Some of my Favorite HDR's I've done

[mindfloodz]

This is just a few of the HDR's I've done that I would like to share with you. I just started doing HDR in the last month, so go easy on me.

I took this one while shooting a wedding at a church. It turned out pretty decent

This is my first HDR self portrait

I love the way this one turned out. Need to fix the halos. I keep all my RAW files Thank god for my 2TB external HD

I'd like to frame this for my Dad and give it to him for Father's Day? NEed to clone out some of that grass in Ps.

I should edit out the blue barrels in this picture, but I've been lazy. I will get around to it, I promise!

 

[manaheim]

Yikes.

 

[mindfloodz]

That bad huh? I know, there's more halo's than angels in heaven

 

[jth]

1st and 4th are quite nice ones.

 

[myshkin]

#1 is nicely handled I think. Nothing stands out to me as being over the top

#2 well is very overdone for my taste. I see a lot of portrait type HDR that has this look. I don't care for it but if you like this look then it doesn't matter if I like it or not.

#3 This has some halos like you mentioned and seems to lack contrast, but it is the best pic of the bunch. I would definitely keep the raws for this and revisit when you make progress with processing. This shot could be real nice

#4 the processing isn't bad, feels alittle flat, but my issue is with the composition. The guy is behind grass and the grass takes up half the frame. I don't think the grass is interesting enough in this shot to justify such a large amount of the frame

#5 the sky just feels unnatural. Not crazy and likely could be greatly improved with very small tweaking. I think this shot could use a contrast boost

Hope it helps

 

[mindfloodz]

If I were to give you the RAW's for any of those images, would you be willing to take a shot at it? IF you would like to, pick one. I still have all my RAW's for all of them

 

[myshkin]

I would defintely like to take a shot at #3, I think it has a lot of potential

 

[mindfloodz]

Send me a PM with you e-mail address and I will zip up the RAW images and send them to you

 

[manaheim]

They have huge technical issues, but they also have issues of "why? why hdr?"

Are you getting some additional light in darker areas here and there? Sure, a bit, but not tons. You are executing a complex process for seemingly very little real result (and a lot of real damage in the end).

And then there's the matter of composition. HDR isn't "liquid awesome". If the composition isn't good, HDR just makes it look like its a not so good shot with more colors visible than otherwise.

I'm not saying this is always the case... I think your shot of the pond with trees and such is actually pretty nice... not amazing, but nice enough. But some others...

Learn the basics of photography first. Worry about HDR when you realize that HDR is the right solution to get the results you need.

Here are my two favorite examples from my own work: (note that in neither of these is there that other-worldly feel... some people like that look, but I simply use HDR around it's most basic intent, which is to capture more dynamic range than would be possible with film to more closely capture what the human eye sees)

==1==

==2==

 

[mindfloodz]

I like it to look surreal, that why I use HDR. I respect your viewpoint and your critique, but I enjoy this as a hobby, and don't want to take all the fun out. I'll worry about HDR for now, being that I enjoy it. I am trying to learn the basics of photography as well, but I find HDR very interesting, especially the "other worldly" effect of it. I have posted more photos on this forum other than HDR. Check um out. I don't claim to be a professional, but I don't feel that my work is above average for someone that just got their first DSLR under 4 months ago. I also haven't any formal training or friends that do photography professionally either, that is why I have make the choice to join this forum in hopes that I can better myself in the art of photography.

BTW - I love your work. Checked out your website, very nice work. I aspire to be able to capture photographs in such a way

 

[myshkin]

thanks for the play

I used photomatix and lightroom 3 for the processing. The shot is lacking in the color department. It also seems to have more noise then a shot like this should have. Not sure where its coming from

 

[mindfloodz]

Thanks for the processing. I too have the same problem with the noise factor in many of my HDR photos. I don't know why. I use a tripod and take MANY MANY shots to try to get the very sharpest shot possible.