HDR first attempts- C&C?

[CmazzJK]

I went hiking today in a new area and came across two places I wanted to try out photomatix on, these are my first two HDR pictures, so any advice on how to make better HDR pictures would be greatly accepted, thanks. Both were bracketed at +/- 2.

 

[D-B-J]

Not too bad for a first attempt. There seems to be a reasonable tonal range, color, etc. I've always found that HDR with a million tree's like that can be difficult, as the slightest breeze can cause ghosting (the branches won't line up perfectly). It appears like you only edited them in Photomatix--which is okay, but won't get you perfect results. For example, the below image was brought into photomatix, merged, exported to photoshop, I recut the sky onto it (photomatix had a lot of ghosting in the clouds), I brought it back into lightroom, and finished with contrast, clarity, the works. I've found that solely using photomatix leaves images...85% completed. The extra touch of photoshop or lightroom really makes a difference.


Just Photomatix:








Final:

A Calm End by f_one_eight, on Flickr


Also, try and make sure you're highlights maintain detail. In the water on the left-hand shot, the whites are pure white, with no definition. Your central exposure could have been 1/3 or 2/3's of a stop less (a bit darker).

Best,
Jake

 

[DSRay]

It depends on what results you want. There's nothing wrong with the photos above, but, and you'll hear this a lot, they are not my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, I shoot like 90% HDR but I try very hard to have them un-distinguishable from single exposure photos.

So the first thing you need to do is decide how you want them to look and then, believe me, you can spend years perfecting it.

 

[D-B-J]

It depends on what results you want. There's nothing wrong with the photos above, but, and you'll hear this a lot, they are not my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, I shoot like 90% HDR but I try very hard to have them un-distinguishable from single exposure photos.

So the first thing you need to do is decide how you want them to look and then, believe me, you can spend years perfecting it.

I agree completely. I've been shooting HDR's for about 4 years, and think I only JUST began to figure out how to get the photo to what I want without making it look fake and forced. It's a long process, with a lot to learn.

 

[CmazzJK]

Not too bad for a first attempt. There seems to be a reasonable tonal range, color, etc. I've always found that HDR with a million tree's like that can be difficult, as the slightest breeze can cause ghosting (the branches won't line up perfectly). It appears like you only edited them in Photomatix--which is okay, but won't get you perfect results. For example, the below image was brought into photomatix, merged, exported to photoshop, I recut the sky onto it (photomatix had a lot of ghosting in the clouds), I brought it back into lightroom, and finished with contrast, clarity, the works. I've found that solely using photomatix leaves images...85% completed. The extra touch of photoshop or lightroom really makes a difference.


Just Photomatix:








Final:

A Calm End by f_one_eight, on Flickr


Also, try and make sure you're highlights maintain detail. In the water on the left-hand shot, the whites are pure white, with no definition. Your central exposure could have been 1/3 or 2/3's of a stop less (a bit darker).

Best,
Jake

Thanks for the response, I will have to get that photo into lightroom and mess around with it as this was strictly photomatix. Your pictures helped make an impression. I don't believe i used anti-ghosting on the forest picture i figured that everything was still enough but there could have been a slight breeze. Thanks for the advice DBJ.

 

[CmazzJK]

It depends on what results you want. There's nothing wrong with the photos above, but, and you'll hear this a lot, they are not my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, I shoot like 90% HDR but I try very hard to have them un-distinguishable from single exposure photos.

So the first thing you need to do is decide how you want them to look and then, believe me, you can spend years perfecting it.

I can say that I am still trying to find my niche in outdoor photography. This spring will open up some new opportunities to me to explore different atmospheres so I'm really looking forward to this year and some outdoor adventures.