How do you think this picture was taken?

AMG7 · Apr 15, 2009

I know he used automotive rig, but the picture seems like its got a HDR effect.. but for a HDR picture, doesn't it require 3 pictures with different exposures? how would that be possible with a rolling shot

Any hints/advice on how to create a rolling picture like the one below? Thanks

polymoog · Apr 15, 2009

I've never tried HDR myself, but I believe you can create that effect to some extent with just one photo, if you create several layers and then adjust each of them, so you get the dynamic range. I.e. work on different parts of the different layers of the same shot, then merge them all together.

nickisonfire · Apr 15, 2009

like polymoog said HDR's are often by formed from a single RAW image

bhop · Apr 15, 2009

There's probably also a lot of dodging and burning going on.

djacobox372 · Apr 15, 2009

Why do you assume this is a "rolling shot?"

Car was standing still and the motion blur was added later in post.

bdavison · Apr 15, 2009

I think it was a rolling shot. It wouldnt be too difficult to do. Probably shot with a lens somewhere between 12 to 18mm(possibly a fisheye,but doubt it) off the back of a truck.
Single shot raw photo.

Make 4-5 duplicates and then adjust exposure in post processing.
Combine them into a HDR later using a program like picturenaut.
Then clean it up and adjust.

I wouldnt bother doing all the motion blur post processing. The street, and the railing, etc wouldnt be to difficult, but the rims and reflections in the side of the car would be a PITA.

Garbz · Apr 15, 2009

There is no HDR effect at all in this shot. Not even close. I see clipped highlights, clipped shadows, and very heavily processed midranges.

This picture has been tonemapped. I am not sure why people insist on duplicating frames and playing with the exposures. All HDR editing programs have the ability to tonemap a single image without these stupid workarounds.

Djacobox if you have a close look at the tyres it does appear to be a rolling shot. Or some rolling tyres were edited in in post. If you motion blur the tires you end up with missing breakpads (at least every way I've tried it)

epp_b · Apr 15, 2009

Car was standing still and the motion blur was added later in post.

Certainly not.

You actually needn't be going fast for these types of shots. Throw on an ND filter and you can take shots like this at 10 mph, even though it looks like 100 mph.

bdavison · Apr 15, 2009

Im not so sure it was just tonemapped. The reason why, normally if you take a single shot and just tonemap it, you get halos not to mention an increase in noise. That pic looks aweful clean, really super clean, which leads me to believe that it was a multi image composition.

For a decent HDR compositions it would need a minimum of 3 images...which is impossible to get on a rolling shot like that. So it would have to be a PP composition off a single image. I still think it would be more like 5-6 seperate images for that pic. And a multi-image composition would be near noiseless.

Jaszek · Apr 15, 2009

yep tone mapping and to bdavison, if you look closely there are halos. On the bottom car on the side and front next to the road. Also I saw this video about a shot some guy took for a magazine (and go a lot of money for) by just setting his camera on the car and did a long exposure which made the car look like its speeding. And he pushed the car back.

bdavis · Apr 16, 2009

epp_b said:
Certainly not.

You actually needn't be going fast for these types of shots. Throw on an ND filter and you can take shots like this at 10 mph, even though it looks like 100 mph.

He's right, in fact a lot of car shots are taken with a rig suction cupped to the car. Then the car is pushed by a couple people (to eliminate the engine shaking the car) and the camera is fired by remote. The the poles for the rig are removed in photoshop.

EhJsNe · Apr 16, 2009

HDR, from a single image, is impossible. It doesnt happen. Read this: http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/beyond-basics/161805-edr-just-what.html

It is an extended dynamics range image if it was a single image.

It could be an HDR and the wheel blur was added to the wheels in PP as already stated.

JerryPH · Apr 16, 2009

Just some heavy post processing, likely in PS CS3 or CS4. I did something like that a while ago too. It is not a single nor multiple HDR image, BTW, all post processing was done on one single photo.:

You can do this effect on people too:

It's basically several layers of sharpness and contrast enhancement, as well as other things (futzing with the colours some, etc...).

The motion aspect of the car is simply playing with the shutter speed while driving beside it... doesn't need all the complexity of a pulling rig, etc. All it is, is about 30 min in PS and some good amount of playing..