HDR anyone?

Arciphel

Anybody out there creating HDR shots on a regular basis?

I have been experimenting with bracketing on the D200 & D300, and then using Photomatix and Artisan HDR to create some tone maped images.

It seems like the images I get are never really that realistic looking, they always seem to be retina-scorchingly saturated and I am looking for something a bit more restrained. See below for some example landscape shots from Kerry this weekend, to me they seem a bit over the top. Opinions? Is this the way all HDR's are supposed to look?

Shiny

Unfortunately this is the way tone mapped HDR's are supposed to look.

Try it without the tone mapping and you should get the same dynamic
range without the extreme saturation and grain. :pac:

Arciphel

Cheers Shiny, are you familiar with photomatix? I think the HDR without tone mapping is a seperate dialog, but anytime i try that i get the opposite extreme, i can't really see much of a difference on the pictures. I need to dig the manual out i think...

trishw78

I personally like the first one it's very Sci-fi other worldly. I haven't started HDR it's something I've been putting off but no more I'll be trying it out this weekend

amcinroy

They look a bit OTT to me to be honest. It can be used for digital art such as this but I prefer using the sliders towards a more natural look.

Here's a couple of my recent efforts. Both of these were done in Photomatix. The first was a 2 exposure blend, the 2nd was a 5 exposure blend.

Shiny

Yeah I used to be a big fan of photomatrix and liked the effect
the tone mapping had on the photos.

Yet HDR's with tone mapping always lead to the comments:
1. That doesn't look real / natural.
2. Wow! blabla bla, that looks like a painting.
3. The majority of photographers seem to hate the unnatural effects.
4. Insert comment here ________ .

So I just stopped using photomatrix altogether and just use
photoshop instead. I make different layers and masks to include all
the portions of the photo that i want (usually foreground, sky and shadows).
Then that leaves me with a natural looking HDR.

So here is an old HDR with tone mapping etc in photo matrix:


And then a more recent photo in HDR in photoshop:

sasar

Shiny wrote: »

Unfortunately this is the way tone mapped HDR's are supposed to look...QUOTE]

Wrong.


You need to know when to stop, as the end result might come out way over the top.


This is also a HDR photo, made from 5 shots:

kjt

I like HDR when it's not done OTT. It seems this is what your going for but just not processing them the right way to get the results sought after. Try this tutorials - It's pretty easy to follow and should get the results you want.

Here's a few HDR shots I've taken this year

[IMG]http:///blog.kyletunney.com/wp-content/Blog_Images/2008/06/HDR1.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http:///blog.kyletunney.com/wp-content/Blog_Images/2008/06/HDR2.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http:///blog.kyletunney.com/wp-content/Blog_Images/2008/06/HDR3.jpg[/IMG]


Some of those shots don't look as good when compressed to jpg but as you can guess I doubt you could have gotten some of them without doing it the HDR way...


Very nice shots Shiny and Bovril!

calex71

I actually really like the 3rd image OP, the effect really works on this shot for me. But i guess this my personal taste.

PixelTrawler

HDR is designed to recover the tonal range and not to look like something out of a sci fi movie.

OP in photomatix, the 5 choice radio button along the top, adjust that to the lowest value and you'll see a huge difference (cant recall off hand - think its the luminosity setting but theres only one radio button at the top)

The image Ive linked above was generated in photomatix... go easy on the settings and you'll be fine...

This is another one, although it does look intentionally processed (without going too far - the orange colour saturation has been boosted)




Shiny, nice job on the one of the sun through the trees... very nice

NullZer0

sasar wrote: »

Shiny wrote: »

Unfortunately this is the way tone mapped HDR's are supposed to look...QUOTE]

Wrong.


You need to know when to stop, as the end result might come out way over the top.


This is also a HDR photo, made from 5 shots:

Very cool IMO

Arciphel

Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice, I am gonna give it another bash tonight and see what I can come up with. Some of the shots posted here are exactly what I am trying to achieve, a more subtle effect.

Shiny

Yeah I really want to see the new version of the pics tonight.

Its really lots of fun making them, you put in the photos, and
alter the settings then generate!

And then wohoo! :pac:

Maybe throw up the originals too.

Arciphel

Will do, it'll be like some kind of Ricki Lake HDR before & after makeover

amcinroy

My own view is that HDR teaches a lot of bad habits that may be very difficult to shake off. For some reason, newcomers tend to be ensnared by this temptress.

My own advice is to work on understanding what contrast (and how it can be used) before you start trying to eliminate it.

Most of the best HDR work I have seen has been done by photographers that have spent a long time working on (and understanding) the more traditional single exposure techniques.

This idea of throwing it all into Photomatix and randomly pushing sliders is not really going to take your photography to the next level. Just my opinion of course.

Arciphel

This idea of throwing it all into Photomatix and randomly pushing sliders is not really going to take your photography to the next level. Just my opinion of course.

I agree with you 100%, thats what I am trying not to do.

But nonetheless, if used properly I think it's a powerful tool and a good way of getting around capture limitations with digital cameras. if it helps me improve my resultant shots I'm not going to frown on it.