HDR Portraiture

[robb01]

Has anyone done any portraits in HDR? There seems to be a lot of hate on HDR in general, but I really enjoy the effect.

 

[fokker]

hdr portrait - Google Search

 

[fokker]

Also, you will notice that a lot of these look quite bad which is why most people won't take HDR portraits. There were a couple of good ones there, like this one: http://www.thatindiedude.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/113-242x300.jpg

 

[1holegrouper]

Thanks for the links. In general it shows that close-up HDR portraiture is not the best way to tease out a flattering effect. But, it is an interesting mode for portraits of scruffy guys, lol.

The few good examples are either not true HDR or the brackets are thinned out from 1 stop to 1/2 stop or less. ex; -2, -1.5, -1, -0.5, 0, etc to have less gap in tone capture. Some cameras do a good job of capturing the gaps themselves though. Now I want to go experiment on this!

 

[KmH]

Has anyone done any portraits in HDR? There seems to be a lot of hate on HDR in general, but I really enjoy the effect.

HDR is used for High Dynamic Range scenes the camera image sensor cannot record. A scene with that much dynamic range isn't amenable to portraiture. Then again, you could just do it and evaluate if the result is viable for you.

Many confuse HDR with a tone-mapped photograph. You can tone map a single exposure, regardless the dynamic range in the scene.

Over the years I have seen so few HDR's done well, that I quit looking at them.

 

[robb01]

I know how you feel about HDR KmH

I really think if used appropriately it is an incredible tool, this photo for example is IMO a really great capture that couldn't be done if not in HDR: http://netdna.webdesignerdepot.com/uploads/hdr_portraits/2.jpg

 

[Super Simple]

There are some very interesting ones here:

14 Amusing Portraits in HDR

Worked for me anyways. I liked them.

 

[SNBniko]

Haloing drives me bonkers. BONKERS. I've done one HDR, and it was of a S&W airweight. It looks decent, but I need to figure out more on my camera in general before moving anywhere with HDR (I really just wanted to figure out the autobracketing, so I went ahead and compiled it too.)

I heard someone at the photo competition say "If a picture is taken outside, and it's not HDR... it wasn't worth taking." Funny, all he had entered were HDR landscapes with ghosting and haloing everywhere, WAY overcooked. He didn't place, either. =P (This is a guy who should know better, too!)

 

[KmH]

I don't believe any of the examples posted so far are in fact HDR's, made from 3 or more exposures, but that they are just over-the-top, tone-mapped single photos.

The "14 Amusing" ones are caricatures.

 

[lyonsroar]

There are some very interesting ones here:

14 Amusing Portraits in HDR

Worked for me anyways. I liked them.

Well that succeeded in creeping me the f*** out...