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A lot of photographers scoff at smartphone cameras. I on the other hand love having software and camera built into one with easy sharing. It lets me work when the inspiration hits. One of those areas is HDR.

Here’s how bad a normal smartphone image can look. This is from late on a Fall night.

The image is exposed to try and capture the entire range.
The image is exposed to try and capture the entire range.

While working on an smartphone may seem less than ideal, it is still a common practice. You can choose to have the phone simply capture the multiple images, or use the software on phone to quickly process the image. Several smartphones now include built-in HDR modes. Be sure to save the original frames to the camera roll. I choose to capture with Pro HDR (iPhone/Android) www.eyeappsllc.com.

Two exposures merged together with Pro HDR
Two exposures merged together with Pro HDR

Once that’s done, I like to stylize with Nik Snapseed or Tiffen DFX. Here’s one sample of pushing the limits.

Stylized

And another just for fun using some of Snapseed’s custom frame options:

Snapseed

Complain less about not having gear and start to have fun with what’s in your reach.

Be sure to check out our new book on shooting HDR.

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