What is HDR? How do you do it?

I've had my DSLR for a long time already but there's one thing I haven't tried yet.

...HDR! what is HDR? Can someone explain to me how you produce HDR quality images? From what i see here in picture social, HDR pics really look good. All I know about HDR is that, you get 3 photographs, the first one, under exposure, 2nd, normal then 3rd, high exposure... but that's all I know. Is there any software I can use for producing HDR images? :)

Cheers!~
Maeda

Tags: HDR, maeda

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Permalink Reply by AdaN on October 30, 2008 at 6:59pm

Its so complex to create HDR picture any other easy way or trick to get HDR picture JIm im using Nilkon D300 & D80

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Permalink Reply by Maeda on October 30, 2008 at 8:26pm

I believe so, but I think that's the only way of creating an HDR. What I did is just to get 3 pictures of different kinds of exposures instead of 5. There's the tutorial of photomatix and it's a good guide. When processing HDR images, I use the tone mapping method...

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Permalink Reply by AdaN on October 30, 2008 at 8:37pm

thank Maeda for advice

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Permalink Reply by David Reece on October 31, 2008 at 1:03am

In dynamic photo hdr you can also use a single image to good effect, all of my hdr images are done using a single jpg as i only have a s8000fd and no raw mode but you still get really good effects

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Permalink Reply by Maeda on October 31, 2008 at 1:07am

Ahh yes, i also tried the single image HDR. I dunno if I can still call that HDR because it's more just like editing a picture in photoshop.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas-Michel on December 31, 2008 at 4:00am

Well you need 3 photos and a software to merge them. Dynamic Photo HDR is very simple to use a produce great effects. Good luck

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Permalink Reply by Maeda on December 31, 2008 at 4:04am

Hey guys, i have a new result of the casa HDR picture. I used the software noise ninja to get rid of the noise and i can say that it's pretty good and very effective. A program that I can recommend for everyone. Although, I won't be able to post it yet till I get back in the Philippines (Jan. 4).

Cheers!~
Nico

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Permalink Reply by Nate Lawson on January 5, 2009 at 12:08pm

I've created a little video tutorial on my blog demonstrating HDR using Lightroom, Photomatix, and Photoshop. You can find it here: http://thephotogformula.com/Blog/190/

There is also another post from Khayyam Wakil about HDR with 31 images. http://thephotogformula.com/Blog/238/

Hope this helps out!

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Permalink Reply by Maeda on January 6, 2009 at 11:08pm

Thanks, Nate! I'll check that out. :D

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Permalink Reply by jim pierce on February 5, 2009 at 2:40pm

HDR is often confused with tone mapping which gives you the the surealistic tones. True HDR means that you are shooting for the best exposure for each range of tones within an image and then using only the perfectly exposed areas from each image to combine for the final. Most digital cameras capture great detail within a +/- 1 stop range from the ideal exposure, after that highlight and shadow detail will begin to fall off the further you go away in exposure value. So to capture details in highlights and shadows at the same level as the main light value you have to expose specifically for them and then use that exposure for those areas.
The best way way to do it is to shoot in RAW and correct for the exposure range you went for, don't try to expand the range artificially as quality can deteriorate. Shooting in RAW also allows you to balance the color temps between exposures since shadows are naturally more blue than brightly lit areas.
Combine your seperate images using either one of the various HDR programs available or I prefer to stack the images in layers using photoshop and then use layer masks to paint out and blend the different areas to get the effect I'm looking for. I find it gives me smoother transitions between layers and allows me to be very selective as to what I want to use from each layer. Takes longer though.
The images from Antelope canyon in my port are all HDR. Some are only three images, but others are up to 7 with exposure values ranging from 1/100 to 15 seconds to get everything, the one of the water fall is 2 exposures of 1/50 for the sky and 4 seconds for the waterfall in the shade. Having a solid tripod is essential since even the slightest change in postion between exposures will result in misaligned images. Also always adjust the exposure value by changing the shutter speed, never the aperature as this will change the depth of field between layers, and of course lock the focus down.

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Permalink Reply by jim pierce on February 6, 2009 at 11:58am

For using a single exposure it looks good. It does start to show the limitations of using a single exposure in the highlights and shadows where detail is less that it is in the midtones. In an ideal situation an exposure set to capture just the detail held in those ranges would help create a smoother transition between the two.
The upper antelope canyon is too crowded to shoot multiple exposures since it brings in groups at a time. If you make it into the lower one then there are very few people in there and the guides who work at that one always kept non photographers out of the way when photographers were shooting.