Help with HDR

e36style

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I've always enjoyed photography and i've been messing around with my camera, Rebel XT, and i've done a few HDR images that turned out very nice. This is one of my favorites
outside015_3_4.jpg


and lately none of my HDR images have turned out well. the settings are the same on the camera as they used to be. but all my pictures turn out grainy. In M mode i set the iso to 400 and AEB to -2, 0, and +2. Tommorow i'm going to try iso at 100 and see if it makes a difference. I've tried photomatix, FDR tools, and Qtpfsgui. but i can't seem to get results i like.
i was wondering if someone could take three of my pictures and make a nice hdr image out of them. I'm curious if i'm doing something wrong or if i need to change the settings on my camera.

here are three images i would like someone to use, if you don't mind.
Alex039.jpg

Alex038.jpg

Alex037.jpg


Thanks for your help! :mrgreen:
 
keep your ISO as low as possible, even at 400 there will be added grain.

all of these programs call for "tweaking" after the merging , so it is a matte of sitting down and working with all the sliders to get the results you want.
 
ya you have to keep the iso low not matter what. I tried to make a hdr out of those pictures but with no luck. It seems like the exposures are to close together even though you said you did -2,0,+2. One should be fairly overexposed and one fairly underexposedand one the proper exposure. To me it looks like you have one almost the proper exposure and two darker. Keep us updated on the shots you take at iso 100 or iso 200.
 
I like your shot. With Photomatix, you might boost the micro-smoothing and see if that cuts down on the noise/graininess.

I dissent a little about the ISO. Unless it's dead still, I tend to set it at 400 to get a faster shutter speed and less movement. Then I use noise reduction. If conditions permit, yeah, keep it low.
 
Thanks for the help, i noticed that too that pictures seemed to have one of the correct exposure and 2 darker, is that due to my ISO being higher than it should?
I've never been taught how to use the camera nor have i had any formal education in photography. I've just read through the manual and fiddled around until i got shots that i liked.
Tomorrow, assuming i get off work before it's dark outside, i'll try some pictures with the ISO at 100.
Right now i'm using manual exposure mode for AEB. I had both the shutter and apperture in mid range, i lowered them both and it took better shots in dark lighting. I'm sure this is camera basics, but i'm assuming high shutter speed + aperture is better for well lit scenes and vice versa?
Once again thank you for the help!
 
I was messing around with my camera today. i put it on av mode and took 5 different exposures. this is what i came up with
mountaindew.jpg
 
That desk and keyboard need to be cleaned!!!! Ugh :pale:

(As does your sensor, which shows clearly in the first photo you showed us, the HDR you really liked - which I understand: the dust bunny is in the tip of that darker cloud right above the nearest tree).
 
Thanks for the help, i noticed that too that pictures seemed to have one of the correct exposure and 2 darker, is that due to my ISO being higher than it should?

You are shooting into the light, and the meter is fooled into under-exposing. I think you need at least one more over-exposed shot in the above posted set. You will get even better results with HDR using 5 or 7 bracketed shots than just 3.

I'd say the noise is coming from the underexposed shots. Noise shouldn't be a problem at ISO 400 when properly exposed, and whenever you combine multiple exposures it should lessen noise issues. The grain is different in every exposure, and when it's layered together it cancels out some of the noise from other layers.
 
You are shooting into the light, and the meter is fooled into under-exposing. I think you need at least one more over-exposed shot in the above posted set. You will get even better results with HDR using 5 or 7 bracketed shots than just 3.

I'd say the noise is coming from the underexposed shots. Noise shouldn't be a problem at ISO 400 when properly exposed, and whenever you combine multiple exposures it should lessen noise issues. The grain is different in every exposure, and when it's layered together it cancels out some of the noise from other layers.

the picture i took of my desk is 5 exposures. i wish my camera could do more than 3 different exposures, when i went to menu to change the exposure levels i moved the camera a bit, but auto align fixed it. I think the reason i haven't had good shots lately is because i've been using the M mode instead of TV or AV. Since i'm still new to photography i don't really know what i should set the aperature or shutter speed to.
 
I dont know if you're using a tripod but you're suppose to get the shots perfectly still for HDRs so always shoot at ISO 100 since the camera is going to be motionless anyways, I've posted some of my HDRs here, you could take a look on my flickr account too... also you should remember that over worked HDRs (those that look really dramatic) may get noisy because of the post processing, try shooting in RAW too
 
the picture i took of my desk is 5 exposures. i wish my camera could do more than 3 different exposures, when i went to menu to change the exposure levels i moved the camera a bit, but auto align fixed it. I think the reason i haven't had good shots lately is because i've been using the M mode instead of TV or AV. Since i'm still new to photography i don't really know what i should set the aperature or shutter speed to.
user_offline.gif

you need to get a tripod to shoot 5-7 exposures since you'll have to change the settings manually while the camera is in the tripod, its good to shoot on manual to keep the settings the same and only twitch the exposure compensation... if u have no idea of how the set up should be in manual, use av mode, set an aperture and see the shutter speed that goes with it and use the same setting in manual... also, try not to use Tv mode, aperture is more of a priority than the shutter speed... for low light situations, is better to shoot on manual than Tv anyways
 
you need to get a tripod to shoot 5-7 exposures since you'll have to change the settings manually while the camera is in the tripod, its good to shoot on manual to keep the settings the same and only twitch the exposure compensation... if u have no idea of how the set up should be in manual, use av mode, set an aperture and see the shutter speed that goes with it and use the same setting in manual... also, try not to use Tv mode, aperture is more of a priority than the shutter speed... for low light situations, is better to shoot on manual than Tv anyways

I do use a tripod, its a little cheap $20 one from best buy but it stays steady enough.
So 5-7 raw exposures, in manual mode. But, since i not too camera saavy i should set it to av mode to and set the aperature that i want then use the settings from av and manually adjust in M mode?
When you say exposure compensation do you mean AEB? i've never touched exposure compensation, i actually think it is in the negatives. Should i have no compensation?
Here's a few HDR's i did with 100 ISO and i want to say like 4" aperature in av mode.
I really like the way they look, but it seems like no matter how hard i try i can't get it to look as if i was seeing it in person. It always just looks surreal, which i kind of went on the deep end with these since i couldnt get them to look like they should.

bmwsideshot.jpg

fastorange.jpg

outside.jpg

thing.jpg

yaris.jpg

car.jpg


it was kind of overcast today which could've lead to the dark clouds
 
If u want a "real" look when you are tone mapping put the light smoothing in photomatix on the highest setting that will help. Its the 3rd slider i believe in the first section of photomatix
 

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