School me on my first HDR attempt PLEASE!!

[mrodgers]

Is it just my understanding of HDR, or is the results from this example nothing more than what you would achieve with normal single exposure adjusting in photoshop?

Nothing against the original photo at all, just as an HDR example I thought the photo wasn't a good one for that.

With HDR, I assume you want to bring out hidden details in deep shadows along with not blowing out the sky and highlights. Thus, you need the deep shadows and bright highlights which I don't really see in the center exposure of the original photo. I found this same result with a shot I attempted as well. I had no hidden shadow detail and no bright highlights.

Perhaps try a different photo and the results would be more what you expect?

 

[Arch]

yea the image isn't ideal... there isn't anything that cannot be captured in one exposure here, provided you use a polerizer or ND grad.
However as a test shoot its ok your just not going to see huge difference no matter what software you use.

The only problem you have here with the shots you have got, is that the under exposed shot isn't underexposed enough. You should basically just be looking at an image were you can see the sky behind but not much in the foreground at all.

This is why on most of these attempts the sky is still blown looking... and in the one where you can see a bit of the sky the rest of the image is too dark.

If you want to practice more, an ideal setting you can do at home is to take an image indoors looking out the window... include some of the room in the shot... if you then get the processing right it will look like a true HDR should look. Another good one is to shoot your car... HDR has a dramatic effect on reflections (like shiny body work)... give it a try.

 

[That One Guy]

Here's a tutorial for you.

bookmarked. thanks :thumbup:

yea the image isn't ideal... there isn't anything that cannot be captured in one exposure here, provided you use a polerizer or ND grad.
However as a test shoot its ok your just not going to see huge difference no matter what software you use.

The only problem you have here with the shots you have got, is that the under exposed shot isn't underexposed enough. You should basically just be looking at an image were you can see the sky behind but not much in the foreground at all.

This is why on most of these attempts the sky is still blown looking... and in the one where you can see a bit of the sky the rest of the image is too dark.

If you want to practice more, an ideal setting you can do at home is to take an image indoors looking out the window... include some of the room in the shot... if you then get the processing right it will look like a true HDR should look. Another good one is to shoot your car... HDR has a dramatic effect on reflections (like shiny body work)... give it a try.

good tip. thanks:thumbup:

 

[BuZzZeRkEr]

yea the image isn't ideal... there isn't anything that cannot be captured in one exposure here, provided you use a polerizer or ND grad.
However as a test shoot its ok your just not going to see huge difference no matter what software you use.

The only problem you have here with the shots you have got, is that the under exposed shot isn't underexposed enough. You should basically just be looking at an image were you can see the sky behind but not much in the foreground at all.

This is why on most of these attempts the sky is still blown looking... and in the one where you can see a bit of the sky the rest of the image is too dark.

If you want to practice more, an ideal setting you can do at home is to take an image indoors looking out the window... include some of the room in the shot... if you then get the processing right it will look like a true HDR should look. Another good one is to shoot your car... HDR has a dramatic effect on reflections (like shiny body work)... give it a try.

Great input! Thanks!

I addressed this concern about the under exposure being too light...I set the shutter speed as fast as it could go with the aperture wide open and got that image. Does that mean I need a faster lens? I think I got a grasp on the level adjustment concept. I think i'm going to try the one at the window next. Thanks for your insight.

 

[MACollum]

I addressed this concern about the under exposure being too light...I set the shutter speed as fast as it could go with the aperture wide open and got that image. Does that mean I need a faster lens? I think I got a grasp on the level adjustment concept. I think i'm going to try the one at the window next. Thanks for your insight.

You don't need a faster lens. A faster lens has a larger aperture wide open than a slower lens. If you're using a tripod (as you should be if you're taking pictures for HDR), you can use any lens, be it fast or slow. You need to stop down the aperture. When you shoot wide open, it will let in more light, making all of your exposures too bright.

What I would do: Use aperture priority mode, set to f/8, and set your camera to bracket the exposures. Then the shutter speed will automatically be set to whatever will give you the exposures you need.

 

[Parkerman]

I just adjust the exposure only.