1st ever attempt at HDR.....C&C please

[benny420]

Shot this a couple blocks from my house....I know the composition is off by cutting some of the stables out on the right, but I had my daughter asleep in the car so I didn't have anytime to set up the shot.....I just pulled my jeep off the road and set my joby focus on my hood and fired 6 frames off from -2 to +2 to see what would happen and then used Photoshop to merge into a HDR and played around a bit with the settings.
Curious as to where I should be focusing for a shot like this?? What aperture would you recommend for this shot??

7D Canon 50mm 1.4 Settings: ISO 100 f/8.0 1/400th second AWB

1st Attempt at HDR by BennyHogan, on Flickr

 

[AprilEye]

I think this is a fantastic shot. I have never shot HDR myself, so those that have might see something different. But I like the shot in and of itself!

 

[jaymac]

IMO:
Looks pretty good

 

[point-&-shoot]

nice. it looks good as its sized here but i opened the image and it looks even better full size.

 

[benny420]

nice. it looks good as its sized here but i opened the image and it looks even better full size.

Thanks! Wish I could post the RAW file as I lost a lot of detail converting it to jpeg

 

[Light Artisan]

Looks great!

 

[flyingember]

something felt wrong and after some thinking I decided what it is

the house and foreground grass is over exposed compared to the hills. try toning them down by 10% and see what it does

you can tell because you blew the highlights in the white

 

[benny420]

something felt wrong and after some thinking I decided what it is

the house and foreground grass is over exposed compared to the hills. try toning them down by 10% and see what it does

you can tell because you blew the highlights in the white

This was the 1st time I ever used photoshop so I don't know how to adjust exposure on just the front part of the image?? Assume its pretty simple.
Decided to just re-do the HDR with the 6 originals and tone it down a bit (though I like the original a whole lot more, especially how it pops).....is there a way in Photoshop to open an already edited HDR and readjust things without creating a new one??


Lagerman Res 2 by BennyHogan, on Flickr


Thanks for any advice, I really appreciate it as I'm just learning and attempting to improve my skills

 

[lyonsroar]

^I like the before one better TBH.

Nice use of HDR. Remains realistic yet adds a little something...

 

[doziergraphic]

very nice given you say you don't know much about photoshop. Too bad the fence is in there, doesn't work for the shot. But understand given your explaination of a quick shoot and go.

The only improvement you might make when you go back (assuming it's that close to home you will) is to get more of the sky. Those dark clouds could have made for an even better shot if included properly. Then photoshop that fence out of there.

But very good use of HDR.

 

[flyingember]

The only improvement you might make when you go back (assuming it's that close to home you will) is to get more of the sky. Those dark clouds could have made for an even better shot if included properly. Then photoshop that fence out of there.

why would you suggest including less of the subject? that doesn't make sense

 

[doziergraphic]

I suppose if it was a real estate shot sure, but with HDR why not take advantage of those mountains against that sky with dark clouds? Just seems like too much foreground. Could come close to raising the angle just above the fence, or between the fence lines and get more sky. Wouldn't change the subject, and you wouldn't be drawn to the lower left of the photo.

 

[GooniesNeverSayDie11]

Very nice shot and HDR. I would crop just a small bit of the bottom foreground grass and clone out the wire fence lines. I find the lines distracting.