HDR Fun

[aggsys]

(http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=14rMkGUPmzKDRaMD3wKetJ1gOnRQi1])http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/14rMkGUPmzKDRaMD3wKetJ1gOnRQi1_thumb.jpg

I have added a few new photos to my EV Gallery and PSEU Gallery using the HDR technique that I took tonight. Above is a sample. I still have a steep learning curve to get it right but I am having a blast in the meantime. Check them out and feel free to give me constructive feedback so I can improve. Thanks

[Chesney]

Craig,
I don't know much about HDR, but all of your sunset shots are absolutely beautiful!! I love the brillant colors - You are really good! Great gallery!

[Byron Gale]

Here's a working link:
http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=14rMkGUPmzKDRaMD3wKetJ1gOnRQi1

Your picture makes me wish I was there!! :D

Byron

[aggsys]

Thanks Byron, why did my link not work? I triple clicked on it before I copied it?

[JulieM]

Craig,

This is stunning! I am just in awe...

Would you mind explaining how you plan your exposures? I'm experimenting with HDR too and I have trouble figuring out what exposure to base my 3 exposures on. If you have strong highlights or shadows, which do you expose properly in your initial exposure?

[Byron Gale]

...why did my link not work?...Craig,

I don't know how it got there, but in your link there is an extra square bracket "]" at the end of the embedded URL. That's why it doesn't work.

Byron

[aggsys]

I set my camera up on the tripod and typically use the most extreme F-Stop to get the widest depth of field to be in focus (I think I am saying this right... I get the terminology mixed up but I mechanically know what to do). I put the camera on aperture priority mode and let it determine the exposure based on the scene I have set up. I think take at least two more photos +/- 2 EV and if I think it has a lot of light variations I will take five photos total with +2, +1, 0, -1, -2. My camera's auto bracket feature only offers .3 and .7 variations and I don't think that is enough so I manually change the braket to the full integer figures. I then use Photomatix to do the processing and that is where I still need to play more because of the halos and artifacts that it can produce by overprocessing. After I have it processing there I open the file in PSE6 and do some fine tuning adjustments. Does this make sense?

[JulieM]

Thanks a lot, Craig. Good explanation!

I'm basically setting up like you are. I'm wondering when dealing with a scene with big variations in light, if it would be of benefit to spot meter for the highlights or shadows before setting the bracketing. I can only bracket 3 exposures with my camera so Photomatix has less to work with and I want to give it good information! I think I need to get out and do some more experimenting.

Thanks for sharing your technique!

[ljameso1]

Julie, if you work in manual mode you can bracket as many as needed by changing the shutter speed and watching the histogram. Take as many as you need 1 stop apart to get through a sequence of both ends of the histogram moved well away from the edges. Then you will e sure to have covered the full range in the scene.

[JulieM]

Good point, Linda. I'd been considering that but I wonder if the extra time taken to adjust the shutter speed manually for successive exposures might yield images that are different enough (if there is movement in clouds etc...) that Photomatix might not be able to compensate. The camera does the 3 exposures on AEB a lot faster than I can manually! Maybe it won't make a noticeable difference, though...

[aggsys]

I can't use the autobracketing on my camera because the spread is too small to make a noticable difference. I use +/- 2 EV and my camera's automatic mode is +/- 0.7 or 0.3 which is too small a difference to really get the contrasts in the highlights and shadows based on what I am photographing. If you are doing something inside with back light, the smaller difference may work.

Also, when dealing with clouds, you have to be quick otherwise, the software can't align the photos and you end up with a little mess. That is why I typically on use 3 shots as I can fire them off pretty quick but I still have a series from time to time that just won't line up.

I tend to like the darker side of the exposure scale so that too probably has me using a bigger spread of exposure than my camera offers in auto mode.

Nice chatting... *smile*

[ljameso1]

To deal with moving clouds/suns 1st make your hdr and then go back to the original series and select the 1 with the best exposure for the object that moved. Copy and paste on top of hdr and use a mask to get rid of unwanted portion.