TheRealisticHDRImageTimCooper

AbouttheAuthorTimbeganhiscareerasacommercialandassignmentphotographerworkingwithclientssuchasTheNorthFace,TheRitz-Carlton,Vasqueboots,3M,BlueNoteRecords,andtheInternationalHeartInstitute.HiseditorialandcommercialphotographshaveappearedinTravel&Leisure,NewYorkTimesMagazine,OutdoorPhotographer,Ebony,andFlyRod&Reel.Timalsohasheldthepositionsofconsultant,directorofeducation,directorofdigitalimaging,anddirectoroftheblack-and-whiteprogramatRockyMountainSchoolofPhotography.

HeistheauthorofthetrainingvideosPerfectExposureforDigitalPhotography,PerfectComposition,MagicLightandDSLRCameraBasics,threebooksintheseriesofCompletePhotoshopforDigitalPhotographers,andiscoauthorofNightPhotography:FromSnapshotstoGreatShots.TimcurrentlylivesinNorthernVirginia.

TableofContentsAbouttheAuthor

TheHighDynamicRangeImage

WhatIsHDR?

WhyUseHDR?

CameraCapabilities

HistogramsandPixelInformation

WhenHDRIsNeeded

ShootingforHDR

MeteringtheScene

CameraSettings

ProcessingtheHDRImage

PreparingYourImagesinLightroom

AdjustingYourImagesinLightroom

BasicHDRTheory

UsingHDRProinPhotoshop

UsingPhotomatix

TipsforCreatingRealisticImagery

TheHighDynamicRangeImageHDRimagerycanbeconsideredarecentfadorawell-worntechnique,dependingonhowyoulookatit.Intheearlydays,filmfailedtoproducevisibledetailinthehighlightandshadowvaluesofhigh-contrastscenes.Becauseofthis,photographersresortedtodifficultandtediousdarkroomtechniquestohelpreturnthedetailtotheprint.Today’sdigitalsensors,whileholdinggreatpromise,stillfallshortofthecapabilityofourvision.Luckilyforus,however,moderncomputerprogramsprovideamoreaccurateandelegantsolutiontothistheage-oldhigh-contrastproblem.

WhatIsHDR?TheacronymHDRstandsforHighDynamicRange.Itcanrefertoacomputerprogram,aphotographthathasbeenprocessedbyanHDRprogram,orthetechniqueoftakingmultiplephotographswiththeintentionofblendingthemtogetherinanHDRprogram.

Aprogram,animage,oratechnique?

Let’sbeginwiththephrase”dynamicrange.”Dynamicrangereferstotheamountofseparationbetweenthebrightestanddarkestpartsofascene.Ascenelowindynamicrangewouldhavealimitedrangeofbrightnesstones,asseeninFigure1.01.Hereyouseetonesthatarealmostallthesamebrightness;theentiresceneismadeupofmidtones.Ascenehighindynamicrangewouldhavealargerangeofbrightnessvalues,asseeninFigure1.02.Heretheimageconsistsofmidtones,shadows,andhighlights.Thereisa

hugedifferencebetweenthehighlightvaluesandtheshadowvalues.Thishugedifferencebetweenvaluesiswhatmakesthisscenehighindynamicrange.Highcontrastisamorecommonlyusedphrasetodescribesceneswithhighdynamicrange.

Figure1.01:Ascenewithlowdynamicrange

Figure1.02:Ascenewithhighdynamicrange

Theproblemwithfilmanddigitalsensorsisthatneitheriscapableofprovidingarealisticimageinthesehigh-contrastsituations.Ifyouexposecorrectlyfortheshadowareaofthescene,thebrighthighlightareasbecomeoverexposed(featurelesswhite),asseeninFigure

1.03.

Figure1.03:Agoodexposurefortheshadowsresultsinoverexposedhighlights.

Ifyouexposeproperlyforthehighlightarea,theshadowsbecomeunderexposed(featurelessblack),asseeninFigure1.04.Insomecases,wherethecontrastisreallyextreme,itispossibletolosedetailinboththeshadowandthehighlightareas.

Figure1.04:Agoodexposureforthehighlightsresultsinunderexposedshadows.

Bothofthesephotosappearunrealisticbecauseasweencounterthesesituationsinreallife,weseedetailintheverydarkandverybrightpartsofthesehigh-contrastscenes.WeseesomethingmoreliketheimageinFigure1.05.

Figure1.05:AnimagecreatedbyblendingthetwopreviousphotostogetherinanHDRprogram

TheHDRtechnique,then,istotakemultiplephotographsatdifferentexposures.Eachofthesephotoswillcaptureadifferentrangeofdetail.Oncethephotosarecaptured,youcanthenimportthemintoanHDRprogram,suchasPhotoMatix.Thisprogramblendsalltheexposuresintoonephotographthatcontainsfullshadow,midtone,andhighlightdetail.ThisresultingimageisoftenreferredtoasanHDRimageorHDRphotograph.

WhyUseHDR?TheprimaryreasonforwantingtoshootmultipleexposuresandblendthemtogetherinanHDRprogramistocapturefulldetailinascenethatcontainsverybrightareasandverydarkareas.Thesehigh-contrastscenescanbefoundeverywhere,fromlandscapeandnaturescenestointeriorarchitectureandrealestatesituations.

Controllinghighcontrast

Inadditiontotheirabilitytoprovidedetailintheshadowsandhighlightsofhigh-contrastscenes,HDRprogramscomewiththecapabilitytocontrolcontrastthroughouttheentireimage.Thisabilityhasledtotheuseoftheseprogramsforgeneratingaunique,somewhatgrungylook(Figure1.06).

Figure1.06:AcontemporaryuseofHDRprogramsistocreateagrungylook.

Thistypeofimageryisrelativelyeasytocreateandwillnotbethefocusofthisbook.Intheupcomingchapters,Iwantshowyouhowtocreatephotographsthatbetterrepresentrealityandthathavesubtlety,depth,andstayingpower.

CameraCapabilitiesAswehaveseen,thereisagreatdisparitybetweenwhatoureyesperceiveandwhatthecamera’ssensorcaptures.Thisdifferencecanbemeasuredinstops,whichareunitsusedbyphotographerstoquantifylight.Simplyput,movingyouraperturefromf/8tof/11decreasestheamountoflighthittingthesensorbyonestop.

Sensorcapabilities

Movingyouraperturefromf/8tof/5.6increasesthelightbyonestop.Thetermstopalsoappliestoshutterspeeds.Openingupyourshutterfrom1/250to1/125increasesthelightbyonestop,whileclosingitdownfrom1/250to1/500decreasesthelightbyonestop.

Oureyesperceivedetailinscenesthatcontainupto11stopsofdifferenceinlight,whilethecameracanonlycapture5–7stopsoflight.Atfirstthismaynotseemlikeahuge

difference,butwhenyouthinkthateachstopoflightistwiceasmuchastheprevious,youcanunderstandthatthedifferencebecomessignificant.

Itisimportantforphotographerstorecognizewhenpartsoftheirscenewillberenderedasfeaturelessblackareasorblown-outfeaturelesswhiteareas.Thisinformationcanleadustousedifferentexposures,changecompositions,orevenreturnunderdifferentlightingconditions.Yourcameracandisplayatoolcalledthehistogram,whichprovidesthisinformation.Mostcamerascandisplaythehistogramaftereachshot,buttypicallythisisnotthedefaultbehavior.Checkyourcameramanualfordirectionsonhowtodisplaythisessentialtool.Manycameraswillalsoallowyoutochoosebetweentwotypesofhistograms,theluminosityhistogram,showninFigure1.07,andtheRGBhistogram,showninFigure1.08.TheRGBhistogramshowstheRed,Green,andBluechannelsoftheimage.TheluminosityhistogramissometimescalledacompositehistogrambecauseitismadeupofacombinationoftheRed,Green,andBluechannels.Bothhistogramsperformthesamefunctionandeithercanbeused.Mostimageeditingprograms,suchasAdobeLightroom,alsoprovideahistogram(Figure1.09).

Figure1.07:Thehistogram(circledinred)asitappearsonthebackofaNikoncamera

Figure1.08:TheRGBhistogram

Figure1.09:ThesamehistogramasitappearsinAdobeLightroom

HistogramsandPixelinformationThehistogramisagraphicrepresentationofthetonalvaluesinthescene.Ittellsyouhowmuchofthesceneiscomprisedofdarks,lights,andmidtonevalues.Italsotellsyouwhenyouarelosingdetailintheshadowsandhighlights.

InFigures1.10and1.11,youseefirstanimagethatcontainsafullrangeoftonalvalueanddetailandthenthehistogramthatrepresentsit.Inthisimageyoucanseedetailinboththeshadowsandthehighlights.

Figure1.10:Animagethatcontainsfulltonaldetail

Figure1.11:Thehistogramrepresentingthatimage

Figure1.12showstheareasrepresentedbythehistogram.Ifthespikeofthegraphishighinaregion,itmeansthereisalotofthatvalueinthescene.It’snotaproblemifthespikesreachortouchthetopofthebox(astheredandgreenchannelsdoinFigure1.12).Thisisjusttellingyouthere’sanabundanceofthatvalue(brightness)inthescene.Thishistogramtellsusthereareplentyofmidtonevaluesinthescene.Itcontainsfewerdarksandlightsandveryfewblacksandwhites.TakeacoupleofminutesandexaminethephotoinFigure1.10anditshistogramtogether.Notethesmallamountsofblacksandwhitesintheimageandhowthatcorrespondswiththehistogram.

Figure1.12:Thehistogramrepresentingdifferenttonalvaluesofaphotograph

Whenthegraphcomesdownintothecorners,asseencircledinredinFigure1.13,itmeansyouwillseefulldetailinyourblacksandwhites.ExamineFigure1.10againandyouwillnoticethatyoucanreadilyseedetailinthebrightestareaofthephotoaswellasthedarkestareas.

Figure1.13:Histogramshowinggoodhighlightandshadowdetail

Ifthegraphtouchesthesidesofthebox,itmeansyouwillseesomeunder-oroverexposureinyourfinalphotograph.Figures1.14and114ashowthehistogramthatrepresentsthedarkstairwell.Youcanseehowthegraphispushedupagainsttheleftwallofthehistogrambox.Inthisimagethereisplentyofhighlightdetail,demonstratedbythegraphontheright-handsidecomingdownintothecorner.Figures1.15and1.15ashowthehistogramthatrepresentsthelighterstairwell.Hereyoucanseeplentyofdetailintheshadowsbutnotinthehighlights,whichareoverexposed.

Figures1.14and1.14a:Circledinredontheleftsideofthehistogram,youcanseethegraphtouchingtheedgeofthebox.Thisshowsyouthattheshadowsareblockedup,resultinginalossofdetailintheblackareas.Thesmallredcircleontherightindicatesthatthehighlightshavegooddetail.

Figures1.15and1.15a:Circledinredontherightsideofthehistogram,youcanseethegraphtouchingtheedgeofthebox.Thisshowsyouthatthehighlightsareblownout,resultinginalossofdetailinthewhiteareas.Thesmallredcircleontheleftindicatesthattheshadowshavegooddetail.

TIP

Therearemanytermsinphotographyleftoverfromfilmdaysthatdon’talwaysmatchexactlywithcurrentcircumstancesortechnology.Forexample,wewouldsayourhighlightswere“blownout”whentheywereoverexposed.Overexposedhighlightsarepurewhitewithnovisibledetail.Wewouldalsosayourshadowswere“blockedup”whentheywereunderexposed.Underexposedshadowsmeantheyarepureblackwithnovisibledetail.

Whenthegraphtouchestheedgeofthebox,itisreallyfinishingoutsideofthebox,whichisoutofourview.Figure1.16isanewhistogramshowinggooddetailinboththeblacksandwhites.Thegraphiscontainedinsidethebox.Figure1.17isanexampleofthesamesceneonlywithoverexposedhighlights.Youcanseethegraphactuallyfinishingoutsidethebox.Thisissometimesreferredtoas“clippingthehighlights.”Figure1.18isanexampleofthesamesceneexceptwithunderexposedblacks.Again,thegraphfinishesoutsideofthebox.Anothertermforthisis“clippingtheshadows.”

Figure1.16:Histogramrepresentinganimagewithgoodhighlightandshadowdetail

Figure1.17:Histogramshowingoverexposedhighlights

Figure1.18:Histogramshowingunderexposedshadows

Asyoucansee,thehistogramisaninvaluabletoolforjudgingexposure.Itshouldbereferencedaftereveryshottoensurethatyouarecapturingdetailwhennecessary.Remember,thereisnoperfectshapeforahistogram.Theshapeofthegraphissimplydeterminedbythesceneitrepresents.ThehistograminFigure1.19representsthewhitebuilding(Figure1.19a).Clearlyanunorthodoxhistogram,butthesceneitrepresentsisproperlyexposed.Becausemostofthesceneishighlightsandwhites,thegraphshouldbeovertotheright.Therearenorealshadowsinthescene,andthehistogramrepresentsthataswell.ThesamecouldbesaidforFigure1.20,whichrepresentstheall-blacktrain

(Figure1.20a).Herethegraphisstackedtotheleft,asisproperforascenewithanabundanceofshadows.

Figures1.19and1.19a:Thehistogramstackedtotherightshowsagoodexposureofthisall-whitebuilding.

Figures1.20and1.20a:Thehistogramstackedtotheleftshowsagoodexposureofthisall-blacktrain.

WhenHDRIsNeededAlthoughHDRisthetopicofthisbook,it’snotnecessarywitheveryphotograph.Ourcamerasarecapableofcapturingthefullbrightnessrangeofplentyofscenes.SowhendoyouneedHDR?Thesimpleanswerwouldbe,wheneverthescene’sbrightnessrangeexceedsthecamera’scapabilitytocaptureit.

Bythismeasure,however,wewouldneverhaveanyphotographswithpureblacksorwhites,whicharenecessarytoprovideaphotographwithafullrangeofbrightnesslevels(tonalvalue).Somepureblackorpurewhitewithoutdetailisfineinalmostanyphotograph.TheimageinFigure1.21aanditshistogram(Figure1.21)showaslightclippingintheshadows.Thisisnoticeableintheareaaroundthewaterfalls.Asyoucansee,thissmallamountofpureblackisperfectlyacceptable.Infact,withoutit,theimagemightfeelsomewhatflat(lowincontrast).

Figures1.21and1.21a:Animageanditshistogramshowingacceptableclippingintheshadows

Silhouettesareanotherinstancewhereyou’llwantsomepureblackinyourimages.TheimageinFigure1.22aanditshistogram(Figure1.22)showwhatwewouldnormallyconsidersevereclipping.Becausethereisnoneedtoseeanydetailinsilhouettes,however,theclippedshadowsarejustfine.

Figures1.22and1.22a:Asilhouettesimageanditshistogramshowingtheamountofclippedshadows

Themoodofthephotographissomethingelseyouneedtotakeintoaccount.Notallimagesneedtobepresentedasbrightandfullofmidtones.Alow-keyimageisonethatisdominatedbydarkertones.Notnecessarilypureblack,butjustdarktones.Figures1.23and1.24areexamplesofthistypeofimagery.Oncloseexaminationoftheseshotsyoucanseethereareareasofpureblack,buttheydon’tfilltheframe;theyareinterspersedwithareasthataredarkbutcontaindetail.ComparethesewithFigure1.25.Noticehowthelargeareaofdarkdominatestheframe.

Figure1.23:Low-keyimageshowingacceptableamountsofpureblack

Figure1.24:Low-keyimageshowingacceptableamountsofpureblack

Figure1.25:Toomuchpureblackdominatestheframe

Whilesomeareasofpureblackcomplementanimagebygivingitafullrangeofvalues,largeareasofpureblackorwhitecanoverwhelmanimage.ThisisthetimeforHDR.Whenyouhavelargeareasofpureblack,asseeninFigures1.26and126a,shootingmultipleexposuresandblendingtheminHDRisrequiredtorevealdetailintheshadows.

Figures1.26and1.26a:Sceneshowinggoodhighlightdetailbutnoshadowdetail

Inthedaysofslidefilm,photographerswouldalwaysmakesuretheirhighlightswereexposedcorrectly.Thiswasbecauseoncethehighlightdetailwaslosttooverexposure,itcouldn’tbebroughtbackduringtheprintingprocess.Wecouldhowever,masktheslideundertheenlargertorevealalittleextradetailintheshadows.

Thesameistruewithmoderndigitalfiles.Oncethehighlightdetailislost,it’seitherdifficultorimpossibletobringitback.Lostdetailintheshadows,however,canberetrievedwithmostimageeditingprograms.Forthisreason,whenexposingdigitalimages,yourfirststepshouldbetoensurethatyouaregettinggoodhighlightdetail.Figures1.26and126aareaperfectexampleofthis.Youcanseethegraphcomingrightdowntotherightedgeofthehistogrambox.Theilluminatedhouseinthedistancerevealsplentyofdetail.

Ifyoucouldtakeonlyoneexposure,thiswouldbethecorrectone.Figures1.27and1.27ashowthesameimageafterIbrighteneduptheshadowsinAdobeLightroom.Youarenowabletoseeanacceptableamountofdetailinthedarkerareasofthephotograph.Thissoftwaretrickcannotbedoneinreverse,however.

Figures1.27and1.27a:TheimageaftertheshadowshavebeenlightenedinAdobeLightroom

Figures1.28and1.28ashowtheimagethatwasgiventwomorestopsofexposurein-camera.Heretheshadowdetailisgoodbutthehighlightsareblownout.InFigures1.29and129a,anattempttodarkendownthehighlightswasunsuccessful.Whilethehistogramhasbeenbroughtback,gooddetailinthehighlightshasnotbeenrestored.

Figures1.28and1.28a:Theimagewithtwomorestopsofexposuregivenin-camera

Figures1.29and1.29a:ThefailedattempttobringbackhighlightdetailfromFigure1.28

Thislastseriesofimagesdemonstratesthat,eventhoughthehistogramshowssomeclippingintheshadowsandhighlights,somedetailcanbebroughtback.Onceagain,you’llhavemoreluckretrievingtexturefromtheshadowsthanyouwillthehighlights.AtthispointyoumaybeaskingyourselfwhyyouwouldneedtoshootmultipleimagesforHDRifyoucansimplylightentheshadowsinpost-processing.

Thesimpleanswerisimagequality.Digitalfilescantakeafairbitofpost-processingbeforetheybegintofallapart,butsevereeditswillusuallycauseavisibledegradationoftheimage.Figure1.30showsaseriesofimagesthatIcapturedtoblendtogetherwithanHDRprogram.Theimageintheupperleftisgoodfortheshadows,whiletheimageinthelowerrightisgoodforthehighlights.Figure1.31showstheresultingphotographafterblendingthesiximagestogether.Ithasagoodrangeoftones,realisticcolors,andvisibledetailthroughout.Figure1.32showsthesingleexposuremadeforthehighlights(lowerrightimageinFigure1.31),withtheshadowsbrightenedinLightroom.Noticetheseveredegradationtotheshadowareas.Thisexcessofnoise(thegrainylook)appearswhenyouexcessivelybrightenunderexposedshadows.

Figure1.30:AseriesofimagescapturedtoblendtogetherusinganHDRprogram

Figure1.31:ThefinalHDRimageresultingfromtheblendingoftheprevioussiximages

Figure1.32:Thedarkestimageoftheseries,withtheshadowsbrightenedinLightroom

Thereasonforthisshadownoiseliesinthewayadigitalsensorcapturesinformation.Themorelightthepixelsreceive,themorelevelsoftonalitytheycancontain.Thismeansthemidtonesandhighlightscontainlotsofvaluabletonalities,whiletheshadowscontainfarless.Themoretonalities,apixelcontains,thebetteritcanwithstandpost-processingedits,suchascontrastandbrightnessadjustments.

Figure1.33demonstratesthisidea.Eachpixelintherighthalfofthehistogramcancontainupto2,048levelsoftone,whilethemidtonescancontainupto1,024levelsoftone.Thesepixelsareveryrichininformation,enablingthemtowithstandaconsiderableamountofpost-processingmanipulation.Thepixelsintheshadowregionofthehistogramreceivefarlesslight,whichmeansthereislessinformationperpixel.AggressivelyadjustingpixelswithsuchlittleimageinformationusuallyresultsinvisibleimagedegradationofthekindseeninFigure1.32.

Figure1.33:Thelevelsoftonalitycontainedperpixelinadigitalfile

Theamountofnoticeableimagedegradationvariesfromcameratocameraandfromscenetoscene.Moreexpensivecamerasproducefilesthatsufferlessfromshadowmanipulationduetotheirhigherbitdepth.Anyimage,however,willsuffersomedegradationwhenyouareaggressivelyadjustingdeepshadowsthatfallofftheleftsideofthehistogram(Figure1.34)

Figure1.34:Deepshadows,highlightedinyellow,arecapturedbythecamerabutnotdisplayedbythehistogram.Thesetoneswillproduceimagedegradationwhenmanipulated.

Thebottomlineisthatwhenthehistogramcontainsalloftheimageinformation,mostpost-processingeditswillnotdamagethelookoftheimage.Ifhowever,youbeginadjustingthetonesthatareburieddeepintheshadows,you’lllikelybedisappointedintheresults.Sobeginbymakingacorrectexposureforyourhighlights.Nowlookatyourshadows.Dotheyoccupytoomuchspaceinthescene?Ifso,it’stimetostartthinkingabouttakingmultipleexposures.

ShootingforHDROnceyou’vedeterminedasceneneedsHDRtobringoutdetailintheshadowsorhighlights,orboth,it’stimetomaketheexposuresthatcanbeblendedtogether.ShootingforHDRismorethanjustsettingyourcameraonAperturePriority,Evaluativemetering,andAuto-Bracketingandfiringoffafewshots.Careshouldbetakentoanalyzethesceneandsetyourcameraaccordingly.Inthischapterwe’llcovertheapproachtoexposureaswellasimportantcamerasettingstobeconsideredbeforeshooting.

MeteringtheSceneShootingforHDRboilsdowntomakingaseriesofexposuresthatcapturethefullrangeoftonespresentinthescene.Thesimplewayofdoingthisistogetonegoodexposureforthehighlightsandthenopenuponestop(addmorelightviatheshutterspeed)andmakeanotherexposure.Thenopenupagainandmakeanotherexposure.Continuethisuntiltheshadowareasarecapturedonthehistogram.Figure2.01aisanexampleofthefirstshot,wherethehighlightswouldbeproperlyexposed.Thiswas¼ofasecondatf/16.Noticetheshadowsarecrawlinguptheleftsideofthehistogram,indicatingtheyarequiteunderexposed.

Figure2.01a:Thefirstexposure,ensuringgoodhighlightdetail:¼ofasecondatf/16

Figure2.01b,shotat½secondatf/16,wouldbethesecondshot.Inthishistogramboththeshadowsandhighlightsareclipped.Figure2.01cwasmadeat1secondatf/16.Theshadowsarestillclipped.Figure2.01dwasmadeat2secondsatf/16.Theshadowsalmosthaveenoughexposure,butnotquite.Figure2.01eshowsthefinalimagemadeat4secondsatf/16.Hereyoucanseeahistogramthatrepresentsfullshadowdetail.

Figure2.01b:Thesecondexposure:½ofasecondatf/16

Figure2.01c:Thethirdexposure:1secondatf/16

Figure2.01d:Thefourthexposure:2secondsatf/16

Figure2.01e:Thefifthexposureensuringgoodshadowdetail:4secondsatf/16

Notallsceneswillrequirefiveseparateexposurestocapturethefulltonalrange.Somewillrequirethreeorsevenorperhapsonlytwo.Everysceneisdifferentandeachneedstobeanalyzedseparately.Inordertomakedifferentexposures,you’llneedtochangetheshutterspeedtoallowmorelighttoenterthecamera.Thisisaccomplishedindifferentways,dependingonthemeteringmodeyouareworkingwith.

Meteringmodes

Themeteringmodeinyourcameradetermineshowthecamerawillsetthef-stopandshutterspeedwhiletakingthepicture.Atypicallistofmeteringmodescontainsthefollowing:

•GreenSquare

•Program

•AperturePriority(AorAv)

•ShutterPriority(SorTv)

•Scenemodes,suchasLandscape,Portrait,andShutterPriority

•Manual

Whileanyoftheabovemodescanpotentiallyworkforcreatingaseriesofdifferentexposures,AperturePriorityandManualfunctionbest.Bothofthesemodesallowtheshutterspeedtobechangedtoaltertheamountoflightenteringthecamera.WhenworkingwithAperturePriority,changingtheexposurecompensationsettingalterstheshutterspeed.WhenworkinginManual,yousimplyadjusttheshuttertoyourdesiredspeed.AperturePriority

AperturePriorityisAonaNikonandAvonaCanon.Whenyou’reusingAperturePriority,movingyourcommanddial(neartheshutterrelease)alterstheaperturesetting.Thecamerathenchoosestheappropriateshutterspeedtomakeacorrectexposure.Movingthecommanddialagainsimplychangestheapertureandshuttertoadifferentcombination,whichallowsthesameamountoflighttohitthesensor.Sothecombinationof¼ofasecondatf/16and½ofasecondatf/22allowexactlythesameamountoflightin.

Inordertochangetheexposureyoumustuseyourexposurecompensationbutton.Settingthisbuttontotheplusallowsmorelightin,whilemovingittotheminusallowslesslightin.Typically,changingtheexposureisaccomplishedbydepressingthebuttonwhileyourotateoneofyourcameradials.Checkoutyourcamera’smanualforexactdirectionsforyourmodel.Inthiswayyoucancreateaseriesofimageswithdifferentexposures.Here’sasimpleexample.

1.Youframeupyourshotandtakeyourfirstexposureat1/60atf/11.Afterviewingthehistogram,youdecideyourhighlightsareexposedcorrectly.

2.Nowyouneedtotakeanothershotwithonemorestopofexposure.Thisexposureshouldbe1/30atf/11.Depressyourexposurecompensationbuttonanddialin+1.Yourcameranowshootsat1/30atf/11.Youlookatyourhistogramandyourshadowsarestillclipped.

3.Timeforanotherexposure.Depressyourexposurecompensationbuttonanddialin+2.Thistimeyourcamerawillshootat1/15ofasecondatf/11.Examinationofthehistogramrevealswell-exposedshadows.Yourseriesisfinishedandyoucanmoveontothenextscene.Thissimpleexampleshowsthebasicstepstocapturethenecessaryseriesofexposures.It’salsoamoremanual,time-consumingmethod.Furtheralong,we’lldiscusshowtoautomatethisprocesswithAuto-Bracketing.Fornow,let’stakealookathowthesameserieswouldbecapturedusingManualmode.

Manualmode

InManualmodeit’snecessaryforyoutosetboththeapertureandshutter.Thismeansyouhavetopaycloseattentiontotheexposureoneveryshot.WiththeAutomaticmodes,suchasAperturePriorityandShutterPriority,thecameraisalwayssettogiveyouagoodexposure—somethingwecallbeing“zeroedout.”InManual,however,thecamerawillsimplyshootatthecurrentf-stopandshutterspeed,regardlessofwhetherthey’llproduceagoodexposureornot.

Thismeansit’suptoyoutoadjustyourf-stopandshutteruntilthecameraiszeroedout.WhenyouputyourcameraintoManualmodeandlookthroughyourviewfinder,you’llseetheIndicatedExposuremeter.Figure2.02isanillustrationofanIndicatedExposuremeterforaNikoncamera.Figure2.03showsthesamedisplayonaCanoncamera.Bothofthesemetersarecurrentlyzeroedout.

Figure2.02:IllustrationofNikon’sIndicatedExposuremeter

Figure2.03:IllustrationofCanon’sIndicatedExposuremeter

TheIndicatedExposuremeterisusuallyonlyvisiblewhileyouareinManualmode,althoughsomecamerasdisplaythemeterinothermodes.Thismeterinformsyouofover-

andunderexposure.Whenthehashmarkisinthecenter,it’szeroedout,indicatingagoodexposure.Ifthehashmarkistowardtheplus,itmeanstheimagewillbebrighter(Figure2.04)andtowardtheminusindicatesadarkerexposure.(Figure2.05).Adjustingthef-stoporshutterspeed,orboth,movesthehashmarkalong.ForscenesthattypicallyrequireHDR,DepthofFieldisyourprimaryconcernsoit’scommontosetthatfirst.

Figure2.04:Meterindicatingoverexposure

Figure2.05:Meterindicatingunderexposure

1.Frameupyourshotandsetyouraperturetof/11.Next,adjustyourshutterspeeduntilyouzerooutthehashmark.Yourcameranowreads1/60atf/11.Aftertakingtheshot,youviewthehistogramanddecideyourhighlightsareexposedcorrectly.

2.Nowyouneedtotakeanothershotwithonemorestopofexposure.Addingastopoflightiscalled“openinguponestop.”Thiscanbedonewitheithertheshutteroraperture,butwithHDRphotographywewanttousetheshutter.Openinguponestopfrom1/60ofasecondis1/30ofasecond,soadjustyourshuttertoread1/30ofasecond.YourIndicatedExposuremeterwillnowdisplaya+1.Taketheshotandcheckyourhistogram.Iftheshadowsarestillclipped,it’stimeforanothershot.

3.Openupagaintoshootat1/15atf/11.YourIndicatedExposuremeterwillnowread+2.Ifthehistogramrevealswell-exposedshadows,yourseriesisfinished.JustlikethepreviousexampleinAperturePrioritymode,thisisaslower,moretimeconsumingapproachtomakingaseriesofexposures,butitspresentationisnecessary.UnderstandingthebasicoperationiscriticaltocapturingthecorrectexposureswhenyoumoveontoAuto-Bracketing.

Note

UsingeitherAperturePriorityorManualmodegetsyoutothesameexposure.Theonlydifferenceishowyougetthere.WithAperturePriorityyousimplyrotateonedialtoaltertheapertureandshuttersimultaneously.Whichevercombinationyouchoose,themeterwillalwaysbezeroedout.Toaltertheexposure,youneedtouseyourexposurecompensationbutton.InManualmodeyouhavetomoveboththeapertureandtheshuttertogettheindicatedexposuremetertozeroout.Toaltertheexposure,youcanthenchoosetoadjusteitherthef-stoporshutterspeed.

Matrixmetering

Yourcameradeterminestheproperexposureusinganinternallightmeter.Bydefaultyourcameraissettoamulti-segmentmeteringpattern,whichgivesexcellentresultsformostsituations.NikoncallsthispatterntheMatrixmeter,whileCanoncallsitanEvaluativemeter.Thismeterbasicallydividestheframeupintomultiplesegmentsandaveragestogetherthereadingsfromeach.Whilethismeterprovidesexcellentresultsincommonsituations,itcanfailwhenfacedwithscenesthatcontainawidearrayofimagebrightness.Becausethismeteringpatternisthemostcommonlyused,however,let’slookathowit’sused.

Themulti-segmentmetergenerallytriestopreservehighlightdetailinanygivensituation.Thisisgood,becausewhenshootingforHDRyouwanttobeginbymakinganexposurethat’sgoodforyourhighlights.Whenthismeterisfacedwithahighdynamicrangescene,however,it’slikelytosomewhatoverexposethehighlights.Thishappensbecausethemeteristryingtopreservesomedetailintheshadows.Remember,though,onceyourhighlightsareoverexposed,it’snearlyimpossibletobringthemback.

Regrettably,theonlywaytobesureofagoodexposurewhenusingthemulti-segmentmeter,istoshootaframeandthencheckthehistogram.Thereisanotherexposureaidthatcanbehelpful,however.It’scalledtheoverexposurewarning,commonlyreferredtoastheblinkies.Whentheoverexposurewarningisactive,whenyoureviewyourimage,areasofoverexposurewillbehighlightedbyablinkingcolor.Somecameraswillshowtheblinkiesonallreviewscreens;otherswillonlyshowitwhenyouareonaspecificscreen.Consultyourcamera’smanualfordirectionsonhowtodisplaytheoverexposurewarning.Spotmetering

TheSpotmeterisanothertypeofmeterincludedonmanycameras.Insteadoflookingattheentireframe,ittakesameterreadingfromonlyaverysmallportionoftheframe(1%to2%oftheviewfinder).Thismeansitcanbeextraordinarilyaccurate.IftheSpotmeterisusedimproperly,however,theresultsareveryunpredictable.Inshort,youshouldonlybeusingthistypeofmeterifyouarewillingtospendextratimeoneachandeveryshot.It’salsoworthmentioningthatusingtheSpotmeterismoreconvenientwheninManualmodeasopposedtoAperturePriority.

TheSpotmeterworksbytryingtomakewhateveritseesintoanaveragetone.Let’suseacommonsceneforanexample.IfyouplacetheSpotmeteroveranaveragetoneinthatscene,thenzerooutyourmeter,you’llendupwithagoodexposure.If,however,theSpotmeterislocatedoveralighttoneinthatsceneandyouzerooutyourmeter,youareessentiallymakingthatlightareaintoanaveragebrightness-exactlywhatyoudon’twant.

HavingagoodunderstandingoftheIndicatedExposuremeterandhistogramisessentialtousingtheSpotmeter,solet’stakealookathowtheycompare.Figure2.06demonstrateshowtheIndicatedExposuremeteralignswiththehistogram.

Figure2.06:ThetonesofthehistogramalignedwiththeIndicatedExposuremeter.

WhenyourSpotmeterisoveratoneandyouzerooutthemeter,thattonewillberenderedasanaveragetone(middlegray).Ifyouadjustyourshutterspeedand/oraperturetosetthehashmarkat+2,thetonewillbewhitebutstillhavedetail(Figure2.07).

Figure2.07:TheIndicatedExposuremetersetto+2

TheSpotmeterisagreatwaytoanalyzethedifferenttonalitiesinyourscene,butasmentionedearlier,youmustmakeaconsciouseffortwhileusingthistool.Here’sabasicworkflowformeteringasceneusingaSpotmeter.

1.Decidethecompositionanddeterminethenecessaryaperturetoachievethedesiredamountofdepthoffield.

2.Findthebrightestpartofthecompositionthatneedstohavedetail.PlacetheSpot

meteroverthistone.

3.Adjusttheshutterspeeduntilthehashmarkisat+2.Thisexposurewillrenderthebrightestwhitetone,butwithdetail.

4.Takeyourshot.

5.Openupyourshutterspeedbyonestopandshootagain.Checkthehistogramforshadowdetail.Iftheshadowsareclipping,continuetoopenupstopbystopandshootuntilyougetaframewheretheshadowshavedetail.

Note

Determiningwhichbrighttonesshouldretaindetailtakesalittlepractice.Ingeneral,thebrightestareainthesceneshouldbemostimportant.Smallareasofbrightreflection,forexample,havenoneedtoshowdetail.Typically,lightsourcessuchaslightbulbsandstreetlampsdon’trequiretexture.Youwouldn’twanttotrytogetdetailinthesuneither.It’sjusttoobright.Theareaswherewewanttoseedetailarethingssuchasskies,brightclouds,brightbuildings,windowdetailsinnightscenes;inshort,largerareasoftheframethatarenaturallybrighter.

CameraSettingsModernDigitalSLRshaveanabundanceofcontrolsandsettings.Somehavemigratedfromfilmcameras,whileothersarenewtothedigitalformat.Giventhenumberofcontrols,itsincredibletorealizejusthowfewareactuallyusedwitheverydayphotography.

Bracketing

Bracketingisatechniquewheredifferentexposuresaremadeforonescene.Auto-Bracketingisafunctiononthecamerathatwillautomaticallyshootaseriesofexposuresforyou.Auto-Bracketingcanbesettoshootin1/3,2/3,or1-stopincrements,withsomecamerashavingevenmoreoptions.AsimpleexamplewouldbeforyoutosetthecameratoAperturePriority.ThenengageAuto-Bracketingataone-stopincrement.Whenyourcameraissetto1/125ofasecondatf/16,thecamerawillshootthisexposure,andthen,itwillshoot1/160atf/16and1/250atf/16.Thiswillgiveyouthefirstexposureandthenanotherexposureonestopdarker,andthenathirdimageonestopbrighter.

InAperturePriority,theapertureisthemostimportantsetting,sothecameramakeschangestotheshuttertoaltertheexposure.InShutterPriority,theshutterstayssetwhiletheaperturemoves.MostcameraswillchangetheshutterwhenbracketinginManualmode.

ThetypicalAuto-Bracketingsettingwouldbe0,+1,and-1.Thiswouldshootwiththefollowingsettings:

1.Thecamerassetting(0)

2.Onestopoverthecamerasetting(+1)

3.Onestopunderthecamerasetting(-1)

Thecameramayalsoshoot0,-1,thenthe+1.Thisisfine,astheorderinwhichtheexposuresarecapturedisirrelevant.Somecamerasallowformoreexposuresperbracket.Afive-stopbracketwouldbe0,+1,+2,-1,-2.Asevenstopbracketwouldbe0,+1,+2,+3,-1,-2,-3.

Soasyoucansee,Auto-Bracketingcanbearealtimesaver.Italsoallowsyoutoshootwithouthavingtomanipulateyourcamerabetweenshots,whichincreasesthelikelihoodofbetterregistrationwhenyouprocesstheimages.Looktoyourindividualcamera,though.Auto-Bracketingoperationcandifferbetweeneachcameramanufacturerandsometimesevenbetweenmodelsinthesameline.Somecameraswillshootallthreeframeswhenyoudepresstheshutterreleasebutton,whileothersneedyoutodepresstheshuttermanuallythreetimes.Somecameraswillonlyallowyoutobracketoneithersideofyourcamera’ssetting(asdescribedabove),whileotherwillallowyoutoshoot0,+1,+2or0,-1,-2.Practicewithyourcameraandconsultyourmanualtodetermineyourparticularmodel’soperation.

Whilearealconvenience,Auto-BracketingbyitselfdoesnotnecessarilycapturethecorrectseriesofimagesforourHDRwork.Youneedtosetthecameraproperlyandthensettheappropriatebracketingtocapturethenecessaryframes.ThisiswhereworkinginManualmodeusingtheSpotmetercanbeveryhelpful.Let’sbuilduponourbasicworkflowfromthelastsection.

1.Decidethecompositionanddeterminethenecessaryaperturetoachievethedesiredamountofdepthoffield.

2.Findthebrightestpartofthecompositionthatneedstohavedetail.PlacetheSpotmeteroverthistone.

3.Adjusttheshutterspeeduntilthehashmarkisat+2.Thisexposurewillrenderthebrightesttonewhite,butwithdetail.

4.Now,insteadoftakingyourshot,noteyourcamerasettings.Let’ssaytheyare1/30atf/16.Thisisthedarkestexposureoftheseries,theonethatwillrendergooddetailinthehighlights.

5.Next,placeyourSpotmeteroverthedarkestpartofthescenethatneedstohavedetail.Adjusttheshutterspeeduntilthehashmarkisat-2.Thisexposurewillrenderthedarkestareasblack,butwithdetail.Noteyourexposuresettings.Let’ssaytheyare1/8atf/16.Younowknowthatyouneedtocapture1/30foryourhighlightsand1/8foryourshadows.

6.Whenshootingexposurestobeblended,useone-stopincrementswithyourbrackets.Sointhisexampleyouwouldneedtoshoot1/30,1/15and1/8.Manuallysetyourcamerato1/15atf/16.

7.Setyourautobrackettoshoot0,+1,and-1.Yourcamerawillnowshoot1/15,1/8and1/30.

Here’sonemoreexample:YouplacetheSpotmeteroverahighlight,setthehashmarkto+2,anditreads1/15atf/11.ThenyouplacetheSpotmeterovertheimportantshadow

area,setthehashmarkto-2,anditreads1”(onesecond).Withthissceneyouneedtocapturefiveseparateexposures.1/15,1/8,¼,½and1.Setthecamerato¼atf/11.NextsetyourAuto-Bracketto0,+1,+2,-1,-2.

BecausebringinghomethecorrectexposuresisanimportantstepincreatingrealisticHDRimageryyoualwayswanttodouble-checkyourhistogramsbeforeleavingthescene.Remember,thedarkestimageshouldhaveahistogramthatlooksFigure2.08.Thiswillprovidegoodhighlightdetail.ThelightestimageshouldhaveahistogramthatlookslikeFigure2.09.Thiswillprovidegoodshadowdetail.Theotherexposureswillbeonestopapart.Sometimes,threeexposureswillsuffice.Othertimesyoumayneedfiveorevensevenexposurestocovertherange.

Figure2.08:Goodhighlightdetail

Figure2.09:Goodshadowdetail

ISO

TheISO(InternationalStandardsOrganization)settingonyourcameradeterminesthesensitivityofyoursensor.HigherISOs,suchas800or1600,aremoresensitivetolight,meaningyoucanusefastershutterspeedsand/orsmallerapertures.

SlowerISOs,suchas100or200,arelesssensitivetolight,meaningyouhavetouseslowershutterspeedsand/orlargeraperturestocapturethesamescene.Forthehighestqualityimagery,useaslowerISO,suchas100or200.HigherISOswillresultinanexcessofnoise(agritty,sandpaperylook)inyourphotos.

WhiteBalance

SettingyourWhiteBalancecorrectlywhileshootingsavestimebackonthecomputer.WhileyoucanadjusttheWhiteBalancewithmosteditingprograms,it’sbesttogetascloseaspossibleinthefield.LargeshiftsinWhiteBalanceonthecomputerare

unnecessaryandcanleadtoaposterizationofcolor.Whensettingyourcamera’sWhiteBalance,considerthemainsourceofillumination.Ifthesunisyourmainsource,setyourcameratoDirectSunonNikonorDaylightonCanon.Ifyourareshootingonanovercastday,simplysetyourcamera’sWhiteBalancetoCloudy.IreservetheuseofAutoWhiteBalanceforscenesthatcontainprimarilyartificiallightsources.

Manualfocus

UsingAutofocuswhileshootingimagesiscommonbutcancauseproblems.ForthisreasonIoftenusethecamera’sAuto-Focusinitiallybutthenturnitoffwhenit’stimetoshoot.Inaperfectworld,usingAuto-Focusshouldn’tbeaproblem,butitdoeshavethepotentialtothrowyouoff.Toensuregoodfocusthroughoutyourseriesofexposures,beginbyauto-focusingonthedesiredsubjectinthescene.Oncefocused,turnoffyourAuto-Focusbutton.Now,asyoucontinuetoshootyourseriesofexposures,thecamerawillnotneedtofocusinbetweenshots.Usingthismethodalsosavesonbatteriesandallowsthecameratoshootfaster.

F-stopsandshutterspeeds

Thef-stopandshutterspeedcombinationisapersonaldecisionaswellasamatterofgoodexposure.Youcanusefastershuttersandlargerapertures(f/2,f/4,f/5.6)whenashallowdepthoffieldisdesired(onlyasmallareaofthesceneissharp).Byusingslowershutterspeedsandsmallerapertures(f/11,f/16,f/22)youcancaptureimageswithagreaterdepthoffield(moreofthesceneissharp).MostscenesthatrequireHDRusuallybenefitfromadeepdepthoffield.

Depthoffieldiscontrolledbythreefactors:

1.Aperture.Thesmallertheaperturethemoredepthoffieldyouachieve.

2.Distancetothesubject.Thecloseryouaretothenearestsubject,thelessdepthoffieldyouwillhave.Iftheclosestsubjectinyoursceneis3feetawayfromthecamera,youwillneedtostopdowntof/16orf/22togettheentirescenesharp.Ifyoursubjectis100feetfromyou,adeepdepthoffieldwillbeeasiertoobtain.Inthiscase,youmanyonlyneedf/8orf/11.

3.FocalLength.Wide-anglelenses(shorterfocallengths)providemoredepthoffield.Telephotolenses(longerfocallength)providelessdepthoffield.

Youshouldrefrainfromsimplysettingyourapertureatf/22foreveryscene.Whilethismayseemlikeaneasywaytoalwaysensuredeepdepthoffield,itwilladverselyaffectyourimagequality.Thesmallestapertureonthelenswillprovidethemostdepthoffield,butitalsosoftenstheoverallimage.

Thesharpestaperturesonalensaretheonesclosesttothecenterofthef-stoprange.Thesearetypicallyf/5.6,f/8andf/11.Toachievethesharpestimagespossible,usetheaperturethatisclosesttothecenterofthelensthatwillprovidethenecessarydepthoffield.Thenecessarydepthoffieldcanbedifficulttodetermine,sousingadepthoffieldcalculatorapplicationisrecommended.Therearemanypopularappsforsmartphonesthatdon’trequireasignaltooperateandarewellworththepriceofafewdollars.ProTips

Hereareafewtipsthatmayhelpyouachievebetterresultsinthefield:

1.Findtheimportantbrightareawhenmetering.It’sessentialtorealizethatnoteverybrightareainthesceneneedsdetail.Typically,lightsourcesthemselvescandowithoutdetail.It’salsounreasonabletoexpecttogetdetailfromthebrightsun.Likewise,reflectionsfromlightsourcesinglass,mirrors,ormetalshouldbeignored.Ofcoursetherearealwaysexceptions.Averyornatelampshadeorchandelierwillbenefitfromproperexposure.Themainideaistokeeplarger,importantbrightareasfromblowingout.

2.Don’tconcernyourselfwiththeblackestblack.Mostimagesbenefitfromapureblacksomewhereinthescene.Likeyoudoforthehighlights,determinewhichareasaretrulyimportant.Tryingtogetdetailineveryblackandeverywhitewillresultinanimageseriesthatbecomesdifficulttoprocesscorrectly.

3.HDRsoftwarehastheabilitytoblendtogetherimagesthatarenotperfectlyaligned,butitdoestakethesoftwarelongertoproducethefinalresults.Iftheimagesaretoofaroutofalignment,however,thesoftwaremaynotbeabletoachieveperfectregistration.Whileyoumightgetluckywithahand-heldseriesofexposures,it’sbesttoensureperfectalignmentbyusingatripod.Theuseofthetripodwillalsoallowtheuseofsmalleraperturesformoredepthoffield.

4.Useacablereleaseorremote.Alongwithatripod,remotereleaseswillhelpkeepyourimagessharpbyreducingcamerashake.

5.UsetheSelfTimer.SomecameraswillnotshootalloftheexposuresatoncewhensettoAuto-Bracket.Thismeansyouhavetopresstheshutterreleasebuttonorcablereleaseforeachshot.Whilethisisnotterriblytimeconsumingitwouldbeniceifthecamerawouldsimplyfirethemallofwithonepressoftheshutter.TrysettingyourcameratoSelfTimer.Inmanycasespressingyourreleaseoncewilltriggerthecameratoshootthewholeseriesofbracketsautomatically.

6.ConsiderusingContinuousHighSpeedReleasemodeonaNikonorContinuousShootingmodeonaCanon.Bydefault,pressingyourshutterreleasebuttonshootsasingleframe.InContinuousMode,yourcamerawillcontinuetoshootuntilyoureleasethebutton.Thismodecanbeusedtocaptureaseriesofexposuresinrapidsuccession,eliminatingsubjectmovementinbetweenshots.

7.Manyscenesdon’trequireexactlythree-,five-,orseven-stopbrackets.Theymightneedfourorsix.Inthesecasesit’seasiertosetyourAuto-Bracketingtocapturemoreimagesthanarenecessaryanddeletetheunnecessaryimagesbackatthecomputer.

8.Ifyouareunsureaboutyourmeteringorhistograms,hedgeyourbetbycapturingmoreimages.It’sbettertocomehomewithextraimagesthataretoolightandtoodarkthantowishyouhadthoseimageswhileyou’reprocessingyourHDR.

9.ShootinRAW.RAWfilescontainmuchmoreinformationthanJPEGfiles.Moreimageinformationallowsmoreoptionswhenitcomestoblendingyourimagestogether.HDRprogramswillprocessJPEGfiles,souploadingyouroldimagesisnotanissue.Forthemostlatitudeinprocessingyourimages,however,setyourcameratoshootinRAW.

ProcessingtheHDRImageOnceyou’vecapturedyourimagesit’stimetoperformmagiconthecomputer.ModernHDRprogramsshavehoursoffthetimeitusedtotakethephotographertomanuallyblendimagestogetherinPhotoshop,anddaysoffthetimeittooktoachievesimilarresultsinthedarkroom.TherearemanyoptionsinHDRprogramsoutthere,andtheyalloperatealittledifferently.Allhowevercanproducebothsurrealandrealisticresults.Aspreviouslymentioned,thesurreallookisrelativelyeasytoachievewithoutanycoaching.Creatingarealisticimageissomewhatmoreofachallenge.InthissectionI’llshowyouhowprepareandprocessyourimagesusingtheAdobeLightroom,AdobePhotoshop,andPhotomatix.

PreparingYourImagesinLightroomForthemostpart,HDRprogramsarestand-aloneprogramsthatwilloperateindependentlyofyourprimaryeditingsoftware.Mostwillalso“plugin”tomanyofthemorepopulareditingprograms,suchasPhotoshop,Lightroom,andAperture.

Editingprograms

Aplug-inallowstheHDRprogramtoworkinconcertwithyourbasesoftware.Forexample,youcoulddownload,organize,andedityourimagesusingAperture.WhenyouwanttoblendaseriestogetherusingHDR,youwouldexporttheseriesintoanHDRprogramsuchasPhotomatix.Photomatixwouldblendtheimagestogetherandsendthe

finalimagebackintoAperture.

Usingtheseprogramsasplug-insisarealtimesaverandhelpskeepyourphotographsorganized.WhenyoupurchaseHDRsoftware,itwilltypicallycomewiththeprogramandtheplug-inmodule.Lookforthedirectionsonhowtoinstalltheplug-inforyourparticularcomputerandprogram.Ifyoumissedthissteporareunabletofindtheplug-in,atriptothemanufacturer’swebsitewillsupplyyouwithstep-by-stepdirectionsfortheinstallationprocess.

ThestandardeditingprogramsofLightroom,Photoshop,andApertureareallprofessional-levelprogramsthathaveagreatdealincommon.Withtheseprogramsyoucandownloadyourimagesfromyourcamera,organize,edit,exporttoemail,createbooksandslideshowsand,withLightroom,evenprepareawebsite.WiththeexceptionofPhotoshop,however,theycan’tcreateHDRimages.ForthiswedependontheseparateHDRprograms,suchasPhotomatix.WhiletherearemanyexcellentHDRprogramsoutthere,I’vefoundPhotomatixtoproduceimagesthatsuitmytaste.Tome,theyarethemostreminiscentofthelookoftraditionalslidefilm.

WhenitcomestoprimaryeditingsoftwareIuseAdobeLightroom.Ifindthatitisthemostintuitivesoftwareonthemarketwiththebestfeatureset.

Importsettings

Nomatterwhichprogramyouuse,youwillneedtogetyourimagesfromyourcameraontoyourcomputer.Therearemanywaysinwhichthiscanbeaccomplished,butIprefertouseLightroom’sImportmodule.TheImportmoduleallowsyoutorename,generatethumbnails,andimporttheimagesintoafolderofyourchoiceinanylocationthatyoudesire.Moreimportant,itallowsyoutoimportyourimageswithaDeveloppreset.Thismeansthemomenttheimagesareimported,theyhavealreadybeeneditedtoyourspecifications!Forthemostparteachimagewillneedindividualattention,butthereareseveraleditsthatcanbeappliedtoeveryimage.

1.Clarity

2.RemoveChromaticAberration

3.Sharpening

TheClaritysliderissimilartosharpening.Itdoesperformaseparatefunction,butthelookissimilar.Iapplyalittleextraclaritytoalmostallofmylandscapeandarchitecturalimages—regardlessofwhethertheywillbecomeHDRimages.Negativeclarityisgreatforportraits.

Chromaticaberrationisthepresenceofacoloredfringearoundedgesinyourphotograph.Whileitmaynotbenoticeableatsmallmagnifications,suchasonawebsite,itbecomesglaringwhenyouaremakinglargerprints.RemovingChromaticaberrationisaccomplishedintheLensCorrectionspanel.

Therearetwotypesofsharpening:inputsharpeningandoutputsharpening.Inputsharpeningisappliedtofixtheinherentimagesoftnessthataccompaniesimagecapture.Nolenscreatesperfectlysharpimages,andallphotosarealittlesoftthemomenttheyaremade.Inputsharpening,then,correctsthephoto’sinitialinherentlackofsharpness.

Outputsharpeningisappliedtoimagesthathavelostsoftnessduetoenlargement.Downsizinganimagetosay,aJPEGforemail,awebpage,ora5x7print,rarelyrequiresoutputsharpening.Upsizinganimagetosay,a16x20print,however,willresultinalossofsharpness.Thisiswhereoutputsharpeningcomesin.Butwe’reinterestedininputsharpeningatthisstage.

Note

JPEGfilesaresharpenedin–camera,whileRAWFilesarenot.Forthisreasonit’sunnecessarytoapplyinputsharpeningtoJpegs.

Creatingapresetiseasy,andapplyingthepresetduringimportiseveneasier.Startbychoosinganimagethatisalreadyimported,andmovetotheDevelopmodule.

1.IntheBasicpanel,settheClarityto+10(Figure3.01)

Figure3.01:SettingClarityto+10

2.IntheLensCorrectionspanel,clicktheBasicmenuitemandthechecktheRemoveChromaticAberrationbox.(Figure3.02)

Figure3.02:RemovingChromaticAberration

3.InputSharpeningcanbedoneintheintheDetailpanel,butit’smucheasiertoapplyaready-madepreset.ThePresetpanelisontheleftsideofthescreenunderNavigator(Figure3.03).ClickthearrownexttoGeneralPresets,thenclickSharpenScenic.ThismovestheSharpensliderstoapresetposition(Figure3.04)thatworkswellforscenics,landscapes,nature,andarchitecture.Iapplythispresettoallimagesexceptportraits.

Figure3.03:ThePresetpanelwiththeSharpenScenicpreset

Figure3.04:TheDetailpanelafterclickingtheSharpenScenicpreset

Onceyouhavemadetheseadjustments,it’stimetomakethepreset.ReturntothePresetpanelandclickthe+buttonintheupperrightcorner(Figure3.05).You’llbefacedwithadialogboxallowingyoutochoosewhichoftheadjustmentsyouwouldliketoincludeinthepreset.Beginbygivingthepresetanamethatwillmakesensetoyou.IhavenamedthisScenicImportPreset.Next,clicktheCheckNoneboxatthebottom.FinishbycheckingtheClarity,Sharpening,ChromaticAberrationandProcessVersionbox.TheProcessVersionshouldalwaysbecheckedtokeepallimageslookingthesame.WhenyourNewDevelopPresetboxlookslikeFigure3.06,clickCreate.

Figure3.05:Creatinganewpreset

Figure3.06:NewDevelopPresetbox

Thisnewpresetcanbeappliedinmanyways.PrimarilyIusethiswhenimportingmyimages,butitcanalsobeappliedatanytime.IntheDevelopmoduleitcanbefoundunderUserPresetsinthePresetspanel.IntheLibrarymodule,right-clickonanimageandchooseitfromDevelopSettings>UserPresets.Whenimporting,you’llfindthepresetunderDevelopSettingsintheApplyDuringImportpanel(Figure3.07).

Figure3.07:Applyingthepresetduringimport

Note

NotallHDRprogramswillrecognizechangesmadetothefileinLightroom.Becausetheseeditsareimportanttoanyimage,IapplythemacrossallscenicshotsregardlessofwhetherornottheywillbeprocessedinHDR.Photomatixrecognizestheseedits,andthat’soneoftheprimaryreasonsIusethissoftware.

Labeling&stacking

ShootingforHDRgeneratesalotofimagesthatlookprettysimilar.Youmayshootaseriesoffiveimages,thenchangeyourcompositionandshootfivemore.Ifthelightgetsbetteryoumayevenshootanotherfive.Atthispoint,recognitionoftheindividualseriesbecomesimportant.Getintothehabitoftakingapictureofyourhandinbetweenseries.Thiswillactasamarkerwhenyoureviewyourimagesbackonthecomputer.Justremembertoresetyourbracketafterthehandimage,oryournextserieswillbeoff.

Oncebackatthecomputerthereareacoupleofwaysyoucandistinguishtheindividualsetsofimages:labelingandstacking.Labelingissimplyaddingacolortothethumbnail.Figure3.08showsafolderofimagesthatIcapturedwhilethesuncameupoveramountaininGlacierNationalPark.Ishoteightseparatesetsofimages(sevenineachset).Noticethecoloredlabelinthelowerright-handcorneroftheimages.Thefirstsetisred,thesecondyellow,andsoon.Labelingtheimagesinthiswaymakesitmucheasiertodifferentiatebetweensets.Trythefollowingtoaddacolorlabeltoasetofimages:

1.Selecttheimages.Clickonthefirstimage,thenholddowntheShiftkeyandclickonthelastimageoftheseries.Thisiscalledacontiguousselectionandwillselectalloftheimagesinthatseries.Toselectnon-adjacentimages,clickonthefirstimage,holddownyourOptionkey(Apple)orAltkey(PC)andcontinuetoselectthedesiredimages.Whenfinished,releasetheOption/AltKey.

2.Withtheimagesselected,choosePhoto>SetColorLabelfromthemenu.YouwillseealistofRed,Yellow,Green,Blue,andPurple.Simplychoosethecolorofyourchoice.Thenumberkeysonyourkeyboardcanbeusedasashortcuttothemenu.Withtheimagesselected,press6forRed,7foryellow,8forGreen,andsoon.

Figure3.08:Seriesofimagesthathavebeenlabeledwithcolors

Ifthecolorsdonotappearonyourthumbnailsyouwillneedtoadjustyourviewoptions.WhileintheLibrarymodule,chooseView>ViewOptionsfromthemenubar.AdjustyourViewOptions,asseeninFigure3.09.

Figure3.09:TheLibraryViewOptionsbox

Stackingyourimagesisanotherwaytoalleviateconfusion.Thiswilltakeallselectedimagesandplace,or“stack,”themtogether.

1.Selectallimagesintheseries.

2.FromtheMenuBarchoosePhoto>Stacking>GroupintoStack.Theshortcutis +GonaMacandCtrl+GonaPC.Figure3.10showsthesamefolderorganizedintostacks.

Figure3.10:Afolderorganizedintostacks

Stackingisagreatwaytoreclaimwindowspaceinthelibrary.Sometipsforworkingwithstacks:

1.ThetwolinescircledinredinFigure3.11indicateastack.Clickingontheselineswillexpandthestack.Clickagainandthestackwillcollapse.

Figure3.11:Stack/Unstackoptioncircledinred

2.Whenastackisselected,pressingthe“S”keyexpandsandcollapsesthestack.

3.Thefirstselectedimagewillappearatthetopofthestack.Attimesyoumaywantadifferentimagetoshowonthetopofthestack,however.YoucanmoveanimagetothetopofthestackbyclickingonthatimageandpressingShift+S.

4.MoveimagesupanddowninastackbyusingthekeystrokeShift+[orShift+].

Synchronizingsettings

Whenyou’reworkingwithPhotomatixandPhotoshoptocreateHDRimages,theeditsyoumakeinLightroomcanproducedrasticorsubtlechangestothefinalfile.Forexample,youmanywanttochangethewhitebalanceorincreasesaturation.Changescanbemadetoindividualimageswithinaseriesbuttypically,you’llwanttosyncthechangeacrossallimages.Tosyncchanges:

1.IntheDevelopmodule,makethedesiredchangestooneoftheseries.

2.Whileholdingthe key(Mac)orCtrlkey(PC),selecttheremainingimagesintheseries.

3.Noticethat,whileallimagesareselected,theoneyoumadethechangestoisalittlebrighter.Thisindicatesthatitistheactiveimageandthechangesfromthisimagewillbeappliedacrosstheothers.PresstheSyncbuttoninthelowerrightcornerofthescreen.

4.TheSynchronizeSettingsboxwillappear.PresstheCheckNonebutton.

5.Checktheboxesoftheeditsthatyouhavemade.PressingtheSynchronizebuttonwhenfinishedappliestheeditstotheselectedimages.

AdjustingYourImagesinLightroomUnderstandingtheprimaryadjustmentsinLightroomiskeytodevelopingbothrealisticandpowerfulimagery.ForthoseworkingonlyinPhotoshop,CameraRAW(ACR)hasexactlythesameadjustments.ThetechniquesdescribedbelowapplytobothLightroomandPhotoshop’sACR.

TheBasicpanel

TheprimarytonalandcoloradjustmentstoyourimageshappenintheBasicpanel(Figure3.12).

•TheWhiteBalanceadjuststheimagefordifferentlightingconditionsandremovesthecolorcastthatmaybepresent.FromtheWhiteBalancedrop-downmenu,choosetheoptionthatmostcloselyresemblestheconditionsyouwereinwhenyoumadetheimage,suchascloudy,shady,incandescentlight,andsoon.IfyouareworkingonaJPEGinsteadofaRAWimageyouwillseeonlytheoptionsofAsShot,Auto,andCustom.

•UsetheTemperatureslidertofine-tunethecolorsettings.Movethesliderlefttocreateacooler,morebluetoneandmoveittotherighttocreateawarmer,more

orangeoryellowtone.

•AdjusttheTintsliderifyouwouldliketoadjustthetintoftheimage:leftformoregreenorrightformoremagenta.

•UsetheExposureslidertoadjusttheoverallluminosity(brightness)oftheimage.Thisiskindoflikegivingmoreorlessexposureatthetimeofcapture.Movetheslidertotherightformoreexposureandleftforlessexposure.HolddowntheOptionkey(Mac)orAltkey(PC),andslidetheExposureslidertorevealimageclipping.Thespotsthatarerevealedaretheverybrightestordarkestpointsoftheimage.

•TheContrastsliderdoesjustwhatyouthinkitwill—addsordecreasescontrast.Itaddscontrastprimarilyinthemidtones,however.Itypicallyleavethissliderat0formyHDRimages.

•TheHighlightssliderworkstobringbackdetailinthehighlightareas.YoumayfindthatwhenyouincreasetheExposureslideruntilthewholeimagelooksgood,youendupwithsomeclipping.BymovingtheHighlightsslidertotheleft,youcanbringsomehighlightdetailback!Thisslidermaynotworkonoverexposedimages,soyoustillneedtopayattentiontoyourexposureinthefield.IfyouhavetroublegettinggoodhighlightdetailusingPhotomatix,closeoutofthatimageandreturntoLightroom.Adjustthehighlightsdownonthedarkerimagesandthenre-importthenewlyadjustedseriesbackintoPhotomatix.

•TheShadowssliderwilllightenordarkenthedarkareasofyourphotograph.Itsdesignistoworkononlythedarkerareasofthephotobutthenotthedeepestblackareas.Ifyoumovethisslidertoofartotherighttolighten,theresultwillbegintolookfake.Usewithcare.

•TheWhitesslideristhecounterpointtoShadows.Itwilllightenordarkenthebrighterareasofthephoto,butwilltrynottoaffectthebrightestwhites.

•TheBlackssliderbrightensordarkensthedeepblacks.Itwillmaketheseadjustmentswhilehavinglessinfluenceonthemidtonesandhighlightvalues.Again,holdingdowntheAltkey(OptionforMac)whilemovingthesliderwillrevealshadowclipping.

•TheClarityadjustmentincreasesordecreasestheoverallcontrastabovetheshadowsandbelowthehighlights.It’ssimilartotheContrastslider,buttighter.Itseparatestonesthatareveryclosetogether.Thinkofthissliderasbringingouttextureintheimage.

•TheVibranceslideraddssaturationinawholenewway.Itaffectstheleastsaturatedareasinyourphotofirst.Asyoucontinuetomovetheslider,themoresaturatedareasbegintogaininsaturation.Thisletsyouincreasesaturationacrossyourimagewithoutoversaturatingthealreadyintensecolors.

•MovingtheSaturationadjustmentslidertotherightincreasestheoverallsaturationoftheimage.Usesparingly!Oversaturationisasuresignthatyourimagewasdigitallymanipulated.

Figure3.12:TheBasicpanel

TheToneCurvepanel

TheToneCurvepanelallowsfurtherfine-tuningofyourtonalvalues(Figure3.13).Ifyoucan’tgetquitewhatyouwantfromthetonaladjustmentsintheBasicpanel,it’stimetomovetocurves.Adobehasmadecurvesmucheasierwithitsintroductionofthe“parametric”curve.Theslidersatthebottomoftheboxcanbeusedtoadjusttheirrespectiveareas.Noticeacurveoverlaysahistogram.Asyoumovetheslidersyouwillseetheadjustedcurveoverthehistogramtohelpyoumakedecisions.

Figure3.13:TheToneCurvepanel

TheHSLpanel

TheHSLpanelallowsyoucompletecontroloverthecolorinyourphotographs(Figure3.14).WhiletheWhiteBalanceaffectstheoverallcolorcast,HSLworksonaspectsofindividualcolors.AcrossthetopthepanelyouseethewordsHue,Saturation,Luminance,andAll.ClickonthewordHuetorevealtheHueadjustments.ClickonthewordSaturationtorevealtheSaturationAdjustments,andsoon.

•Hue:Thenameofthecolor,suchasred,blue,ororange.Lookatthecolorbehindtheslidertogiveyouanideaofwhichdirectionyouwillbepushingthathue.

•Saturation:Theintensityofthecolor.Movetotherightformoreintensityandleftforlessintensityofthatindividualcolor.

•Luminance:Thebrightnessofthecolor.Brightensordarkensthechosencolor.

•Grayscale:TheHSLtabcanalsobeusedtocreategreatlookinggrayscaleimages.ClickonB&Wtocreateagrayscalephotograph.Thesliderswillnowbrightenordarkentheshadeofgraythatcorrespondswitheachcolor.

Figure3.14:TheHSLpanel

TheCameraCalibrationpanel

ThelastpaneltobediscussedistheCameraCalibrationpanel(Figure3.15).ThispanelcanalterthewayAdobetranslatesyourRAWfile.IfyouareshootingJPEGS,youcanignorethispanel.IfyouareshootingRAW,however,theadjustmentsherecanbequitesignificant.

Figure3.15:TheCameraCalibrationpanel

Process,atthetopofbox,referstheprocessingengineAdobeisusingtoprocessthefile.Thechoiceshereare2003,2010,and2012(current).AnynewfilesthatareimportedintoLightroomwillautomaticallygetthelatest2012processversion.OlderimagesthathavebeenimportedinpastversionsofLightroommayhaveolderprocessversions.Updatetheprocessversionofyourolderimagestothelatest2012versionforthebesttranslationandaccesstothelatestadjustments.

JustbelowProcess,you’llseeProfile.Thisiswherethemagichappens.BydefaultyourimageswillbedisplayedwiththeAdobeStandardprofile.ThisisAdobe’sinterpretationofwhatthatfileshouldlooklike.ClickingonAdobeStandardwillrevealtheoptionsassociatedwiththatparticularcamerabrand(Figure3.16).Figure3.16showstheoptionsforNikoncameras.Canoncamerasmayhaveaslightlydifferentlist.

Figure3.16:Camera-specificprofileoptions

TheseprofileoptionsarebuiltintoLightroomandwillautomaticallyappearwithNikonandCanoncameras.Youmaynotseetheseoptionswhenworkingwithotherbrandsofcameras.WhileAdobeStandardisagreatplacetostart,youmaylikethelookofyourimageswhenCameraLandscapeorCameraStandardisapplied.IhavefoundthateveryimageisdifferentandI’moftensurprisedtofindthatoneprofilelooksbetterthananother.Irecommendexperimentingwiththeseprofilestodeterminewhichbesttranslateyourparticularimage.

BasicHDRTheoryOvertheyears,Ihaveusedjustabouteverymethodavailabletofine-tunemyphotographs.Fromburning,dodgingandcontrastmasksinthedarkroomtochannelselectionsandlayermasksinPhotoshop.Todaytherearemanymethodsandprogramsavailablethatarefarmorepowerfulthananythingwe’vehadbefore,andmostoftheseprogramsarefareasiertouse!IhavesettledonPhotoshopandPhotomatixtoproducethe“look”thatIfindmostrealistic.

PhotomatixwasoneofthefirstHDRprogramsonthesceneandhascontinuedtoupgradetheirproducttoprovideanarrayofoptionstosatisfyanyphotographer.Adobe’searlyattemptsatincludingHDRprocessinginPhotoshopwerelessthansatisfactory.However,nowwiththeabilitytoprocess32-bitimagesinLightroom,theresultsarefabulous.

Beforewegetintothespecificsofhowtouseeachprogramlet’sexaminethebasicHDRprocess.

1.LoadmultipleexposuresintotheHDRprogram.

2.TheHDRprogramwillaligntheimagesifnecessaryandmergethemtogetherintoanew32-bitfile.

3.Translationoftheallthetonesinthe32-bitimageintoavisiblerange.ThisiscommonlycalledToneMapping,althoughthereareothermethodsoftranslatingthetones

4.ExportorSavethefile.

Asmentionedearlier,you’llhavemoreleewaywhenshootinganduploadingRAWfiles.RAWimagesare16-bitfilesthatcontainmuchmoreinformationthanJPEGs,whichareonly8-bitfiles.

LoadingofthefilesintheHDRprogramcanbeaccomplishedinseveraldifferentways.IfyouownonlyPhotoshop,youcanselecttheseriesinBridgeandchooseTools>Photoshop>MergetoHDRPro.IfyouownonlyPhotomatix,youcanopentheprogramandchooseOpen,thennavigatetotheimagesviayourFinder/Explorerwindow.IfyouareusingLightroom,selecttheimagesandthenchoosePhoto>EditIn>MergetoHDRProinPhotoshop.TogotoPhotomatix,chooseFile>PluginExtras>ExporttoPhotomatixPro.

WhetheryoumoveyourimagesintoPhotoshoporPhotomatix,thesoftwarewillalignandmergetheseriesintoanew32-bitfile.A32-bitfilehastheabilitytocontainanastronomicalamountofinformation,whichallowsallofthedetailintheuploadedseriestobecontainedinasinglefile.Thissingle32-bitimage,however,containsmore

informationthanoureyescanseeorthecomputermonitorcandisplay.ThisistheonlytrueHDRimage.Forthisreason,youhavetotranslatealltheinformationintoviewabletonalities.ThistranslationprocessiscommonlycalledToneMapping,andit’sthepartoftheprocesswhereyoumovethevarioussliderstoadjustthelookoftheimage.

Thereareotherprocessesthatwilltranslatethetonesintoavisiblerange.OneofthoseprocessesiscalledExposureFusionandisfoundinPhotomatix.AlthoughthisistechnicallynotanHDRprocess,it’stheonethatIfindproducesthemostrealisticresults.Dependingontheprogramyouareusing,youmayhavetheoptionsavethefileasa32-bitfileorchangeitbacktoa16-bitfile.Yourdecisionherewilldependontheprogramyouareusing.Moreonthatlater.

UsingHDRProinPhotoshopLet’sstartwithusingthequickandeasyHDRfunctionofPhotoshop.We’llonlyuseittoalignandmergetheimages,however.Wewillachievethetonaltranslation(ToneMapping)later,backinLightroom.

1.InLightroom’sLibrarymodule,selecttheseriesofimagestobeprocessed.

2.FromthemenuchoosePhoto>EditIn>MergetoHDRProinPhotoshop.Photoshopautomaticallylaunchesandbeginstheprocessofmergingtheimagestogether.

Note

Atthetimeofthiswriting,PhotoshopElementsdoesnothaveatrueHDRprocessor.ThisexampleusesthefullversionofPhotoshop.

Photoshop'sHDRdialogbox

Figure3.17showsthedialogboxaftertheimageshavebeenmerged.Whiletherearemanyoptionsavailablefromthisbox,theonlynecessarystephereistosettheWhitePoint.

1.ClickontheWhitePointsliderandmoveittotherightuntiltheimageshowsfulldetailinthehighlights(Figure3.18).Ifyouhaveuploadedthecorrectexposures,thisshouldnotbeaproblem.Movingtheslideruntilthetipisjustbelowthelastofthehistogramisthestandardprocedure,butmovingitfurthertotherightgenerallydoescauseproblems.

2.ClickOK.Photoshopmergestheseparateexposuresintoone32-bitfileandreturnstoPhotoshopproper.BackinPhotoshop,you’llbefacedwithanimagethatusuallylooksprettybad(Figure3.19).Don’tworry.Remember,thisisa32-bitfile.Itcontainsallmannerofdetailthatcannotbedisplayedbythemonitor.Atthispointtheimagehasyettobetonemapped,soit’sexpectedtolookmurky.

3.FromPhotoshop’smenubar,ChooseFile>SaveandthenFile>Close.Atthispoint,youhaveusedPhotoshoptomergeallofyourimagesintoone32-bitfile.NoToneMappinghasoccurred,however.YoucouldhavemadeadjustmentstothisfileinPhotoshop,butthecontrolsarelessthanfriendly.Lightroom,however,canedit32-bitfilesusingitsvastarrayofpowerfuladjustments.WhenyoureturntoLightroom,you

willfindyournewlycreated32-bitfilereadytobeadjusted.EditingyourimagesusingLightroom(orCameraRAWinPhotoshop)isacrucialpartofcreatingrealisticHDRimages.

Figure3.17:TheHDRdialogbox

Figure3.18:WhitePointslidermovedtorevealfullhighlightdetail

Figure3.19:Theresulting32-bitfile

Note

IfyouhappentoselectandexportyourimageswhileinthePreviousImportsection(Figure3.20)ofLightroom’sLibrarymodule,youwillnotseeyourimagewhenyoureturn.BothPhotoshopandPhotomatixwillreturnthefinishedimagebacktothefolderfromwhichitcame.ThePreviousImportsectionissimplyshowingyouthelastimagesthatwereimported.Itisnotnecessarilyshowingyouthecontentsofafolder.TolocatethenewHDRimage,right-clickononeoftheseriesthatyoujustexported.Fromthefly-outmenuchoose“GotoFolderinLibrary.”YouwillbetakentothefolderandwillseeyourHDRimageamongyourseriesofimages.

Figure3.20:ThePreviousImportviewinLightroom’sLibrarymodule

BackinLightroom,it’stimetoadjustyour32-bitfile.TheBasicpanelwillgetmostoftheworkdoneforyou.Typicallythe32-bitimagewillshownohighlightandshadowdetail(Figure3.21).Thosearethefirstthingstoaddress.

Figure3.21:Unadjusted32-bitfileinLightroom’sDevelopmodule

InFigure3.22,Ihaveadjustedtheshadowsupto+100andthehighlightsdownto-58.Adramaticimprovementwithonlytwosliders!Takeacloselookatthehistogram.Noticehowthehighlightsareretainingdetailwithoutbeingoverlydark.It’simportanttokeepabrightwhitewithdetailinmostphotographs.Theshadows,tooarenotclipped.Theyshowdetailbutremaindark.

Figure3.22:IncreasingtheShadowsupto+100anddecreasingtheHighlightsdownto-58

Theimagedoes,however,lacksomemidtonebrightness.ThemidtonebrightnesscanbecontrolledbytheExposureslider.Bymovingthisupto+1.80mymidtoneslookgood,butnowIlackadeepblackandmyHighlightshavewashedout(Figure3.23).

Figure3.23:IncreasingtheExposureto+1.80

NextImovemyblacksdownto-72toanchortheblacks.Don’tbeafraidtocliptheblacks.Lettherebesomeblackwithoutdetailinyourimages.Movethehighlightsdownto-91tobringbacksomedetail.Figure3.24showsthefinalimage.ComparethisimagetoFigure3.23.Noticetheincreaseincontrastcreatedbyincreasingtheexposureanddeepeningtheblacks.Theimageexhibitsanicedeepblack,brightwhite,andluminousmidtones.Alsonoticetheincreaseinsaturationduetotheincreaseincontrast.

Figure3.24:ThefinalimagewiththeBlacksmoveddownto-72andHighlightsdownto-91

Tonaladjustmentsshouldalwaysbemadefirst,astheyhaveasignificanteffectonsaturation.MakingadjustmentsasdramatictothesetoaRAWimageoraJPEGwouldgreatlyreducetheimagequality.Becausethisisa32-bitfile,however,thefileremainspristine.

Forthisnextexamplewe’llblendtogethersevenexposuresmadeinatunnelinBruges,Belgium(Figure3.25).Oureyesperceivethistunnelasdark,withaverybrightcourtyard.OuradjustmentsbackinLightroomneedtoenhancethisperceptionwhilestillprovidingimportantdetail.

Figure3.25:AseriesofsevenimagestobeblendedusingPhotoshop

Figure3.26showstheimageafterreturningtoLightroom.Onceagain,shadowsandhighlightsarewithoutdetail.MyfirststepincreasestheShadowsto+100andHighlightsdownto-28.AsyoucanseeinFigure3.27,thisgetsthehistogramlookinggood,buttheimagestillfeelsalittleflat.IncreasingtheExposureto+1.00andthereducingtheBlacksto-55increasestheoverallcontrastandbrightensuptheshadowssomewhat(Figure3.28).Adecreaseinthehighlightsto-60finishestheimage(Figure3.29).

Figure3.26:Unadjusted32-bitfileinLightroom’sDevelopmodule

Figure3.27:Shadowsincreasedto+100andHighlightsdownto-28

Figure3.28:IncreasingtheExposureto+1.00andreducingtheBlacksto-55

Figure3.29:DecreasingtheHighlightsto-60

UsingPhotoshopandLightroomtogethertoblendandprocessimagesisapowerfulwaytocapturehighdynamicrangescenes.ThePhotoshopportionoftheworkflowiseffortless,andtheadjustmentsbackinLightroomareintuitive.Sowhythenwouldyouneedanythingelse?Acoupleofanswerscometomind.First,thedeghostingfunctioninPhotoshopdoesnotworkaswellasIwouldlike,andsecond,theabilitytoadjustimagesinLightroombeforetheygotoanHDRprogramallowsforanunprecedentedamountofcontroloverthefinalimage.Wheneitheroftheseconsiderationsbecomesanissue,IturntoPhotomatix.

UsingPhotomatixWhetheryouareusingPhotoshoporPhotomatix,thefirststeptocreatingrealisticHDRimageryiscapturingtherightimages.Keepinganeyeonyourhistogramwhileshootingiscritical.Remember,itisbettertoreturnwithmoreimagesthannecessary.It’seasytodeleteornotuseafile,butmuchhardertocreateanHDRwithimagesthatlackthenecessarydetail.

LikePhotoshop,Photomatixwillalignandmergeourimagesintoa32-bitfile.UnlikePhotoshop,itwillrecognizetonaladjustmentsmadeinLightroom,allowingforanamazingamountofcontroloverthefinalproduct.Photomatixalsoallowsustoeffectivelydeghostanimagebychoosingaspecificexposurethatcontainsthedesiredaction.Finally,throughExposureFusion,PhotomatixprovidesarelativelysimplesetofcontrolsforyoutotranslatethetonesbeforeheadingbacktoLightroom.

WhilethecontrolsinExposureFusionareeasiertounderstandthanthoseinPhotoshop,westillhaveaneasiertimeunderstandingtheintuitivetonalcontrolsinsideofLightroom.Forthisreason,mygoalforworkinginPhotomatixistodoaslittleworkaspossible.

IfindthatthemostrealisticimagesarecreatedwhentheleastamountofadjustingisdoneinPhotomatix.Forthistohappenyouhavetouploadtheproperexposures.Figure3.30showsaseriesreadytobeexportedtoPhotomatix.Figure3.31showstheimageinPhotomatixwiththeDefaultExposureFusionSettings.Noticehowtheimageappearstoobright?Theshadowpartsofthesceneshouldhavesomedeepblackinthem,andthemountainisoverlybrightaswell.

Figure3.30:SeriesofimagesreadytoexporttoPhotomatix

Figure3.31:TheimagesblendedwiththedefaultExposureFusionsettings

WhenyouloadthecorrectimagesintoPhotomatix,theExposureFusionoptionshouldpresentafairlygoodimageatitsdefaultsettings.Thebrightestimageinthatserieswassimplyunnecessary.Whenfacedwithanimagethatisnotclose,IsimplyclosePhotomatixandreadjusttheRAWimagesbackinLightroom.NextIloadupthesameseries,butwithoutthebrightestimage.Figure3.32showstheimageinPhotomatixwiththedefaultExposureFusionsettings.Thisimagelooksmuchbetterthanthefirstblend.WhetherchoosingthecorrectimagestoexporttoPhotomatixoradjustingtheimagesinLightroombeforeexporting,theproperseriesmakesyourtimeinPhotomatixeffortless.

Figure3.32:Removingthebrightestimagefromtheseriesresultsinamorerealisticblend

ExportingtoPhotomatix

1.InLightroom’sLibrarymodule,selecttheseriesofimagestobeprocessed.

2.FromthemenuchooseFile>Plug-InExtras>ExporttoPhotomatixPro.Photomatixautomaticallylaunchesandbeginstheprocessofmergingtheimagestogether.

Photomatixsettings

OncePhotomatixlaunchesyouwillbefacedwithadialogboxthatcontrolshowtheimageswillbemergedandhowtheywillbeexportedbackintoLightroom(Figure3.33).Startingatthetopofthebox:

1.AlignImages.Thisboxshouldbecheckedforproperalignment.Ifyouwereusingatripodwhilecapturingtheimages,clicktheTakenonaTripodradiobutton.ClicktheHand-Heldbuttonifyouwerehandholding.

2.ChecktheCropAlignedResultbox.Thiswillleaveyourimageswithnicecleanbordersifthealignmentwasslightlyoff.

3.ShowOptionstoRemoveGhosts.Thisfeatureallowsyoutoselectivelyremove

ghostingfromyourfinalimage.Checkthisboxwhenyouhaveasubjectthatmovesinbetweenexposuresresultinginadifferentlocationineachframe.Ifnothingismovinginyourframe,leaveitunchecked.

4.ReduceNoise.WhenthisboxischeckedPhotomatixwillattempttoreducetheamountofnoiseinyourfinalimage.MyexperienceleadsmetoshootwithatripodatlowISOs(wheneverpossible).Inthesecases,noiseisneveraproblem,soIleavethisboxunchecked.IfyouhavecapturedimagesathigherISOs,youcancheckthisboxtohelpalleviatetheeffects.Experimentwiththisbeforecreatingyourmasterpiece.

5.ReduceChromaticAberrations.IfixmyChromaticAberrationsinLightroombeforeexportingmyimagestoPhotomatix.Thissavessomeprocessingtime.IfyouhavenotfixedyourChromaticAberrationsbeforehand,checkthisbox.

6.AutomaticallyRe-ImportintoLightroomLibrary.CheckthisboxifyourimageshavecomefromLightroom.It’sarealtimesaver.OncePhotomatixisfinishedwithyourimage,itmagicallyappearsbackinLightroom.

7.Filename.Purepreference.Iusethedefaultsettingheretonamemynewlycreatedfile.Feelfreetochangeittosuityourtaste.

8.OutputFormat.YourchoiceshereareJPEG(8-bit),Tiff8-bitorTiff16-bit.ChooseTiff16-bit.Thischoicewillallowforthemostleewayinpost-processing.AlthoughPhotomatixdoesagreatjobintranslatingthetonesintheHDR,itisnotuncommontomakefurtheradjustmentsbackinLightroom.Workingwitha16-bitTiffwillresultinhigherimagequality.

9.StackwithSelectedPhoto.Again,purepreference.Ifyouliketostackyourphotos,choosethisoption.

10.ClickExporttoenterPhotomatix.

Figure3.33:Photomatix’sprocessingcontrolboxToneMappingandExposureFusion

WhenPhotomatixopens,you’llnoticethethreedistinctareas—Adjustmentstotheleft,Previewinthecenter,andPresetsontheright(Figure3.34).ThePreviewpanelinthecenterdisplaysyourimagewiththecurrentadjustments.Clickingonanyofthepresetstotheright(notrecommended)willapplyapresetseriesofadjustmentstoyourimage.Whilesomeofthesemaybetempting,youarebetterservedlearninghowtomanuallyadjustyourimages.TheAdjustmentpanelontheleftiswhereyouwilltranslatethetonesintoyourfinalimage.

Figure3.34:ThePhotomatixworkenvironment

YoucanchangethesizeofyourpreviewimagebymovingtheScalingsliderinthetopofthePreviewpanel.ClickingtheFitbuttonenlargestheimagetofitonyourscreen.IoftenfindithelpfultoviewahistogramasIamadjustingmyimages.FromtheMenubar,chooseView>8-bithistogram.

AtthetopoftheAdjustmentspanelyouwillseethetwoprimarywaystotranslateyourtonesinPhotomatix.ThefirstiscalledToneMapping,thesecond,ExposureFusion.ToneMappingisverypowerfulbutalsonotoriouslydifficulttocontrol.Oncemastered,thispowerfulprocesscanproduceallmannerofcreativeresults.Whilepowerful,itcanbechallengingtocreatenaturallookingimagesusingthismethod.ExposureFusion,ontheotherhand,lendsitselfnicelytocreatingrealisticimagery.Simpleadjustmentsandadifferentprocessingenginemakethisthechoiceofthoselookingtorecreatethelookoftraditionalimagery.

BeginbyclickingontheExposureFusionradiobutton.FromtheMethoddrop-down,chooseFusion/Natural.ThispresentstheseriesofslidersyouseeinFigure3.35.Belowisaquicklookatthefunctionsofeachslider.

1.Strength–Thisslideradjuststhestrengthofallslidersbelowit.Inmanycases,simplyadjustingthisslideristheonlyadjustmentneededtoproducethedesiredresult.Othertimes,you’llneedtoadjusttheotherslidersfirstandthenreturntostrengthtofine-tunetheimage.

2.Brightness–Thissliderchooseswhichoftheimage(s)willhavemoreinfluenceoverthefinalmerge.Movingthisslidertotherightletsthebrighterimage(s)havemoreinfluence,whilemovingtotheleftletsthedarkerimage(s)exertmoreinfluence.

3.LocalContrast–Thisonecontrolscontrastinbetweenveryneartones.Thisisthesliderthatenhancestextureinyourphotos.Lessismore.Toomuch,andyourimagesbegintolookfake.

4.WhiteClip–Thiscontrolsthebrightesttonesinthephotograph.Byraisingthisslideryouwillmakeyourwhitesbrighter.

5.BlackClip–Ontheotherhand,thiscontrolsthedarkestpartsofthephotograph.Byraisingthisslideryouwillmakeyourblacksblackerwithouttoomuchinfluenceoveryourothertones.

6.Midtone–Thisslideradjustsmidtonebrightness.Movingrightbrightensthemidtonesanddecreasescontrast.Movingleftdarkensthemidtonesandincreasescontrast.

7.ColorSaturation–Thisdoesjustwhatyouthinkitwilldo.Increasecolorsaturation.Iprefertoleavethisaloneormakeminimaladjustments.SaturationcanbecontrolledmoreaccuratelybackinLightroom.

8.MethodDefaults–Thisfeature,atthebottomofthebox,resetsthesliderstotheirdefaultpositions.

9.Preset–Thisallowsyoutochoosefromsomeofthepresetsontheright,butalsoallowsyoutosaveyourcurrentsettingsasapresetorapplyotherpresetsthatyouhavesavedduringothersessions.

9.SaveandRe-import–Thisfunctionappliestheabovechangestothefile,convertsittoa16-bitTiff,andre-importsitbackintoLightroom.

Figure3.35:ExposureFusionProcessingsliders

UnlikewhenyouworkwithPhotoshop,hereinPhotomatixyouareactuallytranslatingthetones.Photoshopisoutputtinga32-filethatyou’lladjustinLightroom;Photomatixisoutputtinga16-bitfile.Bothoftheseprogramshaveonethingincommon,though.TheresultingimageswillstillneedtobeadjustedbackinLightroom.Forthe32-bitPhotoshopfile,alloftheadjustingwillbedoneinLightroom.Forthe16-bitPhotomatixfilesomeoftheadjustmentswillbedoneinLightroom.Asmentionedearlier,ItrytodoaslittleworkaspossiblehereinPhotomatix.IfIamunabletoquicklyachievedecenttonalities,Icloseouttheimage,readjustthenecessaryimagesbackinLightroom,andre-importthemfor

anotherattempt.

Let’stakealookafewexamples.Figure3.36showsthreeimagesreadytoexportintoPhotomatix.Thehistogramsaboveshowthatthisseriesshouldmakeaneasyblend.Theleftimageshowsgoodshadowdetail.Themiddleimageshowstheblueskyasabrightmidtone—preciselywhereitbelongs.Iftherewerecloudsinthesky,thehistogramwouldbefurthertotheright.Therightimage(onestopbetweenthetwo)showstheshadowsclippedandthehighlightstoobright.

Figure3.36:Imageswiththeirhistograms,readytoexporttoPhotomatix

Figure3.37showstheimagewiththeExposureFusiondefaults.Whilenotabadblend,theimageappearsalittledark.Notethehistograminthelowerleftcorner.TypicallymyfirstadjustmentistoslidetheStrengthsliderallthewaytotheright.Thisbrightensuptheshadowssomewhat,butnotquiteenough.NextI’llmovetheMidtonesliderupto3.9.Figure3.38showsthefinalimage.NotehowtheincreaseinStrengthandMidtoneshaspulledthehistogramawayfromtheleftedgewithoutlosingadeepblack.Neitheradjustmenthassignificantlyalteredthebrightertonesofthephoto.

Figure3.37:TheresultingblendwithExposureFusiondefaults

Figure3.38:IncreasingtheStrengthandMidtonesbrightenstheshadowswhilemarginallyaffectingthehighlights.

We’llreturntotheslotcanyonsinnorthernArizonaforthenextexample.ForthissceneIcapturedsiximages.InFigure3.39youseethedarkestimagedisplayinggoodhighlightdetailandthelightestimageshowinggoodshadowdetail.Thedefaultimageshowsalackofshadowandhighlightdetail(Figure3.40).InFigure3.41,IhaveincreasedboththeStrengthandMidtoneto10.Thisadjustmenthasmadetheshadowslookgreat,buthaswashedoutthedetailinthehighlights.Thenextstepwouldbetoattemptreturninghighlightdetailwithbrightness.Noluck.Atthispoint,itiseasiertocloseouttheimageandadjusttheRAWfilesbackinLightroom.

Figure3.39:Goodhistogramsonthebrightestanddarkestexposures

Figure3.40:TheresultingblendwithExposureFusiondefaults

Figure3.41:IncreasingtheStrengthandMidtoneswashesoutthehighlightdetail.

Selectingthedarkestimage,IreducetheHighlightslider-25.Ithenmovetothenextdarkestimageandreducethehighlights-15.ThismakesthehighlightsdarkerthanIwouldliketoseethembutwillworkwellfortheblend.Figure3.42showstheresultofthenewblend.OnceagainIincreasedmyStrengthandMidtoneto10.Thistimethehighlightsheld.AnincreaseintheBlackClipanchoredadeepblack,andanincreaseinlocalcontrastbroughtoutthetextureanddetailinthemidtones.

Figure3.42:ThefinalimageafterreadjustingtheRAWfilesbackinLightroomandre-importingtoPhotomatix

Pre-adjustingRAWimagescanaccomplishmorethanjustcorrection.Youcandecreasesaturationonlighterimageswhileincreasingsaturationofthedarkerimages.Thishelpsgivethehighlightsthefeelingofolderfilm.Decreasingtheclarityofthelighterimageswhileincreasingthatofthedarkerimagescanalsolendanairofrealismtoyourimages.

Infigure3.43,Ihaveblendedtheimageswithoutanypre-adjustments.Whilethetonesareacceptable,theskyislowinsaturationandsuffersfromapinkcast.IimmediatelyclosedoutoftheimageandreturnedtoLightroom.HereIselectedthebrighterimages,andmovedtheWhiteBalancetemperatureslidertowardBlue.IthenwenttotheHSLpanelandincreasedtheBluesaturation.ForthedarkerimagesIpushedthetemperatureslidertowardyellow,increasingthewarmthintherocks.Figure3.44istheresultoftheblendedimagesusingExposureFusion.Experimentwiththepre-adjustments.InthisexamplethesubtlechangesmadetotheRAWimagesincreasethecolorseparationwithoutoverlysaturatingtheimage.

Figure3.43:Initialblendofsiximages

Figure3.44:Finalblendafterpre-adjustingtheRAWimages

Theabilitytopre-adjustimagesbeforeexportingtoPhotomatixisanoverlookedandpowerfultechniquethatcanreallyhelpyoufine-tuneyourimagery.TheotherverypowerfultoolinPhotomatixistheabilityselectivelydeghostanimage.

Ghostingiscausedwhenasubjectmovesinbetweenexposures.Thiscanbeapersonwalkingthroughtheframeasyoumakeyourexposures,cloudsmovingacrossthesky,ormovingtraffic.Figure3.45showsaseriesofimageswherethebartenderhasmovedinbetweenshots.Ifleftuntreated,eachimagewouldoverlayonanother,creatingaghostedlookinthefinalblend.ThistypeofscenariocancauserealproblemsforHDRSoftware.Ihavefoundmanyofthe“autodeghosting”featuresdonotliveuptotheirclaims.

Figure3.45:Aseriesshowingasubjectmovinginbetweenexposures

Ihave,however,hadgreatsuccesswiththeselectivedeghostingfeaturefoundinPhotomatix.Toengagethisfeature,youmustcheckthe“Showoptionstoremoveghosts”boxintheinitialprocessingbox(Figure3.46).Whenthisboxischeckedyouwillbemetwithanintermediarywindow(Figure3.47)beforegettingtheprimaryworkspace.

Figure3.46:CheckingtheShowOptionsToRemoveGhostsbox

Figure3.47:TheDeghostingoptionsbox

Inthisdeghostingbox(Figure3.47),chooseSelectiveDeghostingatthetopleft.Justbelowyou’llfindlinkstotutorialsthatyoumayfindhelpful,althoughIbelievethedirectionsbelowarefairlystraightforward.

1.Thefirststepinstructsyoutodragyourmouseovertheimagetoselecttheghostedregion.Thisshouldsaydragyourmousearoundtheareathatneedstobedeghosted.YoucanseethedottedlinesthatIhavedrawnaroundthebartender.

2.Onceyouhaveenclosedyourcircle,right-click(Apple +Click)insideoftheselectedareatomarkitasghosted.YoucanthenclickthePreviewDeghostingbuttontogetapreviewofthefinalresults.Don’tworryaboutthetonalityandcolorofyourimageatthispoint,asitmaylookalittleoff.Simplyinspecttheghostedregionforghosts.Forthemostpartyou’llfindthatPhotomatixhasdoneagoodjobremovingthem.Ifnot,youcanright-click(Apple +Click)insidethecircleandtryagain.YourchoiceistoremovetheselectionandmakeanotherselectionorchooseanotherimagefortheDeghostingprocess.Photomatixusuallychoosesagoodexposuretouse,butsometimesadarkerorlighterversionmayworkbetter.

3.WhensatisfiedwiththeDeghostingPreview,clickOK.YourdeghostedimagewillbereadyforthefinalblendinginExposure/Fusion(Figure3.48).

Figure3.48:Thefinalimageafterdeghosting

TipsforCreatingRealisticImageryCreatingarealisticHDRlargelydependsonyourabilitytoanalyzeasceneandtranslateyourimpressionsintoaphotograph.Wehaveseenthatoureyesperceivethingsmuchdifferentlythanthecamera.Learntostudyyoursubjectandbecomefamiliarwiththetonalities,contrast,andcolor.Theartworldchangedforeverwhenobservantpaintersbeganaddingcolorintoshadowsratherthanjustusingblack.Hereareafewtipsthatwill

helpguideyourhandwhileyouarecreatingyourHDRimages.

•Experimentwiththesoftware.Don’tbeafraidtoplay.Whilesubtletyisalwaysappreciated,movingtheslidersinbigjumpstowatchtheeffectcanbeveryinstructive.

•Skiesarealmostneverdarkerthantheforeground.Keepyourskiesfulldetailbutsomewhatbrighterthantheforeground.Thereareexceptionstothisrule,ofcourse,butingeneralit’sagoodbasicguideline.

•Inarchitecturalphotographs,theoutsideusuallyappearsbrighter.Theinteriordoesn’thavetobedark,perse,buttheoutsideseenthroughthewindowsshouldbeabitbrighter.Windowsthatarethesamebrightnessastheinteriorseemtobepaintedonthewall.

•Distantsubjectshavelesscontrastthansubjectsnearerthecamera.OurHDRprogramsandLightroomgiveustheabilitytocompletelycontrolcontrast,soourtemptationistomakeallsubjectsequallyhighincontrast.Allowitemsinthedistancetobesomewhatlowerincontrast.

•Distantsubjectshavelesssaturationthansubjectsnearerthecamera.Asoureyesnotesubjectsinthedistance,thebuildupofhazereducesbothcontrastandsaturation.Allowthistohappeninyourphotosaswell.

•Lightsources,suchaslamps,streetlights,andthesun,tendtobelowerinsaturation.Whenabrightlightsourceisrenderedasadarker,saturatedtone,theeffectlookslikeacartoon.

•Reflectionsareusuallyaboutonestopdarkerthanwhattheyarereflecting.Again,thereareexceptionstothisrule,butit’sagoodbasicguideline.Refrainfrommakingthatbeautifulreflectioninthelakeasbrightasyoursky.

•AvoidtoomuchLocalContrast.LocalContrastinPhotomatixorClarityinLightroombringsoutthetexture.Whenappliedwithaheavyhand,ithastheeffectofoverwhelmingtheviewer.Farbettertoapplythislocallyratherthanacrosstheentireimage.

•MostimagesthathavetheneedtobeblendedintoanHDRwillusuallybenefitfromadeepblacksomewhereinthescene.Scenesthatdon’thaveadeepblackappearlowincontrastandlackpunch.

TheRealisticHDRImage

TimCooper

PeachpitPress

www.peachpit.com

Toreporterrors,pleasesendanotetoerrata@peachpit.com

PeachpitPressisadivisionofPearsonEducation.

Copyright©2014byPeachpitPress

Allimagescopyright©TimCooper

ProjectEditor:SusanRimerman

SeniorProductionEditor:LisaBrazieal

Copyeditor:ElaineMerrill

CoverDesign:ArenStraiger

InteriorDesign:CharleneCharles-Will

Composition:codeMantra,LLC

CoverImage:TimCooper

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Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisebookmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,withoutthepriorwrittenpermissionofthepublisher.Forinformationongettingpermissionforreprintsandexcerpts,contactpermissions@peachpit.com.

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Theinformationinthisebookisdistributedonan“AsIs”basis,withoutwarranty.Whileeveryprecautionhasbeentakeninthepreparationoftheebook,neithertheauthornorPeachpitshallhaveanyliabilitytoanypersonorentitywithrespecttoanylossordamagecausedorallegedtobecauseddirectlyorindirectlybytheinstructionscontainedinthisebookorbythecomputersoftwareandhardwareproductsdescribedinit.

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ISBN13:978-0-133-84564-8

ISBN10:0-133-84564-8

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