HDR portraits

chakalakasp

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371569929_a9a43a18b0.jpg


(1280px version avaliable here, courtesy of Flickr.

This is a followup shot of another photo I took this Spring:

251042454_5a2ba40820.jpg


(1280 px version of this one available here, courtesy of Flickr.

These were both shot with a Canon 10-22 EFS on a 20D. 5 shots were used for each photo, combined into an HDR with Photomatix, tonemapped to 16bit with Photomatix (with all the tonemapping settings turned down to 0 -- I hate Photomatix's tonemapping!), then toned with Photoshop CS2 and downsampled to 8bit JPEGs.

I've found that the key to HDR portraits is to have a model that can hold very still, a study tripod, and a cable release. :)
 
I love the look of these although in number two her head seems oddly shaped I think it is caused by the background behind her head. Very creative use of HDR though.
 
I love the look of these although in number two her head seems oddly shaped I think it is caused by the background behind her head. Very creative use of HDR though.

It's probably the lens distortion -- it's quite tricky doing a portrait with a 10mm lens! :) The second photo is a more accurate representation of her facial features.
 
Nice I like the colours but the background either side looks a little too fake for me
 
I'm curious as well. I looked it up but I still don't quite understand what exactly a HDR image is.
 
very cool, only thing is that usually you use hdr for landscapes cause you cant control light too much, this seems like too much work for a result you can get with normal portrait setup.

Although, this might come on handy when you cant get your lights out with you !!! Either way its pretty cool, i like it.....
 
An HDR image is where you take multiple exposures. With one, you blow out all but the darkest shadows, with another, you darken it so much that only the brightest highlights are distinguisheable, and then you take several shots in between. You combine them all, and keep the detailed portions of the exposures while hiding the blown out/dark parts. It creates a very broad Dynamic Range (HDR=High Dynamic Range), so everything is detailed.

I've tried toying with it, but it's not very easy in Photoshop (I don't have Photomatix), so I'm still trying to get it right.

These look very good by the way...
 
very cool, only thing is that usually you use hdr for landscapes cause you cant control light too much, this seems like too much work for a result you can get with normal portrait setup.

Although, this might come on handy when you cant get your lights out with you !!! Either way its pretty cool, i like it.....

There's no such thing as "too much work" in photography! :)

This shot would not be possible using a lighting setup. The interior beams of the church were roughly 5 or 6 EV darker than the sky. You could not have lit them without creating massive reflections on the glass panes.

Ultimately, HDR portraiture is best for when you want to preserve (instead of fake) the original lighting. There's nothing wrong with flash or studio lighting (I use my flash all the time) -- but it can be interesting to limit yourself to available light only.

BTW -- shot #1 was shot at sunset, and that's really what it looked like outside. Shot #2 is slightly hazy outside compared to reality, but much closer than the blowout that would have occured had I exposed only for the interior of the church. The look is intentional -- I wanted it to look somewhat painterly, as the photo goes in a series with this one:

251047033_a041c24d34_o.jpg

(from http://www.flickr.com/photos/digicana/251047033/)
 
I've tried toying with it, but it's not very easy in Photoshop (I don't have Photomatix), so I'm still trying to get it right.

These look very good by the way...

Indeed! It's a bit tougher in Photoshop, but I actually prefer Photoshop over Photomatix. I only used Photomatix this time because, for some reason, with this specific shot, it works slightly better than Photoshop. Most of the time Photoshop wins.

I wrote a longish (but easy to follow) tutorial on doing HDR with Photoshop CS2 here:

http://backingwinds.blogspot.com/2006/10/how-to-create-professional-hdr-images.html
 
An HDR image is where you take multiple exposures. With one, you blow out all but the darkest shadows, with another, you darken it so much that only the brightest highlights are distinguisheable, and then you take several shots in between. You combine them all, and keep the detailed portions of the exposures while hiding the blown out/dark parts. It creates a very broad Dynamic Range (HDR=High Dynamic Range), so everything is detailed.

I've tried toying with it, but it's not very easy in Photoshop (I don't have Photomatix), so I'm still trying to get it right.

These look very good by the way...
Thanks for explanation, never tried this , looks like very interesting :D
Mat
 
dont get me wrong, I like these, they are cool. :thumbup:

I see what your saying about it not being possible with lighting,
the end result looks too much of a painting for my taste, but
to each his own, I think its cool to branch out and do something like this.

I can get too picky sometimes, dont mind me.. :sexywink:

I assume everyone is shooting for money and on a time crunch, and sometimes I forget the artisticness of portraits... lol
 
Really neat and the pics are great.Thanks for the link,you have some really good info there.:thumbup:
 

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