and it was at night. i took this at the holocaust memorial last night. i know it probably isnt the best HDR image, but what do you think?
Lights are too light (flared lamps) and darks are too dark (shadows). There are a lot of HDR halos throughout. I don't know if you chose a good scene or it is just processed poorly. Are you using photomatrix?
That looks cool, did you use a tripod? all three photos lined up well. Did you use Photomatix or photoshop?
i used photomatix. any tips would be amazing. i want to get it to that still realistic, but very vivid state, and not overly/poorly done like mine but idk how to. anyone know anything that could help me out?
Agreed, it looks like a painting. I think it's a good example of overdone HDR... But I think that these types of photos DO have a place. Cartoony looks, to me, are cool even if some don't like them. I see HDR as a way to take a picture with high contrast and lots of shadows/bright areas, and end up with an image in which you can easily view the shadows/bright areas. That lighthouse photo is an excellent example of it.
anyone know a good way to tone it down even. i was having a hard time with it in photomatix. ill post the originals and maybe someone can help out.
The HDR looks too cartoony and overdone. I don't think the effect suits a memorial. I like the looks of original #1. The sky looks kinda haunted and cool. If you had spiced up the composition on that photo and kept the exposure as is , I think it would have been a cool photo, without HDR or anything. I'm personally not a fan of photoshopped images and HDRs much. An unusual but realistic looking picture is far more impressive to me.