HDR picture

cpark92808 · Mar 12, 2009

Hi. I saw some of the C& C images and they were beautiful. You guys said it was taken in HDR. Can anyone tell me how to take or make a HDR photo? Thank you

Ecas32 · Mar 12, 2009

an hdr photo usually consits of three or more photos, each taken at different exposures. to do this, you set your camera to auto bracket, or AEB. once this is done you shoot your scene, holding the button for continuous shooting.
you then have to run it through a program, such as photomatix, which will align it and process it, then u need to tone map it

Mgw189 · Mar 12, 2009

Ecas got most of it but the purpose of HDR. The reason photographers are starting to use HDR is to capture more detail in the shots. HDR is a combination of multiple exposures. You combine those exposures to create a more uniformed exposure. This happens because as you over expose images the dark areas are more correctly exposed and as you under expose the brighter spots are more evenly exposed.

cpark92808 · Mar 12, 2009

This is mostly used for landscape right? O ya. another question on side note. All the landscape pictures that i have seen have really dramatic lighting and such, but i cant reproduce those kind of pictures unless i use lightroom and photoshop. Do people's pictures that are posted here already photoshopped and such? And what is it mean by picture being processed?

Mgw189 · Mar 12, 2009

cpark92808 said:
This is mostly used for landscape right? O ya. another question on side note. All the landscape pictures that i have seen have really dramatic lighting and such, but i cant reproduce those kind of pictures unless i use lightroom and photoshop. Do people's pictures that are posted here already photoshopped and such? And what is it mean by picture being processed?

You can use HDR for anything. Landscape is the most popular use but it can be used for anything really provided there isnt much movement in the objects or you can get some ghosting. Most of us use photoshop or some other post processing program of some sort.

Jeffrey Byrnes · Mar 12, 2009

HDR is a process of making 3-12 bracketed exposures, (3-12 photos from over to under exposed to get a full tonal range.) mid tones, highlights, and shadows all in one photograph. You need to bracket each shot by 1/3, 1/3, or full f-stop, It is best to bracket using shutter speeds not f-stops. Shutter speed bracketing from 350, to 250, 90 is just an example. But changing the f-stop is not recommended in some situations.

The idea of HDR has been around for a damn near long time. The soft wear to do so, not so long. But HDR has been thought of for the longest time. Because traditionally you can not get a photograph to represent what your eyes seen. The highlights, shadows, and mid tones all in one. But as technology progresses so do the programs that are capable of producing HDR images. Photoshop CS2, CS3, and CS4 have merge to HDR options. But there are a few dedicated programs such as Photomatix that can do more features such as tone mapping, which gives the painterly, illustrated qualities that alot of people are producing.

Check out wikipedia.com for more info on HDR. It is so hard to fully get the grasp on a forum.

With out showing us the examples youre refering to, (lighting in the landscape) we can not fully understand what you mean by how they are lit. But post-processing is refering to a photograph that has been shot, adjusted, toned, edited in photoshop. Processing just means edited or altered to your style or desires.

cpark92808 · Mar 12, 2009

sorry. It might be a dumb question, but how do you bracket? I have sony a200. Sorry for being such a noob

inTempus · Mar 13, 2009

cpark92808 said:
sorry. It might be a dumb question, but how do you bracket? I have sony a200. Sorry for being such a noob

I don't know how you do it in your Sony, you will have to refer to your owners manual. Look for a section dedicated to "AEB" or Auto Exposure Bracketing. It's a pretty universal term.

Your camera does to up to three AEB shots. If you can't find it in your manual, perhaps one of the Sony users here could help out.

AlexColeman · Mar 13, 2009

Google or search it.

cpark92808 · Mar 13, 2009

is it better to do bracketing manually? or can you do it manually?

CW Jones · Mar 13, 2009

Yes I believe you can bracket manually. If it has the AEB feature... why not use it? I am pretty sure I dont have it, but have learned how to bracket in the past. You can do it manually, just ignore your light meter, and make sure the camera is set to "M" for complete control. if your on shutter speed priority, the F-stops will change to give you the correct exposure based on the light meter reading, which for a HDR you dont want them all to be the same. A tripod is also a must if your doing it manually.

Christie Photo · Mar 13, 2009

CW Jones said:
...the F-stops will change to give you the correct exposure based on the light meter reading, which for a HDR you dont want them all to be the same.

Really? I've not done much with HDR, but wouldn't you want the f stop to remain the same and bracket with shutter speed to preserve depth-of-field throughout the bracket?

-Pete

CW Jones · Mar 13, 2009

I said IF you put it on shutter speed priority... you set your shutter speed and the camera sets the f-stop that would give you the correct exposure. I said DONT shoot on shutter speed priority because it will change and that will not work for a HDR lol

maybe I wasnt too clear, or maybe you read it wrong, but I agreed that you want the F-stop to stay the say and just the shutter speed to change. Put the camera on manual so you can set your F-stop once, and then just change your shutter speed and ignore your light meter and just shoot over exposed, and under exposed