Noob HDR questions

[Sirashley]

Okay, I wanted to clear up a few things about HDR while shooting. From what I have read, it says you need to shoot 3 photos, 1 photo at 2 stops down, 1 photo that's even, and another photo that's 2 stops over. Are they referring to the light meter? I guess I'm asking, am I suppose to shot one photo at -2 then the next at 0, then the next at +2. Just curious and if anyone knows any good HDR programs for Mac please let me know, will GIMP work? Thanks in advance...

 

[dEARlEADER]

yes.... but you can take more than three.... I usually take at least five -2 -1 0 1 2... and yes use your light meter in manual or exposure bracketing if your camera has the option.... make sure you use a tripod and avoid shakey prone subjects....

photomatix is the hdr software choice around here..... not sure if it works mac but check it out...

EDIT: It should be obvious but..... in manual lock in your aperture and adjust exposure by adjusting shutter speed... also make sure any auto ISO function has been terminated...

 

[Doug]

I use a program called Photomatrix but I've heard you can do it with photoshop. You will need a minmum of 3 photos metered +2, 0, -2. It's best if you can use a tripod although Photomatrix can adjust for minor camera movment. I'm also new to HDR and haven't figured it all out yet.

 

[Donald Harvey]

PS3 has a built in HDR program, I don't know if it as good as photomatrix though...Photoshop for many things and drop of HDR, photomatrix for HDR...I think..

Harvey

 

[freelunch]

I never heard of HDR until yesterday. I use Photoshop CS3. I typed HDR into Photoshop Help and it's there: File/Automate/Merge to HDR.

Help also says:

Keep the following tips in mind when you take photos to be combined with the Merge To HDR command:

Secure the camera to a tripod.

Take enough photos to cover the full dynamic range of the scene. You can try taking at least five to seven photos, but you might need to take more exposures depending on the dynamic range of the scene. The minimum number of photos should be three.

Vary the shutter speed to create different exposures. Changing the aperture changes the depth of field in each exposure and can produce lower-quality results. Changing the ISO or aperture may also cause noise or vignetting in the image.

In general, don’t use your camera’s auto-bracket feature, because the exposure changes are usually too small.

The exposure differences between the photos should be one or two EV (exposure value) steps apart (equivalent to about one or two f‑stops apart).

Don’t vary the lighting; for instance, don’t use a flash in one exposure but not the next.

Make sure that nothing is moving in the scene. Exposure Merge works only with differently exposed images of the identical scene.

 

[laguano]

There is a photomatix for Mac, I use it you can use that, or Photoshop CS3 etc.

I prefer Photomatix but i really stopped using tonemapping because i could never get a plausible perfectly exposed setting. Looks either cartoonish or flat. I think i am going to get back into HDR soon though, and good luck with your shots!

 

[TamiyaGuy]

With HDR, you don't have to take three photos, although that is considered the minimum. The absolute minimum is two, although you can "tone-map" one photograph (edit photo to make one equal, one +2EV, one -2EV) to create a pseudo-HDR image. Of course, that is nowhere near as good as the real deal.

Photomatix is generally the most well-known HDR utility, but in my opinion the images created with that are generally very unrealistic and quite artsy. If this is the effect you're after, then that's fine, but I like HDR photos to be realistic, almost to the point that you can't tell it's been post-processed. I use Photoshop CS3's Merge To HDR feature.

However, it can be done in the GIMP, it's just a bit more complex. This tutorial should help you out with that. Best of luck!