If you know anything about HDR, you probably know it shouldn't be used for portraits. High Dynamic Range photography techniques usually increase the ability to see details, and nobody wants to see more detail in the skin in a portrait. However, used properly, HDR can give you softer transitions from shadows to highlight areas, and that can be flattering and it can help rescue portraits made in bad lighting. Harsh Light Makes Dark Shadows I made this picture late in the morning on a mountain top and the sun was quite direct and … [Read more...] about Portrait Tips: Use HDR For Softer Light
HDR
First Impressions of the New Aurora HDR 2018 for Windows
Until recently, I’ve felt a little left out when it comes to the Macphun line of photo editing and effects software. I’m a Windows guy, a sometimes lonely place to be in the oft Apple dominated world of graphic design and photography. Until this year Macphun software wasn’t available for us PC’s. I figured Macphun’s software would always remain out of reach until Macphun released Luminar for Windows earlier this year. So, I tried it. And liked it. A lot! Getting a chance to take the new Beta version of Aurora HDR for a spin, I was cautiously … [Read more...] about First Impressions of the New Aurora HDR 2018 for Windows
Architecture Interiors — The Broad Stage
Creating Panorama Scenes in Photoshop I did an exterior shoot for the Broad Stage back in 2011 (see the blog post here) and the next assignment was to document the interior for use on their website and in printed promotional materials. Besides its use in school programs the swank 500 seat theater is available for rent and is often used for major public performances. My job was to produce wide angle panoramas to show the space with and without crowds. I did quite a bit of other shooting as well, details, musicians and instruments but the main … [Read more...] about Architecture Interiors — The Broad Stage
Full Eclipse in HDR – Expert Advice
It's last minute getting ready for the eclipse, have you listened to any experts for advice? Well, I found myself in the middle of a great conversation, and I want to pass it on so as many photographers as possible can benefit. Expert Astrophotographer Jean-Marc Lecleire answered questions from a Photomatix customer interested in using bracketing and HDR to capture the subtle details which will be lost by most eclipse photographers. Our friends at HDRsoft condensed this discussion down for us all … [Read more...] about Full Eclipse in HDR – Expert Advice
Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | August 18th, 2017
This month we close out our eclipse ideas with advice from an expert, then some quick advice for anyone unsure about sensor dust. Links from the show: Q&A on solar eclipse HDR: https://www.hdrsoft.com/resources/hdr-for-solar-eclipse.html Jean-Marc Lecleire, Astrophotographer: https://www.facebook.com/jeanmarc.lecleire HDRsoft Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hdrsoft onXmaps: https://www.onxmaps.com Find Levi: levisim.com Instagram: @photolevi Find … [Read more...] about Problem Solving | Photofocus Podcast | August 18th, 2017
Bringing Back the Depth of Grey Skies
I just got back from an amazing trip to Ireland! We went everywhere from the Ring of Kerry to the Cliffs of Moher, capturing the beautiful landscapes. Along with foggy, grey skies. I'm used to crazy Michigan weather, but Ireland seems to not want to make up its mind on the weather! But I couldn't let that hold me back. Don't Forget to Bracket If there was one thing I learned during the trip, it was the importance of bracketing. At the Cliffs of Moher, we had foggy, grey skies to deal with, but I was determined to capture an iconic … [Read more...] about Bringing Back the Depth of Grey Skies
Cheating Blue Skies in Lightroom
We all know that there’s a right way to do things and a “cheating” way, but it doesn’t matter which one you use as long as the end result is the same, right? A few months ago, I was on Zuma Beach in Malibu for sunset. Even though the dynamic range is incredible on the Sony A7r II, I still opted to shoot bracketed images “just in case”. After I merged them into an HDR image using Photomatix Pro, I needed to fix the sky. It looked dark and weird, compared to the blue sky I saw during sunset. Maybe it’s the LA smog, but I need to fix … [Read more...] about Cheating Blue Skies in Lightroom
Photomatix Pro Version 6 is Now Shipping
I'm super excited that a new version of Photomatix Pro is now shipping. The application is a welcome update that adds a bunch of useful features that make it easier to start and finish your HDR photos. My favorite aspect is that the application truly focusses on natural looking HDR. What is Photomatix Pro? In case you haven't tried it, Photomatix Pro is software that helps you maximize the dynamic range of a scene. That means you can see the most information for a shot including bright highlights and rich shadows. Sometimes this means … [Read more...] about Photomatix Pro Version 6 is Now Shipping
Fixing HDR Ghosting with Photomatix Pro
It's a sunny, windy day. You're shooting architecture and using bracketing to ultimately capture an image that's exposed perfectly. But you forget about the flag on the building, and how it's waving in the wind. Putting your three or five bracketed shots together will create a blurry flag. All hope is lost, right? Wrong. Earlier this year I highlighted some of my New York photos from last fall, in showing how to use Photomatix Pro to create realistic HDR images. One of the photos I stumbled upon had an American flag front and center. … [Read more...] about Fixing HDR Ghosting with Photomatix Pro
Getting Creative with Unexpected Weather on Vacation
I recently took a trip to Raleigh, NC to visit friends. One of my goals, wherever I visit, is to see the local sights and spend a lot of time doing photography. During this trip, the first three days were gorgeous, sunny days. But the last two, we experienced unusual all-day rain in Raleigh. I still had the urge to take photographs. And while my camera is weather sealed, I'm not. I didn't pack, or expect, all-day rain. So, what's a photographer to do when you still want to take pictures, but don't want to brave the elements for countless … [Read more...] about Getting Creative with Unexpected Weather on Vacation
Creating Long Exposure Photography with Expanded Dynamic Range
People are often mesmerized by long exposures. Smooth water, the movement in clouds...it creates an artistic look in photographs that many people desire. About a year ago, I started to take my long exposures to the next level, by using neutral-density (ND) filters during the day. It allowed me to create photographs that had significantly longer exposures than I would have otherwise been able to take. But sometimes, even using ND filters aren't enough. Recently, I started playing around with using bracketing alongside my ND filters, to create … [Read more...] about Creating Long Exposure Photography with Expanded Dynamic Range
HDR and the Traveling Photographer
Note: To learn more about HDR visit our HDR Learning Center produced in partnership with HDRsoft. I have learned, as a traveling photographer, that no matter how much planning I do to prepare myself for a trip, there will always be unknown factors and surprises, good and bad. Certain factors, such as light, clouds, weather, location, and the time of day may complicate the camera settings necessary to properly expose the subjects I am photographing. My camera may not be capable of capturing the range of light in just one image. Extreme … [Read more...] about HDR and the Traveling Photographer
Lightroom Mobile Update: RAW HDR’s for iPhone and Android
Lightroom Mobile is far and away my most used app on my phone and iPad, and Adobe have just suped it up even more. The latest version of the app adds power to the integrated camera by unlocking the ability to shoot RAW HDR from within the app. That means you'll have greater control over the colors and tones of the pictures captured on your mobile device. And yes, this is for both iOS on Apple phones and for Android (affected models are listed below). The thing that blows my mind is that this app continues to be included with your Creative … [Read more...] about Lightroom Mobile Update: RAW HDR’s for iPhone and Android
Toning Down the HDR Look with Photomatix Pro
What do you think of when you think of HDR? Over-sharpened, bright photos? The majority of HDR photos I've seen — you know, the ones you always see on real estate sites — are over-contrasted, too bright and just unappealing. But there's a different side to HDR, one that's more realistic to a natural-looking photograph. Why Use HDR? HDR is really just the practice of blending photos together. Usually this involves bracketing, taking into account a different shutter speed and exposure settings as you're shooting. Doing so can boost shadows, … [Read more...] about Toning Down the HDR Look with Photomatix Pro
HDR 101: Shooting Brackets
Human eyes are incredible for viewing the world and seeing into shadows and highlights all at the same time. The basis of HDR photography is making several exposures at varying brightnesses and combining them in a powerful software app like Photomatix so we can view a photograph the same way we view the real world--into the shadows and highlights at the same time. We call it “bracketing” or “shooting for HDR” or “shooting brackets.” Every interchangeable-lens camera I’ve seen for sale in the last seven years offers automatic bracketing, but … [Read more...] about HDR 101: Shooting Brackets
Handholding your Camera for HDR Photography
With proper technique and the right camera, it is possible to get good HDR images even though you aren’t using a tripod or other camera support. Here are ten tips for handholding your camera: Use a camera that has an automatic bracket function, so that when you push the shutter release your camera automatically and quickly takes more than one photo of the same subject at different exposures. Use this function when you don’t have a tripod. Read about automatic bracketing in your camera manual, to be sure you are doing it the right way. … [Read more...] about Handholding your Camera for HDR Photography
Selective Sharpening in Lightroom
Sharpening helps your picture have a little more punch and can allow details to pop and draw attention. If you sharpen the entire image, however, you'll end up with visible details, called artifacts, in places where there aren't details, like a blue sky. To avoid creating these artifacts, you can sharpen only those areas that have interesting detail and those to which you want to draw attention. Let me show you how to selectively sharpen using Lightroom's Adjustment Brush on this photograph I made in San Antonio on a photowalk (we've got … [Read more...] about Selective Sharpening in Lightroom
Photomatix OneShot Makes Photos POP!
There are hundreds of filters and presets available for making photographs into "something else" in Photoshop, Lightroom or with other software packages. One of my favorites comes from from HDRsoft the maker of the outstanding HDR converter Photomatix Pro. Allow me to introduce you to Photomaitx OneShot. HDR effects for single images Traditionally, High Dynamic Range or HDR, requires at least three exposure bracket of photos two or more stops apart. The information in the bracketed set of pictures provides the HDR conversion software an … [Read more...] about Photomatix OneShot Makes Photos POP!
HDR 101: How To Keep Important Details in HDR’s
Shooting a set of pictures with bracketed exposures and combining them in HDR software is the best way to record all the details in a scene, even in very dark and very bright areas. The software, like Photomatix, does a great job of making all the details visible. However, there are times when the details included with the HDR are not what you want in your finished photograph. HDR photos of people are often not flattering because there's too much skin detail, and even landscape details may not be what you wanted to emphasize in your finished … [Read more...] about HDR 101: How To Keep Important Details in HDR’s
Using HDR To Augment Your Artistic Vision
Your artistic vision as a photographer is projected through the choices you make in creating your images. These choices include a subject or theme, focal length of lenses, camera settings, composition, framing of subject, adjustments in processing, time of day to shoot and type of lighting. Each of the choices you make have a direct impact on your photographs, and should be consistent with the image you visualize creating as you press the shutter release. HDR Photography, the blending together of bracketed images, augments your artistic … [Read more...] about Using HDR To Augment Your Artistic Vision
New to Photomatix? Start with a Preset
The photo above is the normal exposure of a Waffle House near my studio. Periodically the company remodels one of their restaurants. I saw this one was under what looked more like destruction rather than renovation. I noticed a pair of children with their father standing in front of the remains of a favorite place to eat. I made a quick set of 3 bracketed exposures at 2 stop brackets to use Photomatix Pro. Opening a bracket set in Photomatix Pro Before jumping into presets, here’s a quick start for opening a series of bracketed photos.Once … [Read more...] about New to Photomatix? Start with a Preset
HDR 101: How Do You Know When To Use HDR?
Like black and white, HDR photography is a terrific tool. It can both save the day technically and also allow us to be creative in unique ways. But how do you know when you might need to use HDR to make you photograph look it's best? The Name Says It All HDR stands for High Dynamic Range and in photography, that means there's a big difference between the proper exposure in the dark areas and in the highlight areas. An example of a scene with low dynamic range would be a picture of a pen sitting on my desk. The light shining on my desk from … [Read more...] about HDR 101: How Do You Know When To Use HDR?
Get Started With Photomatix
HDR photography is a gift of the digital age. To a one-time film photographer like me, it's magic. I never imagined that one day I would be blending together bracketed images to create a single photograph with an extended dynamic range. A photograph in which I was able to retain details in the shadows and not blow out highlights. Wanting to improve upon my magic, I recently found my way to Photomatix Pro, an HDR processing software. I like Photomatix. It is easy and painless to use, and provides different styles and presets to draw upon, … [Read more...] about Get Started With Photomatix
Creating Better Sun-Flared Images with Photomatix Pro
Have you struggled to make a great image when shooting into the sun? Our cameras can't see the dynamic range in a scene as well as our own eyes can, so we have to shoot a series of bracketed images and merge them into an HDR. In this tutorial, I walk you through exporting to HDR from Lightroom to create two sun-flared images with Photomatix Pro. https://youtu.be/WQXuPuE1-5c … [Read more...] about Creating Better Sun-Flared Images with Photomatix Pro
Realistic HDR images with Photomatix Pro
HDR photography gets a bad rap. Many believe that HDR means over-contrasted, over-saturated, over-sharpened photos. But in reality, HDR is really just blending multiple images together. And by using the technique effectively, you can enhance your images and create a blended photograph that is both natural-looking and more attractive to the viewer. I was in New York last week for the Out of New York Conference, and without a tripod on hand, I bracketed my images, knowing I could put them together to create a more dynamic photograph. I … [Read more...] about Realistic HDR images with Photomatix Pro
Personalizing Powerful Plugins with Serge Ramelli
You gotta join us live for our next Lightroom Live, totally free of charge. Not only will you learn terrific techniques, but if you tune in live, you can be entered to win excellent prizes to help you in your work. (Note: MUST BE TUNED IN LIVE TO WIN). We'll be giving away a copy of Perfectly Clear from Athentech. Plus you never know what else. We kick off Monday, October 3rd at 1:00 pm Eastern, 12:00 pm Central, 11:00 am Mountain, and 10:00 am Pacific. 2:30 pm in Newfoundland. Check out the YouTube event here and it'll show your … [Read more...] about Personalizing Powerful Plugins with Serge Ramelli
Personalizing Powerful Plugins with Serge Ramelli
You gotta join us live for our next Lightroom Live, totally free of charge. Not only will you learn terrific techniques, but if you tune in live, you can be entered to win excellent prizes to help you in your work. (Note: MUST BE TUNED IN LIVE TO WIN). We'll be giving away a copy of Perfectly Clear from Athentech. Plus you never know what else. We kick off Monday, October 3rd at 1:00 pm Eastern, 12:00 pm Central, 11:00 am Mountain, and 10:00 am Pacific. 2:30 pm in Newfoundland. Check out the YouTube event here and it'll show your … [Read more...] about Personalizing Powerful Plugins with Serge Ramelli
An Update To My HDR Workflow
I have used HDR since day one. Even before there was software to help with the task, I would shoot multiple exposures on slide film and scan them to layer on top of each other. Now we have tools like HDR Soft’s brilliant Photomatix Pro. I still use Photomatix even though you can do HDR in PS/Lightroom. Why? It’s more powerful, offers more control over the final output and it’s noticeably faster. When I shoot any landscape these days I make several exposures just in case. But unlike the old days when I was shooting bracketed … [Read more...] about An Update To My HDR Workflow
Simple shooting strategy for High Dynamic Range
I've been saying it for so long that it's time to write about it! What I'm referring to is my often-given advice for capturing bracketed images. Many people say that we should choose the 'correct' exposure, then capture overexposed & underexposed images. However I recommend to forget the notion of the middle image being the 'correct' exposure. Rather, the 'correct' exposure is a series of images -- and those images capture the full dynamic range of the scene. We can do that by measuring and choosing all of the exposures … [Read more...] about Simple shooting strategy for High Dynamic Range
HDR: Is a Three Step Process
The biggest mistake HDR shooters make is trying to rush the process. Some think its as simple as shooting the photos and running them through a merging application. Others try to save even more time and use in-camera HDR solutions. While both of these options can make a better photo than just a traditional exposure, they don’t really embrace the full capabilities of HDR imaging. For that, you need to truly take a three-step process. Shoot Using the bracketing option on your camera (or manually adjusting exposure), you’ll successfully … [Read more...] about HDR: Is a Three Step Process
