How to make an HDR.

[CallumW]

as the title says how would i go about making an HDR?

Help and tips please.

[jgredline]

Excuse my lack of understanding, but what is an HDR?

[Mr Yuck]

Here is a write up I did on it for my personal website.

[freygr]

Mount camera on a tripod. Then bracket the scene at something like (instops) -2 -1 0 +1 +2 or even more, then use PhotoShop with a HDR plug in to assemble the photo, or and other stand alone HDR program.

[fx101]

It generally helps to auto-bracket. What this means is your camera will take the picture at +/-1,0 and +/-2 or some combination of these. Then you import the files into a program like Photomatix (the best) or Photoshop CS2/CS3 and form a 32 bit file. The thing is, you can't actually see an HDR image on your monitor because your monitor's contrast is not even close to that of an HDR image. But... you can simulate it (all of the ones you see use this technique) using tone mapping. What tone mapping is, is taking this new 32bit file and compressing it so as to mimick the dynamic range on a normal monitor. Photomatix has a built in tone-mapping tool.

[jgredline]

Here is a write up I did on it for my personal website.

Excellent!!!

[GB1]

Excellent!!!

I second that. Nice explanation there,

-GB

[LeeIs]

Thanks a lot mr Yuck! I've always wanted to know more about HDR.

[Frog]

Probably dumb question but lets say someone took a photo using raw format but didn't get dif images bracketed. Why can't they then bracket them using photoshop by pushing and/or pulling the exposure levels, saving each and then hdr them?
I figure the answer will embarass me.

[fx101]

Probably dumb question but lets say someone took a photo using raw format but didn't get dif images bracketed. Why can't they then bracket them using photoshop by pushing and/or pulling the exposure levels, saving each and then hdr them?
I figure the answer will embarass me.

With a raw image it is possible to make pseudo-hdr, actually. In Photomatix you have this option. It works because raw files typically have a dynamic range greater than a tiff or jpeg. However, the photoshop thing you mention doesn't work because you are trying to bring out detail that isn't there. The reason you usually need different images is because your camera can't capture all the detail at all ranges nescessary for an hdr.

[Frog]

That makes sense....thankyou!

[Medley]

Frog, look for tutorials on tone-mapping. I believe that's what you're after there.

fx101, I almost never use auto-bracketing in my HDR images. Not because it won't work- it does, but because I get a better final image by giving Photoshop more initial images to work with. Auto-bracketing results in three images only (at least on my camera). My HDR images contain either 7 or 9 images, depending on how far apart my range is.

Incidentally, there is a wonderful article on Photoshop's Merge to HDR feature in issue 33 of Advanced Photoshop. For all members in England, issue 33 is a back issue. But for us blokes across the pond, it's still on the stands. I find mine at Barnes and Noble.

- Joe U.