currently in Lochearnhead, playing with HDR 4 for c & c

hayleyfraser24 · Aug 11, 2011

So I decided to buy photomatix and give HDR photography a go... its very fun, im currently on holiday in Lochearnhead Scotland so Im out photographing every day as its so beautiful here. Im not sure I like the "sureal" look but heres a few for comments and critique... let me know what you think??

1... very surreal

2 less surreal

3 a bit random

4 edinample falls

zeealex · Aug 11, 2011

i like them very nice. number 2 over number one definitely, there's allot more detail, best thing i found with HDR in photoshop is to just "enhance" it rather than make it too overly surreal, or it starts looking quite flat.
number 3 is pretty cool, that's more like what i was babbling on about.
number 4 no offence, looks a little flattened, youd need to add a little more definition to the highlights and shadows to bring it out

hayleyfraser24 · Aug 11, 2011

thanks zeealex... I agree, number 4 was my favourite location to shoot but when I got home I was a bit dissapointed with how those particular shots turned out, I will try editing them some more

g-fi · Aug 11, 2011

I like 2 and 3. 1 is a bit much, I think you've lost too much detail in the shadows but you've also got a bit of competition between the foreground and the background, there's interest in both and a crop might help focus what you want to be focused on. (If that makes sense). Not a fan of #4 in HDR, this is a beautiful scene, but I don't think you added anything that needed to be added with an HDR or with that particular HDR. I looooove surrealistic HDR, lots of tone mapping doesn't bother me, but it has to be done spectacularly, otherwise a much lighter hand with HDR looks better, as in #2. I think there is a LOT of potential in the landscapes that you're around right now, so don't give up!

How many exposures did you use for these?

hayleyfraser24 · Aug 11, 2011

Only 3 exposures...I used the bracketing mode on my camera and it only allows 3. I can do more manually but im really just playing around.. and I agree, sometimes HDR works.. and sometimes its better to just capture the shot in one frame! Im here another few days so im hoping to really nail some great shots! Thanks for your comments, they are always appreciated!

DiskoJoe · Aug 11, 2011

HDR is for when you want to express details in areas that may be naturally shaded. when i do hdr i usually do 5 exposures spaced one exposure apart, -2,-1, 0,+1,+2. you dont always have to use all five but sometimes it comes out better if you do. A wide angle lens would be good for the type of shots your doing. Are you keeping the aperture at the same levels for each shot? the last shot looks like it needed a lower aperture. foreground is blurry.

hayleyfraser24 · Aug 11, 2011

yea aperture is the same in all photos only the exposure is different. Thanks for the tips though.. I think 4 is the worst of the bunch and it drives me crazy as it was such a stunning location!... had to do a bit of trespassing to get to it! ha ha!... I wish I could have done it justice.. I might have to put on my fatigues and try again!