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HDR (High Dynamic Range) Pictures

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Xave
Posts: 2672 - Karma: 18
Anyone else think they're badass?

I want to try to make some of them, and if I read right, I need to take 3 pictures of the same thing with different exposures and mix them together with a special plug-in...Am I right?


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Hope my links work...I usually suck with linking pics...

May 22 2008 9:36PM
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Xave
Posts: 2672 - Karma: 18
Not bad...5 on 6 work. 83% success.
May 22 2008 9:38PM
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Anti-Hero
Posts: 1269 - Karma: 338
dayum those are sick. i like the first and tree on the hill with clouds the most
May 22 2008 9:39PM
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spiegel
Posts: 945 - Karma: 7
they're good.... when they're done right.

most of those are way too heavy.
May 22 2008 11:21PM
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EH_DUBS
Posts: 3080 - Karma: 969
i find most of the time they tend to just look too digital and i dont like the feel they give.

that being said ive seen a few that are really sick too.
May 23 2008 1:52AM
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Holte
Posts: 10740 - Karma: 7,814
I think they're waaay sick. Subtle and drastic HDR images can look really cool. I really want to try filming an HDR timelapse with a few closely placed cameras and compositeing the pictures together.
May 23 2008 3:31AM
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Shorton
Posts: 2889 - Karma: 13
i think they look amazing..it really puts a new dimension on the picture..and clouds always look stunning in them..

just thinking, the top picture...with the bird, i dont think thats hdr, because you couldnt take a picture of a moving object like a bird in three different exposures quickly enough to capture it in the same place in each photo..

Also, if anyone thinking of trying HDR stuff, download a program called photomatrix, it does everything for you so long as you have the shots in different exposures. You can also do it in photoshop cs3 which has a HDR layering option..however i havnt used photoshop to do it
May 23 2008 5:39AM
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JazzyJ
Posts: 3233 - Karma: 18
i think they can look awesome but can also be overdone, or done when its not necessary. and that ruins things.
May 23 2008 10:28AM
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InitialG
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 14
here is a pretty good tutorial walking through all the steps

http://www.vanilladays.com/hdr-guide/




May 25 2008 1:41PM
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EH_DUBS
Posts: 3080 - Karma: 969
no the one with the bird can be hdr

you dont need to take 3 different pictures on the spot
you could shoot one in raw and edit it later into three different exposures i believe.
May 25 2008 2:04PM
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InitialG
Posts: 1505 - Karma: 14
That one doesn't really look HDR to me either just because you can't see any detail on the inside of the lighthouse, usually HDR shots can capture that really well, pic just looks kinda like a really oversaturated pic or something still cool though.
May 25 2008 2:07PM
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EH_DUBS
Posts: 3080 - Karma: 969
yeah true i didnt really look at it i just read his post

and wanted to say you could still make an hdr image with something moving in it
i dunno if it looks as good though never done it but yeah.
May 25 2008 2:10PM
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timmmy
Posts: 654 - Karma: 25
i think they'd look sweet for snow.  is the idea behind it that you can eliminated over/underexposed shots and get as much detail as possible?  i think that's why the clouds look so cool, because you see all kinds of detail you wouldn't be able to see in 1 shot.
May 25 2008 6:26PM
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Shorton
Posts: 2889 - Karma: 13
ahh, i was actually going to ask if this was possible..i always assumed you could just edit the exposure later..thanks for enlightening me
May 26 2008 1:18PM
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alexneil
Posts: 19 - Karma: 10
Here are a few I did

Canon XTi - 3xp - RAW
(-1.3, .0, +1.3)

(-1.5, 0, +1.5)

(-1.5, 0, +1.5)
img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3207/2490966628_1eb6bc1438.jpg?v=0">
img src"http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2354/2490142159_c0770eb8a1.jpg?v=0">
img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2209/2490963266_3628ab5113.jpg?v=0">

1xp - 0 - RAW


Canon SD800 IS - 13xp - JPEG

4xp

5xp








May 26 2008 7:53PM
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alexneil
Posts: 19 - Karma: 10

(-1.5, 0, +1.5)


May 26 2008 7:56PM
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Pippin
Posts: 4846 - Karma: 661


Not sure if its any good but have a look:
X-Trail





I use a program called photomatix, you can download it or pay, anyways its a great program and then i always bring it back to photoshop to touch up the photos


May 26 2008 7:57PM
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alexneil
Posts: 19 - Karma: 10


May 26 2008 7:58PM
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alexneil
Posts: 19 - Karma: 10
Yeah Photoshop does a better job aligning the photos but i use photomatix to tone map.
May 26 2008 8:01PM
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Travapple.
Posts: 6787 - Karma: 88
wow........ thats wicked
May 26 2008 11:12PM
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^nate^
Posts: 1263 - Karma: 560
i've done a lot of stuff with it in the last 6 months, but am slowly getting tired of it and am trying to get out of it.

here are some..

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natural hdr is more pleasing i think. i just did masking in of different exposures here..

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May 27 2008 12:04AM
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Tortao
Posts: 1292 - Karma: 10
i like this style of picture, very unique
May 27 2008 12:07AM
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alexneil
Posts: 19 - Karma: 10
what kind of camera are you using nate?
May 27 2008 12:37AM
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^nate^
Posts: 1263 - Karma: 560
canon rebel xti stock lens... done me very well.
May 27 2008 12:54AM
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BK
Posts: 2353 - Karma: 1,122
very very sick technique that i feel like you dont see very often. I am doing a series of Denver for a gallery with a friend. It will be fun maybe.
May 27 2008 3:53AM
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timmmy
Posts: 654 - Karma: 25
fucking sick nate. 
May 27 2008 5:46AM
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alexneil
Posts: 19 - Karma: 10
nice, im using the setup although i just bought mine 2 weeks ago for $535 out the door.
I'm trying to get a 40D
May 27 2008 8:19AM
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spiegel
Posts: 945 - Karma: 7
sorry but a lot of bad examples in here.

HDR pictures are best used when you brigthen up the dark spots and lighten down the dark spots and get a very nice range of colors, not any of this pastel bullshit.  If you wanted to make pastely pictures, paint something, don't overuse it in photoshop or photomatix.

Most of the pictures here have A LOT of underexposure to be even called an HDR.

Here are some good examples of HDR with the right amount of exposure, no unders or overs.


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VVV this is a really good example, nighttime HDR, 4 pictures and hardly underexposed or overexposed, very good balance of both and it's pretty colorful.

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there's a bunch more on flickr if you search for it.
May 27 2008 2:37PM
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spiegel
Posts: 945 - Karma: 7
i meant, lighten down the bright spots.
May 27 2008 2:38PM
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timmmy
Posts: 654 - Karma: 25
^^ yea man that's what i thought it was supposed to be used for.  seems super prime for snow/ski pics, with a shitload of super bright snow ya know?  can get alot fuller shots of the non-snow, or get alot more detail in the snow.
May 27 2008 2:41PM
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spiegel
Posts: 945 - Karma: 7
ya that's true but it's kind of a hassle because you need to take a couple pictures of the same spot.  Nobody wants to carry a tripod around snow, heh.
May 27 2008 2:54PM
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^nate^
Posts: 1263 - Karma: 560
first off.. every picture here is a "high dynamic range" image. The dynamic range of the camera was extended... it's up to you to judge whether you think it compares to the images of the HDR guru... "stuckincustoms".

secondly, i'm surprised after telling everyone their pictures aren't HDR that you aren't aware of single RAW HDR image processing... perfect for action shots... also carrying a tripod around in the snow is quite easy...
May 27 2008 5:37PM
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spiegel
Posts: 945 - Karma: 7
im well aware of it but you don't get the full effect of the HDR image with just a single raw.
May 27 2008 5:55PM
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^nate^
Posts: 1263 - Karma: 560
you may not get the exact same quality, yet it's the exact same concept with the same exact effect.
May 27 2008 7:12PM
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Bangor
Posts: 9599 - Karma: 129
The problem with HDR, and why 95% of it looks like shit, is because people are using it to completely destroy the tones of an image.

Instead of using it to bring subtle details into the highlights and shadows of an image (which is what it was designed for), people completely flatten any contrast of light and dark within an image, and it just looks like shit.



I spent a month learning HDR and even more time on the concepts behind it in school, but I rarely use HDR myself.

Place it's being used the most is in QTVR panorama's at the moment, shooting indoors and outdoors at the same time. Can't use flashes/lights, so this makes capturing details possible..........

May 28 2008 5:01PM
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SK1ERDUDE
Posts: 1365 - Karma: 51
I think those look pretty sweet! Except a few links didn't work for me.
May 28 2008 7:56PM
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Caveman.
Posts: 9067 - Karma: 330
threadcreator - i really like the last one of the city
May 28 2008 10:38PM
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pmills
Posts: 7162 - Karma: 59
.

example of good HDR

www.cambridgeincolour.com/cambridge-gallery7.htm
May 29 2008 11:20AM
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Bangor
Posts: 9599 - Karma: 129
exactly.
May 29 2008 4:30PM
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Microcosm
Posts: 4765 - Karma: 153
word, I hate the ones that look way way too fake. It's less like photography, and more like digital editing.
May 31 2008 10:10AM
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spiegel
Posts: 945 - Karma: 7
good to see that i'm not the only one that thinks this way.  It's getting way too overdone and too many people are starting to use it.
Jun 1 2008 10:09PM
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