1st HDR attempt

[turkleten]

Hey all! I just got my Canon t1i a few days ago. This is my first camera I've ever owned so I am a complete noob but I'm slowly working on it since I found this awesome forum :)

Anyway, here is my attempt of my HDR. I didn't do much to it other than playing around with the strength, smoothing, and luminosity.

Some image info:
taken with 18-55mm
ISO = 100
shutter speed varied when it took 3 shots on continous mode
F = 4

Now how do I upload a picture here? -.-
[will add as soon as I find out...]

[S2K.OGRAPHY]

click the picture icon and paste the url of the image

[masterwillems]

I like the HDR in this picture, but watch out that you don't make it the same style like this with more "seriouse" shots. You can also make it look realistic but nice :).

[Livinthalife]

awesome subjects! I would get rig of the background clutter and do an adjustment on the WB. I like it!

[thomatis]

HDR images need high dynamic range,- obviously.
Here there is none. Increased DOF would have worked better also.

[turkleten]

Ok. I've got one more for my second attempt. I've increased the DOF (18 I think) and made it more realistic. Please list other improvements. I want to know how people are generating these sharp images. I think it all boils down to your camera technique, not the HDR processing skills...

[Lok3sh]

Ok. I've got one more for my second attempt. I've increased the DOF (18 I think) and made it more realistic. Please list other improvements. I want to know how people are generating these sharp images. I think it all boils down to your camera technique, not the HDR processing skills...

The first step is to photograph something that actually has HDR (high dynamic range) lighting in the scene. Your first shot can probably be exposed correctly with one click. If you find a scene that has bright areas, dark areas and also some in betweens, you have found a good subject for HDR. For example, if you are taking a picture of a room that is lit by sunlight streaming in from the window. The window would be very bright, the room would be well lit, and there will be dark areas of shadows cast by objects in the room. When you set the exposure for this scene so that the room is lit correctly, the shadows will be underexposed, and detail will be lost there, and the window area will be over exposed and blown out. So how do you get a single picture so that the window, shadows, and room is exposed correctly together? You take one photo for each extreme lighting situation, and merge all the good parts from these photos to form one photo. This is your HDR photo. I hope I explained it properly enough!

[turkleten]

The first step is to photograph something that actually has HDR (high dynamic range) lighting in the scene. Your first shot can probably be exposed correctly with one click. If you find a scene that has bright areas, dark areas and also some in betweens, you have found a good subject for HDR. For example, if you are taking a picture of a room that is lit by sunlight streaming in from the window. The window would be very bright, the room would be well lit, and there will be dark areas of shadows cast by objects in the room. When you set the exposure for this scene so that the room is lit correctly, the shadows will be underexposed, and detail will be lost there, and the window area will be over exposed and blown out. So how do you get a single picture so that the window, shadows, and room is exposed correctly together? You take one photo for each extreme lighting situation, and merge all the good parts from these photos to form one photo. This is your HDR photo. I hope I explained it properly enough!

Ok. Here is my final attempt. I hope I chose a better subject. What do you guys think? Thanks for all your comments/advice/help!

[samismurf]

getting better by the minute :)!

[Lok3sh]

that definitely is a much better subject and looks nicer in HDR, but I can still see some dark shadow areas that are still very dark and not much detail can be seen there... Maybe your overexposed shot is not overexposed enough? Or something wrong while processing? I'm talking about the shadow area in inside part of the wall like thing to the left... Do you see what I'm talking about? Can you see the details in that area in your overexposed shot? If you can, then it was the processing. If you dont see the detail even in your overexposed shot, then you should have made a slightly longer exposure so it could see and pick up those details. But then again, I don't know if that was the look you were going for... But a definite improvement!

[turkleten]

@samismurf: Thanks!
@Lok3sh: Thanks, I couldn't have learned this without you! I know exactly what you're talking about with the dark spots on the left inside of the wall. The details are clear in the overexposed shot and somewhat visible in the normal exposed so it was my error in processing which I'm still learning. I tried working on that part prior to the post but it came out weird. Adobe LightRoom + PhotomatixPro = $$$ so I'd better learn how to use it to its full potential!

[Lok3sh]

No problem at all! I'm glad I could help!
I'm still learning how to process photos too... so I'm giving u all the tips that I have just learnt myself!

[S2K.OGRAPHY]

if you go on youtube and search for photomatix tutorials, you will find great videos to teach you what the sliders do when you are tone mapping. dont be afraid to try all the options and see what they do

[samismurf]

I need to learn how to hdr... would you mind sending me a pm, I have basically the same camera as you!

[turkleten]

I need to learn how to hdr... would you mind sending me a pm, I have basically the same camera as you!

Hi samismurf! I know there are others who want to learn learn HDR so I made this into a public post. I hope you don't mind

This is basically what I did (on the T1i with the 18-55 lens):

1) Set your camera to the Av mode (this is the Aperture priority found next to "M" manual mode"

This basically allows you to select both the aperture and ISO while automatically varying the shutter speed.

2) Next, is a crucial step. Go to the "Exposure Composition/AEB", found below the aperture and ISO and above the white balance setting. It looks like this:
-2..1..0..1..+2
Hit the "set" button to change this setting. Then configure the settings with the scroll button (the button right before the shutter button) by scrolling clockwise (to the right) to increase the brightness and the darkness settings. You should have a line under the -2, 0, +2 for the darkest and lightest settings

By changing the "EC/AEB", you're configuring the camera to take a normal picture, a darker picture and a lighter picture.

3) Make sure your camera is set to "Continuous Shooting". You may have it on "Single Shot" by default. By selecting "CS", you can take the 3 consecutive pictures with one click and hold of the shutter button. Make sure you have a steady hand or use a tripod!

The next portion is the photo processing (I use Adobe Light Room) and you need PhotoMatix for a HDR generator. This is found here (http://www.hdrsoft.com/).

Hope this helps (for the mechanical portion)! Shoot me a PM/reply if you have any other questions or you're set to move on.

[jmurph]

you last one looks very good! especially for not owning a camera very long! keep practicing!