First HDR.....comments&critiques

[agroni]

Hi,

I just did my first HDR photo. Sadly my tripod is broke so i had to do it without a tripod. The exposures in this one measure from -2EV to +2EV.
Here is the result



I would like to hear some comments on how to improve the technique. Also does this thing look to you like a real HDR?
I am interested in photoshop how you change it to JPG, cause i can save it only TIFF if it has more than 8bits??!?!?!?!

cheers
agron

[madlights]

Looks really a nice and peaceful shot. You can convert to 8 bit in Photoshop...image/mode then you'll see 8bit and 16bit (at least CS is that way others might be different) Once it's converted, it might want to save in 8bit Tiff...just change the file type in the little box..it "should" work.

[simplephotography]

To me, it's a tiny bit too light, as you can see from the tree on the left, and the water. Just make sure to keep it a tiny bit darker, and then this is perfect.

[compton_photographer]

The thing I like best is that it doesn't look like an HDR, it looks like a great photo. To my eye, this is a bit light and undersaturated a bit. Having said that, I would say that the differences between computers and the lack of calibration on my part might be the issue.

Like cosmetics, I think that the best HDRs are not obvious. Experimenting with these is on my "things to do" list.

Great job.

Michael Dougherty
Compton, Arkansas

[andrys]

Since feedback's requested, I agree with simplephotography that the
tree on the left is too light and looks lightened. Needs a bit more contrast
too and to look a part of the picture.

I also agree with Michael that, other than that, it looks like a photo. I have
a really hard time with some of the HDR samples looking so unnatural and
some of those remind me of those old paintings on black velvet. Big
on effect but bearing little relation to the beauty we see (which HDR
tries to replicate in light-range and can be super effective).

If one is going for Surreal, then, why not? But otherwise it's nice to
see more natural looking ones (for my own, admittedly limited, taste).

[agroni]

thanx for the comments

to be honest, it also seems to me like a simple photo than an HDR. But i just wanted to hear it from you

actually i don't prefer post processing the photos too much. I rather capture the same scene with different parameters on site instead of capturing a RAW. But for this HDR i just wanted to experiment and to see if i am able to achieve some good results.
I was shocked when i saw some HDR from folks on Pbase. You cannot achieve it with normal shooting....

I think i am not into this post processing

[thatcherphotography]

It does not look very sharp. It also seems like you could make it have more pop by adding more contrast. All it needs is some slight tweaks here and there. Good luck.

[pinemikey]

Agron, what program did you use to "combine" the three exposures? The Photoshop plug-in or Photomatix Pro? In either case, I feel you haven't finished. After you combine the three images, you need to "tonemap" the hdr creation. I'm using the word "tonemap" because that's the one Photomatix uses. Applying the tonemap is where some people (myself included) tend to be less subtle than they could be, making for highly saturated images. However it is possible that a more subtle hand will allow you to lightly saturate your image while increasing a sharpening kind of contrast. Myself, I figured a way to create the same effect, again maybe overboard sometimes, by processing a single Raw image in RawShooter Essentials. Maybe I'll work my way out of this "phase" but for now I kind of like the results.

[pascale_b]

Sorry, sorry...sorry but what is an HDR?

[gordon_b]

I'm not sure there was enough contrast in the original scene to really warrant the use of HDR to be honest. It is a good picture but as others have pointed out it needs a touch more contrast, perhaps a tad more warmth too. Keep at it though, it'll come to you. At least it doesn't follow the "shock & awe" school of HDR thought (as sadly way too many of my first attempts did, lol).

Gordon.

[markcas]

Looks flat to the left side. just my opinion

http://www.pbase.com/markcas/image/81684451

[flaviu2]

Sorry, sorry...sorry but what is an HDR?

HDR = High Dinamic Range. Some examples & techiques here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_dynamic_range_imaging