

 

[Doylem]

There is no option to change the shutter speed on my camera...or at least I can't find it..its a decent "quick cam" but lacking the professional options that I need.

This is one instance where the equipment really isn't up to the task. A high-end DSLR will offer auto-bracketing (ie it will provide you with 3, or 5, or 7, or, gulp, 9 differently exposed shots to stitch together). But even a low-end DSLR will be fine. You'd just have to adjust exposure manually. Either way, you will need a sturdy tripod.

 

[dnksr]

I see the new pentax K20 has an HDR setting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZlVEe2y9e4

 

[tuscanson]

nice topic but i haven't seen so many car pictures here


here's 1 of 3 original pictures i used to create a HDR:



actually this is the brightest of the 3 pictures (don't have the other 2 here right now).

the resulting HDR/tonemapped in photomatix, white corrected:

 

[Abstract]

There is no option to change the shutter speed on my camera...or at least I can't find it..its a decent "quick cam" but lacking the professional options that I need.

But surely your camera has exposure compensation (possibly a square symbol with a +/- inside). Even the most very basic point and shoots have this feature, and from the specs, it seems that your camera does.

That's how you'll get your different exposures....

 

[onomatopoeia]

I see the new pentax K20 has an HDR setting...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZlVEe2y9e4

I watched the 7 minute video and saw nothing about HDR. What is this "HDR Setting" supposed to do?

 

[Rhosfelt]

This is one instance where the equipment really isn't up to the task. A high-end DSLR will offer auto-bracketing (ie it will provide you with 3, or 5, or 7, or, gulp, 9 differently exposed shots to stitch together). But even a low-end DSLR will be fine. You'd just have to adjust exposure manually. Either way, you will need a sturdy tripod.

I am looking at either the Cannon Rebel ( I think AKA 350D or 400D) or a Nikon D70.. Honestly I like to spend right around $400 and get some nice accessories (decent lens, and card) but that will have to wait for the summer either way, because at college I don't really have a job, and I need the cash I saved up for food and other expenses.

But surely your camera has exposure compensation (possibly a square symbol with a +/- inside). Even the most very basic point and shoots have this feature, and from the specs, it seems that your camera does.

That's how you'll get your different exposures....

Yeah it has the exposure but if you take it off of Auto it looks horrid. It is almost better to adjust the exposure in PS and call it a day. Either way I am just going to have to wait for the summer to really get into photography (all my tripods are at home, and it would just be a big hassle bringing them here and taking them back). Which is good I guess, with school and whatnot I don't need another piece of technology to distract me.

 

[termina3]

Which is good I guess, with school and whatnot I don't need another piece of technology to distract me.

What, surely you aren't thinking of this forum!

 

[nicoritschel]

 

[TimJim]

I watched the 7 minute video and saw nothing about HDR. What is this "HDR Setting" supposed to do?

He talked about it at 4:15

 

[dornoforpyros]

an old building in Calgary, what an odd site...

 

[Evangelion]

Why is it so blurry? Did you not use a tripod for the shots?

Yes, I used a tripod. I experimented with applying Orton-technique on the tonemapped picture. I tried that with an earlier picture as well which can be seen here.

I'm not 100% sure that do I like the effect on the sauna-picture, but IMO it works quite well on the picture above.

In short: the blurriness is intentional .

 

[Daringescape]

Comments and criticism welcome.....

 

[TimJim]

C+C welcome.

 

[imbored]

I've been messing around with HDR a little bit, but haven't quite been satisfied with my results. I'll see if I can get my computer working enough to upload some photos in a little bit.

 

[nicoritschel]