I am no expert whatsoever, but to me the colours in the top one look a little more true to life and the HDR'ing does what it's supposed to, which is bring out the detail of the shot.
The shot on the bottom is pretty but the colours look a bit out of sync and the sky maybe a bit grey toward the middle? Don't know if that helps at all, but that's what I see:)
This looks more like Topaz or Lucas Arts than HDR. I don't generally like anything but very subtle HDR. I don't like the second one. Doesn't look like a scene that would have had dark shadows and needed HDR treatment. Maybe a watercolor or oil paining effect instead? The top one is kinda cool though. My immediate reaction was it was way overdone, but the more I look at it, the more I like it.
If you can do this as a layer on top of the original, you can adjust opacity and dial back the effect a bit. As John said, if you like it, it's good.
What are you using to do the HDR?
Have you seen the tutorial here? He does very good HDR.
Both would be seen as very much "My First HDR" by most professional photographers. Very over the top and garish, but hey, we've all been there at one time :)
I like them both, but I like bright colours and over-the-top editing. If you were going for subtlety you're on the wrong track :). The second one does look more like a pencil drawing but that's what I like about it.
I often like subtlety in HDR. It completely depends on the look you want. For really subtle to in your face, download Nik software's HDR Effects Pro. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best HDR software out there. They have at least 24 different presets which you can adjust to taste. Also watch an hour of Nik's tutorials before using it. They have lots of great tutorials on HDR from 2 minutes clips to 58 minute sessions. You should know how to use control points, for example. Control points sound intimidating, but are really easy.
Your old man looks great, but in general, do not use HDR of human faces, unless you really want to emphasize age, pores, lines, etc. Most women would hate that.
Tweets ahoy!
Join the Group
Pin With Me
The shot on the bottom is pretty but the colours look a bit out of sync and the sky maybe a bit grey toward the middle? Don't know if that helps at all, but that's what I see:)
If you can do this as a layer on top of the original, you can adjust opacity and dial back the effect a bit. As John said, if you like it, it's good.
What are you using to do the HDR?
Have you seen the tutorial here? He does very good HDR.
http://www.stuckincustoms.com/hdr-tutorial/