Hi all!
A while back I came across an article/tutorial on how to stack images into one to give it the HDR effect and I forgot to bookmark it. I've been looking all morning and I can't seem to find anything good.
Do you guys know of good tutorial or how to do it?
I have 4 images all different exposure and I just want to merge them into one. I am currently using CS3.
Hi Ray,
I have CS4 and skipped CS3 so not sure it's the same, but you just use:
File>Automate>Merge to HDR
You can do it from lightroom by clicking
Edit in>Merge to HDR in Photoshop...
I haven't done any HDR stuff in a while, but I used to use Photomatix Pro, which was the best once upon a time. Others may give an update there.
You can do focus-stacking of multiple images in Photoshop by opening them as layers, first clicking Edit>Auto align layers and then Edit>Auto blend layers
@dieter I have CS3 and used Automate > Merge to HDR... and was rather underwhelmed with the results! It didn't look too fake or contrasty; instead, it looked like a pretty bland photo. xD It might've been the base photo I was using (I just took a random test shot of my hallway xD), so I might have to test it with a (prettier) shot that's deliberately very light in some areas and very dark in others :)
@pocketmouse Yes, when I first started playing around with HDR I found the same thing i.e. that the image would just end up looking really bland. The reason is that you're tone mapping extra dark shadows and extra bright highlights into a format with a much more limited range of tones. If you do that without boosting the local contrast you get a totally lifeless result. Adding contrast locally is, in effect, what tone-mapping programs like Photomatix do. Personally, on the few occasions I use HDR I prefer to do a fairly basic merge and then work on them by hand in Photoshop, but that's just me. I know many people really like that full on HDR look, it's really just a matter of taste.
@mackena Perhaps try playing around with the settings in Photomatix more, it is much more powerful than PS and you can reduce the 'fake' look quite a lot. I could offer some tips, but I didn't keep the software after converting to Mac. I used to pull the settings right back and err on the side of blandness, then boost the local contrast by hand later on. But it's a great program, you just have to get to know it.
Also, I personally prefer working on HDR images in black-and-white, this one is my personal fav:
@dieter thanks for the reply :) I find that with processing in Photoshop alone, by selectively applying areas of brightness/contrast, I can create an image with somewhat of a HDR feel:
And that black and white photo of yours is stunning!!!
@pocketmouse thank you :) Your photo is beautiful. For me, that's exactly what HDR should be about. It's just a tool to help you capture and convey what your eyes can see, but your camera can't. (Some people take it further and revel in the detail that is beyond what your eyes can see, but that's not so much to my taste).
I love this little spiel from Jeremy Daalder at imagescience:
"The human eye is an awesomely sensitive measuring instrument, capable of seeing the universe in ways your camera can only dream of. Printing, indeed photography, is a con, a great big trick. It’s all about using a pathetically limited medium, a single, generally flat, piece of paper, to fool the human eye into thinking that it is seeing something vaguely related to rich and wonderful reality.
Our challenge is to use the very limited tools we have available – contrast, colour, that sort of thing – to create a miniature world, capable of evoking emotion/stimulating thought/firing of the visual pleasure synapses.
What the world presents to the eye, and what they eye can take in, are so far beyond anything realisable on paper that it is amazing we can get away with this trick at all."
@pocketmouse ... but back on topic, so yes, with a genuine HDR image I would just do the same thing (I'm assuming yours is just one exposure?). You squish all the tones together using PS or whatever, then selectively apply areas of brightness and contrast to achieve an appealing result.
@mackena If you tweek the sliders in Photomatix, you can eliminate that fake look. It took me a while to find settings that I am pleased with, but after lots of practice, have found what I think really works well. Don't give up on it.
@dieter Great quote!! Yes, just one exposure. :) I apply layers of brightness/contrast adjustments and erase bits where I don't want it to be applied (e.g. the lighter part of the sky has a layer to reduce its brightness, while the rocks have a layer to increase their brightness... whatever the photo calls for) - until my eyes go 'Yes! That's it!' xD
@pocketmouse hey, you've pretty much summed up my approach to digital processing in a single sentence... nice! :)
(except rather than erasing the bits I don't want I selectively reveal the bits I do want by adding a black layer mask and painting on it with a soft white brush, but it's all the same in the end)
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I have CS4 and skipped CS3 so not sure it's the same, but you just use:
File>Automate>Merge to HDR
You can do it from lightroom by clicking
Edit in>Merge to HDR in Photoshop...
I haven't done any HDR stuff in a while, but I used to use Photomatix Pro, which was the best once upon a time. Others may give an update there.
You can do focus-stacking of multiple images in Photoshop by opening them as layers, first clicking Edit>Auto align layers and then Edit>Auto blend layers
Hope this helps...
@mackena Perhaps try playing around with the settings in Photomatix more, it is much more powerful than PS and you can reduce the 'fake' look quite a lot. I could offer some tips, but I didn't keep the software after converting to Mac. I used to pull the settings right back and err on the side of blandness, then boost the local contrast by hand later on. But it's a great program, you just have to get to know it.
Also, I personally prefer working on HDR images in black-and-white, this one is my personal fav:
And that black and white photo of yours is stunning!!!
I love this little spiel from Jeremy Daalder at imagescience:
"The human eye is an awesomely sensitive measuring instrument, capable of seeing the universe in ways your camera can only dream of. Printing, indeed photography, is a con, a great big trick. It’s all about using a pathetically limited medium, a single, generally flat, piece of paper, to fool the human eye into thinking that it is seeing something vaguely related to rich and wonderful reality.
Our challenge is to use the very limited tools we have available – contrast, colour, that sort of thing – to create a miniature world, capable of evoking emotion/stimulating thought/firing of the visual pleasure synapses.
What the world presents to the eye, and what they eye can take in, are so far beyond anything realisable on paper that it is amazing we can get away with this trick at all."
Sums it up for me.
(except rather than erasing the bits I don't want I selectively reveal the bits I do want by adding a black layer mask and painting on it with a soft white brush, but it's all the same in the end)