Do you consider this sublte

[ndancona]

Wanted a subtle use of HDR on this pic. Played around with it for quite a while and happy with the end result but not sure if I've lost that subtle look I was after.



View it on Flickr if you prefer: St. Mary Magdalene Chapel web | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[BevD]

I'm by no means an expert, but would like to comment on this picture. There are both over exposed and under exposed areas in the picture; my understanding of HDR is that it should "correct" this and result in more balanced exposure. How many exposures did you use? I would be interested in seeing the originals you worked with.

 

[robertandrewphoto]

I think you have the right idea, but by taking more underexposed images you will be able to blend in the sky better.

 

[The Barbarian]

It's a real challenge to get all things properly exposed, and still retain some realistic look to an image, especially with one showing such large differences in light. You did pretty well, but I do agree that a few more exposures might have made it an even better image.

 

[Ilovemycam]

So so with subtle. But I like it as is.

 

[cgipson1]

A shot can still be a HDR, and still not cover the entire dynamic range. That is up to the artist (photographer). And I don't care how many "underexposed" images you shoot.. the SUN is still going to go 255,255,255.. nature of the beast!

OP.. considering how badly backlit this is.. I think you did an excellent job of keeping detail in the shadow areas, that would have been nothing but silhouettes in a normal shot. I think the sky is overdone... but then I HATE tone mapping. The saturation banding is bad. I prefer to use the so-called LDR technique.. just exposure fusion with no tone mapping. Much more realistic.

How many images went into this, at what exposure differences?

 

[ndancona]

3 images at 1 stop intervals.

In Lightroom I brought out more black in the image as i thought it looked more realistic that way, that's why there are underexposed areas.

I shot this in a hurry as with most my photography and it was handheld. So in that situation and with my camera (Canon 600d) it was quickest to program in 3 exposures.

Thanks for your comments!