Checking knowledge of HDR

I may have been doing this wrong, as from what I got from how to take the exposures, obviously its over and under exposed, but I understood it as you take a whole range of shots, like say -2, -1, 0, +1, +2. So you would have 5 shots that photomatix or PS would put together, but is it not like that?

Should I just be taking ONE picture at -2, and then another at +2?

I imagine it would depend on the subject, so why not try both & see which you like best?
With 127,000+ members, no matter what you do, some will love it, someone will hate it, & some should go out & spend more time shooting & less time talking about it?

I've tried the range of exposures before in photomatix but didnt play with them more in CS2.

So I will have to try the other way. Heres what I came up with on my first attempts:

http://i212.photobucke​t.com …29And8More_tone​mapped.jpg

http://i212.photobucke​t.com …15_1_2_3_4_tone​mapped.jpg

I typically take 3 shots -2, 0, +2 on the exposure and use photomatix. It's alot better the PS CS2 IMHO.

This is a shot I did with -2, 0, +2. Sold 2 of these images to date.

ahh very nice.

I think when i was adding in the +/-1 it was throwing it off? or do I still need to just play with the mapping and stuff when its in photomatix?

ChefDave - that's quite an interesting interpretation you have there.... I like it, something you don't usually see using the technique.

I've never tried HDR myself and really should some time, coming from old school darkroom "dodge and burn". But I do have a general question about the end result in most HDR. Can't you achieve a similar effect by creating what I would call a second adjustment layer and erasing a layer mask on a shot?

I do a lot of urban landscape work. If there's only slight variation between an area of shadow and bright contrast, I can bring up the shadow a little through some dodging, or tone down the highlight with a little burning. If it is more extreme, I will create a second layer of the original file, increase or reduce exposure to suit taste, make other modifications, create a layer mask, and then "erase" one of these to let the desired portion show through.

Isn't HDR the same or something quite similar? I'm old to analog but noob to CS2 . - Stu

I've not done a lot of it either, but I've seen some nice examples. What I have done is taken one RAW file, then saved the original exposure, one at -2 and one at +2, then combined them in Photomatix. Only problem is, most of my finished pictures look rubbish! Think I need to experiment some more...

The other problem I've had is whenever I've tried it in CS2 I get "not enough dynamic range in this images" or something similar...

Hi Mike - I tried a similar approach in CS2 with a couple of different RAW files, adjusting to taste, and then using the PS Merge function. It seemed to work really well for portions of the shot, but then when I'd zoom, I'd discover that portions of the shot were out of registration. This was strange because other parts would be in perfectly sharp focus.

I guess I need to experiment with that technique more too. That's why I resorted to creating a duplicate layer for adjustment, adjusting, and then throwing in the layer mask. Anyway, appreciate your comments Mike.

Mike Hoyer wrote in post #4528399
I've not done a lot of it either, but I've seen some nice examples. What I have done is taken one RAW file, then saved the original exposure, one at -2 and one at +2, then combined them in Photomatix. Only problem is, most of my finished pictures look rubbish! Think I need to experiment some more...

The other problem I've had is whenever I've tried it in CS2 I get "not enough dynamic range in this images" or something similar...

sapearl wrote in post #4528178
ChefDave - that's quite an interesting interpretation you have there.... I like it, something you don't usually see using the technique.

I've never tried HDR myself and really should some time, coming from old school darkroom "dodge and burn". But I do have a general question about the end result in most HDR. Can't you achieve a similar effect by creating what I would call a second adjustment layer and erasing a layer mask on a shot?

I do a lot of urban landscape work. If there's only slight variation between an area of shadow and bright contrast, I can bring up the shadow a little through some dodging, or tone down the highlight with a little burning. If it is more extreme, I will create a second layer of the original file, increase or reduce exposure to suit taste, make other modifications, create a layer mask, and then "erase" one of these to let the desired portion show through.

Isn't HDR the same or something quite similar? I'm old to analog but noob to CS2 . - Stu

HDR is quite similar to what you are describing. Basically, what you are doing is recording the highlights from 1 image, the shadows from another and the mid tones from a 3rd. More dramatic results can be achieved by using 5 or 7 exposures, varying them by further with under / over exposed images.