First attempt at HDR

Made out of 3 RAW images.
Please C&C.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

Looks washed out and flat.

As said, lacks contrast.

It looks flat...and it looks like the light mode you used was a bit off. See how the front part of the tree is nice and bright? If you change the light mode setting you can shift that light. Also, I would adjust the strength to reduce the halos. Halos are more present when the strength slider is too high. There is also another slider...I think the light smoothing one....that can reduce the halos. Of course, I'm assuming this was done in Photomatix.

One more thing, you might want to boost the highlight saturation a bit. The sky looks really uneven. You might not have captured enough DR for the sky to come out right. The strength slider might be able to even it out a little.

Thank you, guys. Appreciate all the comments.
Actually, I think I didn't grab enough range, since it was only -1, 0, +1.
I have one more question. When I push saturation, I get this white outline around the roof and I can't get rid of it. Any suggestions?
I'm not sure what's causing it.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

I have never been able to grasp HDR myself, but the 2nd attemp looks a lot like a painting to me.

Aleness wrote in post #10604804
Thank you, guys. Appreciate all the comments.
Actually, I think I didn't grab enough range, since it was only -1, 0, +1.
I have one more question. When I push saturation, I get this white outline around the roof and I can't get rid of it. Any suggestions?
I'm not sure what's causing it.

HTTP response: NOT FOUND | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Redirected to error image by FLICKR

That white line is called a halo. You can remove it by adjusting the strength and/or light mode.

With that said, the saturation is too much IMO. For the most part, the purpose of HDR is to capture a High Dynamic Range. Now, the tone mapping is where things go two different directions. You have the 'over cooked' and you have the "natural". There is a place for both, but in the real world of making money off your photography, natural is the better choice. The saturation boost you did moves your image closer to over cooked. Basically, it doesn't look natural anymore. Which is why the halos are so strong.

Pull the saturation and strength down and shoot for a more natural image.

With that said, yes -1 to +1 is not enough of a range. -2 to +2 should be the minimum. It is not uncommon for me to capture -4 to +4. I would rather have images I don't need than wish I had one more stop either direction. I also keep my images 1 stop apart. Sometimes a 2 stop change is too much. Of course, this depends on the situation. I personally never capture less than -2 to +2, but that's me.

Do you capture only 3 images or you go for 5? From what I read, 5 images usually is a good number. The only problem that 7D doesn't allow more than 3 images AEB.
I've seen a couple of techniques described here, such as setting different exposures to C1 and C3, but that would probably move the camera, creating unwanted ghosts.

Aleness wrote in post #10620672
Do you capture only 3 images or you go for 5? From what I read, 5 images usually is a good number. The only problem that 7D doesn't allow more than 3 images AEB.
I've seen a couple of techniques described here, such as setting different exposures to C1 and C3, but that would probably move the camera, creating unwanted ghosts.

I have played around with 3, 5, 7 and even more. Basically, it all depends on the dynamic range. There usually is not set number for me. If the dynamic range is really wide (like the inside of a house on a really bright day) I may capture -4, -3, -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, +3, +4. From that I will probably delete one or two but I would rather have more than I need.

I have also learned that I like 1 stop seperation better than 2 stop for most shots. Your 7D may only capture 3 images at once, but that's fine. I will shoot full manual (to get past the -2 or +2 with the dial) and I will capture three images (-4, -3, -2), then move the dial to capture -1, 0, +1, then move the dial again to capture +2, +3, +4. So, it takes me three attempts to capture all 9 images using AEB.

With that said, -4 to +4 is usually more than what is needed. Most shots can be captured with -3 to +3. On those, I get -3, -2, -1 in one shot. Then, -1, 0, +1 in one shot. Then +1, +2, +3 in the next shot and then delete the duplicates right then and there. That way I only keep the 7 images I want. But, this all depends on what you are shooting. Even if -2 to +2 will cover the scene I still take -3 to +3 because I just prefer to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

As for moving the camera, you should do this on a sturdy tripod. That is a big part of making the images line up better. Even with the auto-align features in the software if you slightly mvoe the camera up or down you could end up with a lack of sharpness in the final image. Use a tripod, that's the best suggestion I can give you.