How to create authentic HDR photos
What is HDR? (High Dynamic Range) It is a process that combines 3 pictures of different exposures due to different shutter speeds. The effect exaggerates the tonal contrast and saturation in your composition. In this tutorial, I am explaining how to shoot a real HDR photo. You can produce an HDR image with only one image and software, but I find the result doesn’t look as nice as an authentic HDR image made from three RAW image files. The process is tedious, but is well worth the effort!
1. Set you camera to take RAW format pictures.
You can use JPG, but you might as well take the highest quality picture for this effect. You might want to print it out, so whether you take JPG or RAW, just make sure you set it to the highest quality. Not necessary, but I recommend doing so. If you don’t have RAW capability on you camera, don’t worry, just use JPG.
2. Set AEB to +2
AEB stands for “Auto Exposure Bracketing”. Switch this setting on. By doing this, your camera will start to automatically change the shutter speed every time you take a picture.
3. Frame your shot using a tripod and take a picture of the exact same thing 3 times
You will need to use a tripod because you need to take 3 pictures of the exact same thing. The software used to create the HDR image will overlay the 3 images, so you need the images to frame the exact same subject matter from the the same angle. That is why a tripod is necessary.
When you review the pics you will notice that there is 1 properly exposed, 1 under exposed and 1 over exposed. If you have 3 pics with different exposures, you know that you captured the subject correctly. Way to go! You are ready to move from the camera to the computer!
4. Import the pictures into Aperture
Some people may use Adobe Lightroom to manage their photos. I prefer Aperture, if you like Adobe Lightroom, that’s cool. It works great.
5. Export Masters
Export a duplicate master file for each photo. Now you should have an duplicate RAW file somewhere on your computer. I made a folder on my desktop called “HDR” to hold all the files I’m working on and am about to create. In Aperture, when you export masters, it will actually make a duplicate of the RAW file somewhere else on you computer. Any time you work on a photo in Aperture, it always duplicates it. This is called “non destructive editing”. Aperture is smart to do this because you alway have the option to revert back to your original file, which will come in handy when you make mistakes.
I use a canon camera, so the file type for the RAW file is .CR2, and if you use Nikon the file format extention is .NEF . You will get better results with HDR if you use RAW, so that’s why I recommend exporting masters instead of exporting versions (JPG).
6. Open PhotoMatix
Photomatix is software that makes creating HDR photos easier. You will need to purchase this software from HDRsoft. In the meantime, they have a free trial that you can download from there website: hdrsoft.com.
Once Photomatix is running, you can open the three RAW images. To do this, hit “Generate HDR”. It will ask you to select the images you wish to combine. After this it will generate one image that looks fairly plain. Don’t worry, we’re not done yet!
7. Tone Mapping
Hit the button “Generate HDR”. This is the creative part. Under “Details Enhancer” there will be a bunch of sliders for saturation, white point, black point, etc. Experiment with intensity of the HDR effect you wish to have. I recommend using a subtle effect. You can over cook an image if you slide each one to full strength. So just experiment until you think your image is enhanced enough but not too much!
8. Process and Save!
You are done! Hit the process button and let Photomatix do all the work! Now appreciate your final image. All your extra work has paid off.
Name and save you file. If you’re on Flickr, upload it. There are a bunch of groups and image pools that you can add your HDR image to. Share your work with the world and other Flickr users will probably leave some constructive comments. You can learn a lot from these comments. I learned to not “over cook” my images with the HDR effect.
Please share your creations with me!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/windvoyager/
Thanks for reading!
