HDR - Any advice ?

[terry_o_connor]

Hi all, I've been experimenting with HDR for a few days now and i'm not 100% sure I'm doing it correctly. A lot of the

images I've done look like something from the movie "300" and my images tend to have an overly processed look

which i'm trying to avoid. In addition there seems to be a lot of noise generated in some images.

 

Does anyone have any tips for HDR photography in general as in good subject matter, processing techniques etc ?

 

Heres one of my first attempts. It was shot with a Nikon D70, 18-70mm kit lens at 24mm f5.6 iso 200. I

autobracketed 3 images -2,0,+2ev and processed it with Photomatix. Any comments or tips appreciated.

[terry_o_connor]

Whoops - Finger trouble - heres the picture<div></div>

[ronald_moravec1]

It would be nice if the final image came up.

 

Even better if the three originals were put up and i could try it.

 

I use CS3 and they do not look like typical HDR which was my objective. The key seems to be in the second

processing step where I peg the white and black points.

 

When you pick the dark frame to use, don`t pick one that is too light and when you pick the highlight, use one that is

still a little bright. If you use frames all brought to normal exposure, then the pic looks like a cartoon with no brights and

no darks.

[toddcwilson]

Try more exposures in your bracketing range. There just isn't must dynamic range the the difference in EV of -2 to +2. Try something like 5, 7, or 9 stops. Nothing less that 5 though. This was shot with a D70s - 5 exposures merged for HDR - just learning how to do it.<div></div>

[iliafarniev]

Agree with Todd. Try like 7 - 9 shots and edit each off a bit before merging.

[terry_o_connor]

Thanks folks. Im limited to a max of 3 shots and 2 stops using the D70 autobracketing i'm afraid.

If I stay in aperture mode and vary the shutter speed by double (or half) the previous speed is this a full stop difference ?

[Carl Stone]

Keep in mind that the human eye can only see 7-8 stops at any given time. While the range is larger than that, we can't see the entire

range all at once. That is something to consider when merging images to increase their dynamic range, and it's often the reason that HDR

shots don't look natural. Since my DSLR has an 7-8 stop range, I never go beyond plus and minus 1ev when bracketing. Below is an

example of that, but not using HDR. I use a different process instead, one that I think is both easier to use, and much better at aligning.

That program is called Bracketeer, and it's a GUI for Enfuse.<div></div>

[charlesheckel]

If I stay in aperture mode and vary the shutter speed by double (or half) the previous speed is this a full stop difference ?<p>Yes.

[Carl Stone]

That's true.

[joseph_martines]

There are three programs in addition to CS3 which you can use for HDR - Photomatix, FDR, and Hydra. Of course there

may be others but, these are the ones I am aware of.

 

Two friends of mine did a talk together this morning at our camera group. If you would like a copy of the PDF that

William Sheck put together I will share it with you.

 

Is there a way for you to provide your eMail address through Photonet??

[terry_o_connor]

That'd be great Joseph.Thank you. My email address is oconnor_terry@hotmail.com