Country church

I took this shot exposing for the dramatic sky but that left the foreground way too dark - so I had a go breaking into two images, lightening the foreground and recombining. This is the first time I have tried this - does it work - what could be done better? Thanks for any comments or suggestions.

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I think it's a great shot. The only issue I have is that the foreground is exposed so well that it looks fake against the evening sky. I would tone it down a bit to make it look more realistic.

What you have accomplished, manually, is not much different that the effect gained in Merge to HDR. You have compressed an extreme range of tones into the limited (0 - 255) range of the RGB system.

In my opinion, the result is very dramatic and does not look that un-natural. It is the colors that I might quibble about - they seem just a bit strange, but I still like the overall effect.

Congratulations!

Thank you both for your comments.

Bob, I am using Photoshop Elements. I am guessing "Merge to HDR" is a facility in Photoshop CS2 as I cannot see it in Elements?

mlc wrote in post #2044349
Thank you both for your comments.

Bob, I am using Photoshop Elements. I am guessing "Merge to HDR" is a facility in Photoshop CS2 as I cannot see it in Elements?

True - However, for purposes of this discussion, it does not really matter. There are purely manual methods of doing essentially the same thing using layers and gradients. Unfortunately, I am not familiar with what is and what is not included in Elements.

The principle of Merge to HDR is to simply combine the characteristics of a pixel in image A with the characteristics of the same pixel in image B, so as to produce a pixel in the result image, C, that is appropriate for the merge objective (to produce a continuous tone image of high quality).

Please post the image in "normal" mode. I don't like many "hdr" shots and I don't like this. Shadows are a necessary element in photography. The best shots usually have great lighting - that no "hdr" method can replicate.

The result that you wanted to achieve is there, I would like to see some more contrast in the foreground, church and trees, it would mach better your sky.
regards,
T.O.

I know what you mean, Hellashot, I am a bit ambivalent about the hdr effect but in this case getting the colour coming through in the sky left practically a sillouhette of the trees and church.

I will have a further play with the foreground contrast, TO, and see how it goes.

Your comments are much appreciated.

I really like your shot. The coloring in the sky mixed with no shadows with the cemetary and church really make it look like something supernatural is about to happen. Nice job! Also, could you add the 2 shots you merged? I'd like to see those as well!

I like the shot too. The sky color doesn't bother me a bit since I've seen many like that. The lack of shadow in the foreground was at first strange but then I looked at it as heavily diffused light, probably from a cloudy day. It does give the image a different feel but it's good IMO. You might add a little light to the trees too.