This took forever to load up and then when I hit publish it said "this topic already exists" as it had HDR in the title and proceded to delete the lot, so this is the 2nd take - I'm sorry if it is missing bits and for the lame title - I'm tired and grumpy now!!
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So in response to your questions to how I do my HDR processing - here is a quick overview of the process I use. This demo is on Photomatix Pro, the principles are the same with the Lite version - just less options for manipulation!
The first thing to do is to take your shots. For true HDR you need a minimum of 3 differently exposed shots of the same scene. Every camera sets up the exposure settings differently - my Lumix G1 has a dial (and a menu behind that you set the exposure levels and number of shots) my Lumix TZ20 has a manual setting +/- on the dial which allows you to choose every time you shoot.
EVERY HDR shot I take uses a -1/3, zero, +1/3 exposure. This gives me a slight underexposed shot, a normal shot and a slightly overexposed shot. HDR manipualtes the highlights and lowlights these shots produce to ge the effects is does.
TIP: Each photo should match in composition - if they are too different the programme will not cope with the differences. (I hold my breath if the shutter speed is slow to prevent excessive movement!!). Also don't worry too much if the shots look a little dull, the processing will pick out colours just fine.
STAGE 1 - drop and drag the 3 shots into the Photomatix screen
Select the merge for HDR processing and OK
STAGE 2 - Confirm that the file names selected are the ones you want to process and OK
STAGE 3 - Determine the conditions of the process...I ALWAYS use these settings (the programme defaults to the last settings). I'm sure different results can be had by differing these settings, but as I've always said before - I am a lazy processor and aim to get the output as quick as possible!!
STAGE 4 - Check for deghosting! This screen shows the alignment of the 3 photos that you have given the programme. If your 3 shots were not taken from the same place you will see the variation in this picture - small variations may be OK but if they are too great this screen shot will look really weird and will not give you a good result! Go back to STAGE 1 and take some more shots but with a steadier hand (or use a tripod)!
This screen will also show the hot spots in the photos. You'll see from these 3 photos there is an area of high overexposure on the clouds on the left. This is about the maximum I like to process with - if there are too many of these or these exist around a feature - like a tree or object, you may get an HDR halo which will be difficult to remove. Part of the trick in making this process quick is to decline shots where there are too many extremes in lighting - I try to avoid shooting into the sun or in situations where there are really bright spots of light.
If your 3 exposed pictures have been taken in the wind and you have grasses or tree branches in the shot - the deghosting screen will show up the movements. If this is excessive I will start again and just tone map one of the shots (in STAGE 1)
STAGE 5 - where it all happens!
This is where I give you my secret settings!! Generally my default starting point for nearly every landscape shot I take is a strength setting of 80-85, a colour setting of 45-50, a luminosity of 6-7 and a monocontrast of 6-7. The advantage of Photomatic Pro is the additional processing sliders in temperature/saturation etc. If the sky is looking grey but the original sky was blue I reduce the temperature to the blue scale and increase the saturation.
The original scene where I took these shots was one of extremes - I prefer to use the temperature and saturation to make the fine tunes rather than the main colour slider as sometime the colours become too unreal.
I normal float the smoothing setting between Mid and High - I prefer not to have too many extremes though sometimes in high light shooting conditions it is neccessary to go to low smoothing, though this can sometimes exaggerate the greys in the shot and increase halos.
Once I am happy with the colours and the lighting levels I process the shot and VOILA....the finished article!
That's IT! Sometiems you will see some changes in light around the edges of the processed picture. This is where the automatic alignment part of the programme has moved the shots - I crop these out in GIMP or PSE.
My advice to you all is that you go and try it out! Give a go at putting all sorts of shots into the programme and see what happens! I have discovered that most of the trick is in taking the right photo and getting the light right in the first place. The rest is fairly straightforward! (that's easy for me to say huh?!)
I hope this helps those of you who are starting for the first time and gives an insight into what I do to get my landscapes looking the way they do!
If you have any questions, just ask and I'll try and help wherever I can!
@sparkle might try one day - don't have any processing stuff at home so would have to do in work (think I can manage that :-)...)... guess a tripod is a must tho...
Thanks for this tutorial. I like the HDR look and have just started to try it out but i' m a bit unsure of all the settings. I'll give yours a go now. Thanks again
Wow! you must have worked hard to give us this. I know Chris will be interested. It's very good of you to give away your 'secrets'. What you have given is def your style, we all love it! I think its something I will appreciate from a distance however :-) @sparkle
@sparkle - thanks for the tips! I've done a few HDR and never been fully satisfied, so your pointers will help no end. And I also very rarely use a tripod!
Nice work, Juliette. I wonder though; have you ever tried doing HDR from RAW files? It would be interesting to see an HDR from you done with jpegs, then another HDR taken from the raw source files of those same jpegs.
(takes a deep breath) holy cow, that sounds very complicated, I knew it was not easy but that really is an art form in and of itself, your images are always stunning, and now I know why, and why I can't.
Just see the thread. Thanks for this! In general I am not a huge fan of HDR but some of your images are awesome, I have to admit!! I should really give it a try now.
@sparkle Thanks for this Juliette, I have been fiddling with HDR, have photomatrix, I got from this probably not to go overboard (always my tendency)
Just one question, I live near the beach and the water is constantly changing/moving, any idea how to counter this in a multiple exposure image? My attempts at HDR with the ocean havent been great.
Thanks :)
@monika64 I normally only try HDR with soft moving water or long exposure water as it enables a silky smooth effect. I tend only to HDR with one exposure if the water is full of waves for the best effect
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LOL... sorry, couldn't resist... great work Juliette
Thanks so much for sharing this with us - not just once but twice ;-) very interesting!
Just one question, I live near the beach and the water is constantly changing/moving, any idea how to counter this in a multiple exposure image? My attempts at HDR with the ocean havent been great.
Thanks :)