pics took today run through photomatix. still problem with grass....

handsomejackuk · Feb 17, 2013

heres a few pics a i took today... note the grass on pics 2 is way overexposed in photomatix. i need to tone it down a bit....

comments and suggestions please....

handsomejackuk · Feb 19, 2013

anyone ? are these any good am i getting better... could do with some comments please.

DGMPhotography · Feb 20, 2013

As for the quality of the HDR, seems really unbalanced to me. As for the photos, they are very blurry. I would advise experimenting with the options in Photomatix, and try taking more exposures. For bluriness, I would use single point focus and focus on what you think is the focus of the photograph.

handsomejackuk · Feb 21, 2013

i see your point yeah i seem to have a bit of difficulty getting real sharp images.. why is that...?? should i be using different focus mode on my camera ? as for more exposures. the aeb only takes 3 so i ideally need a tripod.. i have been using the histogram to get the exposure right for the middle exposure and let the camera do the other two.. at +- 1 ev.. i have some more i took yesterday please feel free to coment and give me some tips... thanks...

cgipson1 · Feb 21, 2013

post one of the originals please... with Exif data intact.

How many images and what exposure differences?

Were you on a tripod, or shooting by hand... and if by hand, what was the lowest shutter speed in the series?

Have you tried just exposure fusion, instead of the tonemapping option?

The grass is not "overexposed"... it is oversaturated! There is a big difference... any exposure should be controlled by the various exposure differences you are merging.. assuming you bracketed enough shots to cover the entire dynamic range!

bs0604 · Feb 22, 2013

use Photomatix's green slider in "Saturation" to tone down the grass?

handsomejackuk · Feb 23, 2013

i have been turning down the green bit on the end of the process so far everytime and it seems to be a bit better..

RobN185 · Feb 23, 2013

I find with Photomatix, that the Yellow channel always over cooks compared to the other channels.
If you just take the Yellow channel and desaturate then adjust the yellow channel lightness/darkness, you can lose the vivid grass tones.
No need to touch the green channel - just the yellow.

Hope you don't mind, but I had a go with the first image to show what I mean.

handsomejackuk · Feb 23, 2013

no probs... glad to see someone having a go at mine because i am not getting brilliant results at moment..with focussing. i will try what you said though with the yellow, and yours looks better than mine... have been out today.. weather was not good, so not expecting great things.. did take my tripod with me.. took a few but still not very sharp... i have switched on intelligent sharpness now. so maybe that will make some difference...

what is the best way to send a few raw images to users on here so they can have a look... at them..??? If anyone is interested...

DGMPhotography · Feb 27, 2013

If you are using a filter that may be lowering the quality of your images. I recently took mine off and it does seem to make a difference. You would use auto area focus normally, especially for farther distance but experiment with single point focus. That's what I use and it make sure what I want in focus, is in focus. You may also be moving the camera if you don't have a tripod. The general rule is 60th of a second to eliminate movement. I usually like to go faster, but the best solution would be to get a tripod. It costs money, yes, but it is worth it. I got a low end Manfrotto for this past Christmas and even it is doing wonders for me. Hope this helps!

dmunsie · Mar 1, 2013

How many brackets are you using? I like to use 7 brackets from -2 to +2. If it's a bright day or white cloudless background, sometimes I'll only process the first 5 brackets and leave out the last 2 over exposed shots. Seems to help reduce the yellow on the grass, weeds, etc. Also, work on eliminating noise in your shots, especially in the clouds. And one thing I've found out quickly....outdoor shots & hdr come out so much better, sharper, on days with little to no wind! lol..

handsomejackuk · Mar 1, 2013

dmunsie said:
How many brackets are you using? I like to use 7 brackets from -2 to +2. If it's a bright day or white cloudless background, sometimes I'll only process the first 5 brackets and leave out the last 2 over exposed shots. Seems to help reduce the yellow on the grass, weeds, etc. Also, work on eliminating noise in your shots, especially in the clouds. And one thing I've found out quickly....outdoor shots & hdr come out so much better, sharper, on days with little to no wind! lol..

thanks for the positive comments. i will try bracketting more.. and great tip on a non windy day... i have a cheap tripod. and i am starting to use it a little more... as for the seven brackets.. hmm my camera will ony do 3 automatically, but a i can do a -2 ev and a 0 ev these will give me what i require... just wait g for some more nice weather....

amolitor · Mar 1, 2013

Why are you shooting these in HDR? There doesn't seem to be enough dynamic range present in the scene to warrant it, so you're really just laboriously compositing together redundant information.. The very first one has some shadows in the lock (?) and on the lower right, but I'm not actually seeing these being pulled up and revealed much.