1st Attempt at HDR C&C welcome and appreciated

[Erik638]

Hey Guys,

This was my first attempt at HDR photography. I posted some non HDR ones a couple of days ago in the beginner forum and that's probably where these belong as well but HDR is mentioned in the description of "beyond the basics". Anyway, these pictures were taken on August 11, 2011 of the George Washington Bridge. Three pictures were taken bracketing (0, +1, -1). The Pictures where edited in aperture and HDR Efex Pro. C&C, advice, suggestions or anything else anyone has to say is welcome and appreciated. Thanks.






HDR George Washington Bridge 11-16mm @ 15mm by Erik638, on Flickr

1. HDR George Washington Bridge
D90
Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 @ 15mm
HDR Efex pro 3 Shots (0, 1+, 1-)
8/11/11



August 2011 GWB 5411_HDR by Erik638, on Flickr

2.HDR George Washington Bridge 24-70mm @28mm
D90
Nikon 24-70 F/2.8 @ 28mm
HDR Efex Pro 3 shots (0, 1+, 1-)
8/11/11

Thanks,

Erik

 

[chetanls]

Hi @Erik,

I am no expert myself, but here's my $.02 -
* The 1st image above is a good capture - I liked the composition
* From HDR processing perspective, you have brought out the shadows pretty well. However, I feel the highlights are a tad overexposed. Overall too, this picture will be better served if you reduce the total exposure
* The reflection of the bridge on the water is confusing - do you get this reflection naturally, or is it thru some PP? I think this is detracting and taking the focus away from the picture
* The 2nd image has a better balance between shadows and highlights.
* The long exposure though gives the picture an overall 'plastic' feel

Hope this is useful...

 

[480sparky]

To me, it looks like you needed to get a wider range than just -1/0/+1. The highlights are still blown out and the shadows contain no detail.

 

[Erik638]

Chetanis,Thank you for the comments. I will try to lower the overall exposure but might be hard b/c I don't shoot raw but will mess with it. It might be another reason to go back and try again. I had nothing to do with the reflection. I wish I could do stuff like that in PP, that is way over my skill level at this point. I just used the three pictures in HDR efex pro then used aperture a little to make the colors pop a bit more. As far as the plastic look goes I was trying to figure out the right word to describe them and that might be it. I am not sure how I could change the long shutter and still get the headlights of the cars to streak like that. Also I thought I needed a large depth of field so after the sun set I needed a longer shutter speed to be able to to shoot F/16-F/22. I guess I can try to shoot at f/8-f/11 to raise my shutter speed a bit. Any ideas? Thanks again!Erik

 

[Erik638]

480sparky,Thank you for responding. This was my first time trying this so any help is appreciated. So when you say wider range do you mean (-2, 0, +2) or doing more pictures (-2, -1, 0, +1, +2). Also my camera only brackets three shots so I could theoretically just do it with exposure compensation? Thanks again,Erik

 

[480sparky]

How many shots you need to take depends on 1. the native dynamic range of your camera and 2. the dynamic range of the scene.

1. Some cameras have the ability to capture a wider dynamic range than others. It's not something you'll find in the specs in the back of the manual, but there are web sites that can provide you with the number. Let's say, for the sake of discussion, your camera has a 10-stop range. This means you can shoot a scene that's 10 stops from it's brightest part to it's darkest with no need for HDR.

If the range of the scene exceeds the camera's ability, then you need to proceed to step 2. :take enough frames to 'cover' the range and run those through an HDR process. If, for instance, the range of the scene is 12 stops, then -1/0/+1 is fine. But the wider the range becomes, the more frames you'll need to take in order to properly expose all the highlights and shadows.

 

[D-B-J]

I agree that you need more exposures, or at least, a wider range. The highlights are blown and the shadows lack the detail one would expect from a proper HDR. STill, i really like the composition in the first shot, and would love to see it redone.

 

[Erik638]

480sparky & D-B-J,So I googled to get the dynamic range of my D90 and numbers seemed to vary depending on who I was reading. Thom felt here was a solid 8 stops so he seems to be well respected so I will go with that. With that said I do not really know how to figure out the range of the scene I was shooting. I will assume that it will take more then (+1, 0, -1) to get it done. I will also try to get back there on a nice night and try to re take the picture with more exposures and a greater range. Thanks for your help and patients with me. Erik

 

[pixilstudio]

because the subject is so far away and shooting with a 16 u should be fine at f8 you should infinity at 5ft or closer. point being i would shoot more pics at a wider range.

 

[KmH]

Have you ever scrolled down far enought to see this forum section?

HDR Discussions

High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allows a greater dynamic range of luminances between light and dark areas of a scene.