July 25th, 2007
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?
July 15th, 2007
*Update: Since I posted this I’ve spoken with a number of readers who have had problems installing GIMPshop. It is not as easy as most programs and requires an intermediate computer literacy to get working.*
GIMP is a freely distributed image editing application for Windows, OS X, and Linux. GIMP shop is a speacial version that closely resembles Adobe’s $649 Photoshop. You wont have access to some of the more advanced features of Photoshop but you will be able to do the most important tasks like:
- Curves: adjust the tones in a picture with precise control
- Levels: Fix under and over-exposed pictures and adjust the brightness
- Sharpening: Digital cameras take “soft” pictures that need sharpening to look their best on screen
- Layers: Mix and match effects on different layers and masking
Photoshop is amazing, but with the cost hovering around the price of an entry-level DSLR or new lens, the choice is an easy one. Get started and download GIMPshop for free. Learn how to install GIMPshop on Windows with this tutorial video.
July 12th, 2007
The way that I learned how to Take HDR photography, the same as many of you, was on Flickr.com. Check out the photos tagged with HDR on flickr and get an idea from the many great photographers.
July 6th, 2007
HDR photos rarely look “real”. Programs like Photomatix make it very easy to over-process your pictures to the point that they become abstract pieces of art. To create realistic HDR photos involves practice and skill. Ed Jesalva takes beautiful HDR photos with a focus on realism. He writes:
“I am an amateur photographer getting re-acquainted with photography in general, and digital in particular. I’ve really just been shooting landscapes this year but found a seminar at Brooks Institute to be particularly helpful in creating images like this one. HDR is a by-product of that. In my spare time, I’m a physician in Westlake Village, CA specializing in Psychiatry :)
My approach to HDR is to be as realistic as possible but use the tool as it is intended. That is, to compress the dynamic range so that there are details in both the shadows and highlight areas without giving the scene a “flat” look. In general, what I’ve noticed is sliders that increase contrast, decrease realism. Sliders that reduce contrast, increase realism.
I use (Adobe Photoshop) CS2 and Layer Masks almost exclusively. The general idea that I try to accomplish here is to generate a 3 dimensional effect. This means that elements in your scene have to have 3 tones in order to look 3D, highlights, midtones, and shadows. Trying to isolate each element to have these 3 components is my “secret” to creating photorealistic pictures, whether they are HDR or not.”
Finding the balance between realistic and over-processed is no easy task. What are your techniques for creating realistic HDR photos?
July 5th, 2007
What is your favorite subject to photograph? Landscape HDR photography is the first choice of many new digital photographers. HDR processing can breathe life back into a picture that would normally be dull and unappealing. But you can’t count on it to do all the work for you.
Professional landscape photographer Mike McFarlane Writes:
“I bought my first camera in 2002 and was so taken with this new way of
seeing that I gave up my job as an engineer to pursue the life of a
landscape photographer. It is not always easy and it is not always fun,
but I am making progress and I love the freedom to pursue my dreams.
What do you want the photograph to say?
Study your subject and then study it some more. HDR can reveal many
hidden visual aspects of your subject to the viewer, but it can not
reveal the soul of your subject. Only you can do that by studying and
knowing your subject and then composing appropriately to convey that soul to
the viewer.
As Ansel Adams said “The is nothing worse than a sharp photograph of a
fuzzy concept.” Perhaps in the HDR age this could be, “There is nothing
worse than an HDR photograph of a fuzzy concept.”
When you are taking HDR photos it’s easy to fill your camera with poorly composed lifeless pictures. Before you start shooting, check the cameras settings and then take the time to thoughtfully frame the subject. Mike has a page of composition techniques for photographers that he uses on his website, www.mikemcfarlane.co.uk.
What gives your photos their soul?
