HDR?

[david0]

Does anybody else play around with HDR? Im just starting to do them a little bit. I need more practice.

[popeshawnpaul]

Yes.  They are kind of a pain in the butt to do but I do them.  They work best for certain types of images but I find the new lightroom 4 does a really good job on dynamic range issues in terms of getting details in the shadows and controlling the highs.  This way I don't need to mess with HDR.  You can get crazy with it though and it's best to use it in control so it's hard to tell you used it.  That being said, many people say they look fake.  I think they look more real because your eye can see the detail.  It doesn't look like what we think a picture should given how we've seen images growing up so we dismiss them as fake but in reality they are more like the vast dynamic range our eye enjoys.  I even did HDR on a bedded buck once.  Unless there is extreme dynamic range, I rarely shoot HDR anymore and only with landscapes.

[huntnphool]

 I bracket shots at times too.

[Alchase]

WOW!
Those are awesome.

[SkookumHntr]

WoW!!

[Alchase]

Could someone explain this process?
Those are incredible shots!

[huntnphool]

Could someone explain this process?
Those are incredible shots!

 Cameras aperture are set for each shot and can not capture the difference between light and dark in a single image like the human eye can. My shots are three images combined into one. I set my camera to bracket the shot on a tripod, one shot under exposed to darken the highlights, one shot neutral and one shot over exposed to lighten the shadows or dark parts. Then the three are combined to take advantage of the best part of each image.

 Did you ever take a picture and wonder why parts of it look like you remember but the sky and clouds are blown out? Or got the clouds and sky exposed right except your subject is silhouetted? Bracketing takes three images, one right after the other, with exposures that help you adjust for this.

 My camera is older now but a lot of the newer versions bracket more than 5 images at a time, of course you need a good post processing software to combine the images and adjust. Most people tend to "overcook" the image IMO, I try to keep them looking as natural as I can, Pope does too.

[Alchase]

Awesome info thanks for the explaination.

[Alchase]

I was looking up HDR in Lightroom, they had an example of using "one" RAW to get similar not as good as using three or five shots, but I though it would be fun to play with.
 

[d_wilson]

I purchased an app for my iphone called Pro HDR thats fun to play with.  Only problem is you have to be REALLY still to get clear pictures.

[d_wilson]

[d_wilson]

[Gringo31]

 

I enjoy taking pictures, but you guys are in the NFL while I'm playing catch in the backyard with my son...

I am impressed and amazed....   

[huntnphool]

 It works great for bringing details out in clouds and for early morning or evening shots to bring out the detail in the shadows.

[huntnphool]

 By the way, the last pic in my first reply is of the 49* ski resort from the other side of the valley. I took this a hour before TMike shot his moose, a hint for those of you with a 49* tag this year.