Is HDR a trendy gimmick? Do you care?

jsecordphoto · Aug 9, 2015

Just the oversaturated tone mapping, which tends to look terrible. Blending exposures using luminosity masks > tone mapping

Peeb · Aug 9, 2015

Would HDR be a good technique for shots of the moon? I'm thinking maybe.... don't have glass long enough to get a usable shot without cropping like crazy.

480sparky · Aug 9, 2015

No. But stacking multiple images would be.

PaulWog · Aug 9, 2015

Peeb said:
Would HDR be a good technique for shots of the moon? I'm thinking maybe.... don't have glass long enough to get a usable shot without cropping like crazy.

I haven't fully looked into the concept, but possibly yes. When I was reading up on focus stacking, part of the process includes collecting different exposures. You're not going to end up getting an insanely sharper image if you already need to crop in a ton, but it's used to get a better exposed and more detailed image of the moon.

unpopular · Aug 9, 2015

I think I've done an HDR of the moon... It works, though my optics weren't up for the job.

dcbear78 · Aug 9, 2015

Peeb said:
Would HDR be a good technique for shots of the moon? I'm thinking maybe.... don't have glass long enough to get a usable shot without cropping like crazy.

Not at all.... There is white and darker white with a few greys.

I'm constantly amazed when you see people proudly state that they've just completed a HDR and my only thought is, "why?" A photo that could quite have easily have been taken in a single image..... But then I realised that they used a Canon and didn't have the dynamic range available. [emoji12]

I actually thought someone had revived a 5 year old thread when I saw the title.

Peeb · Aug 9, 2015

dcbear78 said:
Not at all.... There is white and darker white with a few greys.

I'm constantly amazed when you see people proudly state that they've just completed a HDR and my only thought is, "why?" A photo that could quite have easily have been taken in a single image..... But then I realised that they used a Canon and didn't have the dynamic range available. [emoji12]

I actually thought someone had revived a 5 year old thread when I saw the title.

I've seen some really interesting shots of the moon with 'earthly' foreground containing more than you describe. Perhaps that's odd.

CanonFob · Aug 11, 2015

Derrel said:
Hey, I loved that article about the 10 Expert Photo tips!!! I think I am gonna try some of those expert techniques, to try to help my photo skillz become more skillz-y! Some of those ideas sound awesome, like :
Fake Lens Flare
Vintage iPhone Apps
Naff Borders and Garish Watermarks
Heavy Vignetting

I particularly like the idea of enhancing my photography through the expert use of Naff Borders and Garish Watermarks! That just sounds,like, totally,totally super-awesome!

Where is this article you mentioned? I'm interested in reading it. Thank you

Derrel · Aug 11, 2015

Waseca, Minnesota! Oh myyyy gosh!!! I remember the Herter's mail-order company out of Waseca, MN!! Wow, what a fantastric catalog Herter's used to maintain.

This is the article I mentioned. And for the record, I was kidding about using those hackneyed techniques...

Are You Still Making These 10 Photography Clich s Expert Photography

unpopular · Aug 11, 2015

Dude. I saw a whole book like that.

JoeW · Aug 12, 2015

Peeb said:
I'm a sucker for trendy stuff. Often, it seems cool now, but looks embarrassingly dated later.

Is HDR the latest fad, or a legit think that will stick around?

Do you use it regardless of whether it's trendy or not?

Just wonderin.

It will stick around. But it's just a tool.

Do you use your hammer for everything....like when you need to loosen the radiator belt on your car or to change a tire or to clean the lens on your camera? I hope not. You use it when it's appropriate.

But when you first got a hammer and had never used it, you went overboard with it. And then at some point, if you were smart, you realized "okay, it's a tool, but it's not the only tool out there." And so you used it when it fit. Or you discovered (maybe b/c of a weak wrist or the type of projects you took on) you didn't like using that tool or rarely had a need for it.

I've got a lens baby. Cool and fun lens. I rarely use it. But I keep it. B/c at some point I will have a need where I'll want to pull it out and shoot with it again.

kdthomas · Aug 14, 2015

Peeb said:
snowbear said:

Trend? No. It is a process used to overcome a camera's limitations. The over-cooked tone-mapped monstrosities I tend to see in some places will eventually go away when the next "flavor of the month" technique (probably something to do with drones/r.c. hovercraft) comes along.

Do I care? Not really. I do what I like.

Peeb said:

Remember when selective colorizing was just oh-so-cool?

Click to expand...

It still is among some of the "YANAP" targets.

Click to expand...

OK- you forced me to google that- and I got this:
You Are Not a Photographer Exposing fauxtographers since 2011

OMFG ... this reminds me of a few from my wall of shame ...

nerwin · Aug 15, 2015

I use to be really into HDR, I even used Photomatix HDR Pro. I'm just not Trey Ratcliff. If I do any kind of HDRing, its just with in Lightroom using some sweet HDR presets I got and modified for my liking. They work quite well actually and look more realistic then some of the stuff Photoshop and Photomatix does.