How To HDR Photo Tutorial

Over at VisualPhotoGuide.com they created a great video tutorial for how to take an HDR photo with a Nikon D50.

Erik writes:

“I always loved photography but never had the money to get the right camera. Now I have my very first DSLR. ‘Photography’ is my passion, it gives me a new eye to see beautiful things around us.”

Holding the camera steady

“When I learned photography, I was told that one should not shoot handheld if the shutter speed is less than 1/30s. Since then, I have proven that tip false by taking clear pictures at speeds as low as 1/4s.

All it takes is a bit of concentration and proper breathing, even if you do not have a steady surface to lean against. Keep your left hand under the lens and concentrate on keeping it as steady as possible. Before you click the shutter, take a breath and hold it as you depress the button. If you are not used to this technique, it will take a few times to get it right.”

When shooing hand-held HDR pictures without a tripod breathing is the most important factor to an unblurred photo. Erik mentions holding your breath in before taking the pictures, but the same can be said about breathing out as well. The main thing to consider, is relaxing your body to focus entirely on taking the pictures.

You can find more of Erik’s HDR photography on Flickr.

What techniques do you use to take HDR pictures without using a tripod?

This example of an HDR photo compared to a regular picture. I generated the 32-bit HDR image and then tone-map it with Photomatix. Then I’ll add the original picture back in Photoshop using blending modes, cross processing actions, and sharpening to finish it off.

Here are the 5 most important things to taking and processing a perfect HDR picture.

1. Take 3 photos using automatic exposure bracketing
2. Set your ISO 400 or below to prevent noise
3. Use a sturdy tripod to prevent camera shake between pictures
4. Use an shutter-release cable
5. Use the middle (0ev) photo as a “realism guide” when tone-mapping to keep from over-processing

Taking HDR photos of the sunset is a natural choice for many people starting out taking HDR pictures. There is more dynamic range shooting into the sun than in any other situation. Shooting directly into the sun without using HDR techniques will result in an overexposed background or underexposed foreground. Luckily you have a few options to deal with such a situation.

EV compensation

Modern digital cameras have EV compensation which allows you to brighten or darken a photo. After you have enabled Bracketed Multiple Exposures, set the EV compensation higher then neutral. What this does is lower the dynamic range between the darkest and brightest areas in the photo.

5 (or more) bracketed exposures manually

This method will produce the best results. Using your trusty tripod, manually adjust the EV compensation up in equal increments. This will produce a higher dynamic range but requires a bit more practice manually changing the exposure values.

Turn around

Sometimes when you’re aiming at the sun, what your missing is the beautiful orange glow behind you. The hour before the sun sets has a magical effect on the ambient light in a picture. You wont notice any of this great light if you’re pointing straight into the sun.

What is your favorite sunset HDR photo technique?