HDRPhotography Questions

[Throatrock]

I have a few questions regarding HDR photography. I know the basics and how-to.

1. In which situation should one take an HDR image?
2. What do people look for in an HDR image?
3. What is "overcooked" and how to avoid it?
4. After capturing the RAW images should I edit something first or just convert them into JPEG and load them into the HDR processing software(i use photomatix)?

 

[KmH]

1. When the scene has a dynamic range greater than your camera's image sensor can capture with 1 or 2 exposures.
2. Anything from normal looking to very un-natural over saturation. The goal varies from photographer to photographer.
3. "Overcooked" generally means surreal, unnatural, over saturated looking.
4. Use as much bit depth as possible when merging the exposures. JPEG is limited to an 8-bit color depth. Raw images have a 12-bit or 14-bit color depth. Making a high quality HDR generally requires going back and forth from your HDR software to your image editing software many times after the initial merging of the exposures you made.

Photo Editing Tutorials

 

[CaboWabo]

Here is a very good guide on how to shoot for HDR http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/hdr-discussions/285190-beginner-s-guide-hdr.html

 

[hirejn]

1. In which situation should one take an HDR image?
2. What do people look for in an HDR image?
3. What is "overcooked" and how to avoid it?
4. After capturing the RAW images should I edit something first or just convert them into JPEG and load them into the HDR processing software(i use photomatix)?

You should take one whenever you think it best captures the scene. To know if a scene exceeds your camera's dynamic range, you should calibrate the camera. If you don't, you can assume your camera can record a maximum of 6 stops from shadow to highlight. So, if you spot meter off a highlight and a shadow and you calculate that the difference between those readings is 6 stops or greater, it's a good idea to do HDR to make sure you get the shot.

I don't look for anything in HDR that I don't look for in any image. Overcooked is subjective. Any image can be overcooked. It usually means the processing is too obvious or exaggerated beyond what's pleasing or believable.

Converting to JPEG is the last step for me, and now I don't even upload JPEGs to my site; I upload only TIFFs. If possible, do your initial RAW edits and bring the RAW files into HDR, process them, and then edit the resulting TIFF for finishing. You can convert the finished image to JPEG.