HDR can put the life back into your photos. The before image is on top and the after is below
There is a certain magic to be had by using the HDR technique – have you ever noticed that when you come home from a vacation and process all of your images from your camera that most of the images you’ve taken don’t remind you entirely of what you remember seeing? When you show your images to your friends and family you inevitably end up saying “it really looked better than this, you just had to be there.” Your Photos don’t have the DR (Dynamic Range), the level of luminance, that made you feel the way you did when you were inspired to take the shot to begin with. Ultimately your photos don’t generate the emotional response that you remember feeling when you first saw your subject. Using the HDR technique with your digital cameras can breathe new life into your vacation photos or professional photography work.
What is HDR?
Basically HDR (High Dynamic Range) is a post-processing technique that uses multiple photos of the same subject taken at different exposure levels to capture the dynamic range of light intensity that your eyes can see but the camera can’t. Lighter photos of a certain contrast and densities have details that darker photos don’t have and visa versa. When you combine all of the images in your series, you can truly achieve an image more reminiscent of the subject or scenery that inspired you.
HDR Images
HDR images can be made using just about any type of camera, but its easier with some more than others.. If you’re going to use the “point-and-click” type then you have to use the Manual mode and set your aperture fairly low and take a handful of images using different exposure times. If you plan on using an SLR, you’re most likely going to have an ABS (Auto-Bracketing System) function that will help you get your series of images.
You need a minimum of two images to create an HDR image but technically you can use as many as your computer can process. Most would say that 3-5 images is perfect and some others would say that 5-9 images is the sweet-spot. The problem with using too many images is visible evidence of motion. Regardless of your subject, there are always exposure times and movement considerations.. Because your final HDR image is a composite of all of your individual exposures, these factors must be considered for each individual photo to be used in the composite HDR image. Any movement of the camera or part of your landscape from the start of the first exposure to the end of the last one will be broken into pieces in each exposure.
6 Tips For Your HDR Endeavors
- 1. First and foremost – make sure your camera is mounted on a solid tripod or make sure it is secure in its position somewhere and use a remote exposure button or a shutter delay option if your camera has one.
- 2. If you’re doing manual exposures, you’ll want to make the quickest first and work your way up to the longer exposure times. If you’re using an Auto Bracketing System (ABS), and you’re taking more than three images, you need to remove the first image in each set after the first because they’ll be duplicates.
- 3. Take advantage of your ISO! With standard manual SLRs this refers to the level of light sensitivity of the film you’re using but when it comes to digital cameras, ISO refers to your given cameras pre-programmed sensitivity to light. When shooting for HDR images, set your digital camera’s ISO as low as you can. This will reduce the chance for “noise” in your images. Most if not all “noise” can be filtered out in post processing but the less you start out with the easier it is to eliminate all visible evidence altogether.
- 4. Make sure to set your camera’s FPS (Frames Per Second) fairly high for your HDR photography. This, along with secure placement of your camera, will insure against the affects of motion. Whether you’re using a standard SLR with a remote exposure button or the ABS on digital cameras, neither your subject or your tripod will have a chance to move between shots!
- 5. Using a flash on one image of the series can help improve the quality of your HDR images particularly when shooting interior spaces. Whites will appear a little brighter and there will be greater detail in the different elements of the photo. Darker areas of the final image, such as corners of walls and ceilings won’t have such a heavy density to them. In other words… the darks won’t appear so “dark”.
- 6. If you’re in the market for a new digital camera and plan on doing a fair amount of HDR projects then something to look for in your new camera is a ABS (Automatic bracketing System). ABS can be set to shoot a minimum of 3 images and it will automatically shoot each consecutive image at a different exposure level.
If your looking for some digital cameras the have an ABS feature or built-in HDR feature then be sure to track down and take a look at the 3EV of the Canon EOS 40D, the 18 EV of the Canon EOS-1D Mark II, The Canon PowerShot G12 and Canon PowerShot S95, the Nikon P100 superzoom and Sony Cybershot DSC-TX5 and TX7 point and shoot cameras. The Pentax K-7 DSLR has an HDR mode and saves things as a JPEG.
HDR is a cool style of photography that is relatively easy to do and it can produce some stunning images that you would be proud to have as part of your portfolio.
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