Realistic HDR by Tim Cooper
Realistic HDR by Tim Cooper
Realistic HDR by Tim Cooper
HDR Image
TIM COOPER
From the Library of Dena Selby
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright ..................................................................................... 80
What Is HDR?
The acronym HDR stands for High
Dynamic Range. It can refer to a
computer program, a photograph
that has been processed by an HDR
program, or the technique of taking
multiple photographs with the
intention of blending them together
in an HDR program.
A program, an image,
or a technique?
Lets begin with the phrase dynamic
range. Dynamic range refers to the
amount of separation between the
brightest and darkest parts of a scene.
A scene low in dynamic range would
have a limited range of brightness
tones, as seen in Figure 1.01. Here
you see tones that are almost all the
same brightness; the entire scene is
made up of midtones. A scene high
The HDR technique, then, is to take multiple photographs at different exposures. Each of
these photos will capture a different range of detail. Once the photos are captured, you can
then import them into an HDR program, such as PhotoMatix. This program blends all the
exposures into one photograph that contains full shadow, midtone, and highlight detail. This
resulting image is often referred to as an HDR image or HDR photograph.
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Camera Capabilities
As we have seen, there is a great disparity between what
our eyes perceive and what the cameras sensor captures.
This difference can be measured in stops, which are units
used by photographers to quantify light. Simply put, moving
your aperture from f/8 to f/11 decreases the amount of light
hitting the sensor by one stop.
Sensor capabilities
Moving your aperture from f/8 to f/5.6 increases the light
by one stop. The term stop also applies to shutter speeds.
Opening up your shutter from 1/250 to 1/125 increases the
light by one stop, while closing it down from 1/250 to 1/500
decreases the light by one stop.
Our eyes perceive detail in scenes that contain up to 11
stops of difference in light, while the camera can only
capture 57 stops of light. At first this may not seem like a
huge difference, but when you think that each stop of light
is twice as much as the previous, you can understand that
the difference becomes significant.
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If the graph touches the sides of the box, it means you will
see some under- or overexposure in your final photograph.
Figures 1.14 and 1.14a show the histogram that represents
the dark stairwell. You can see how the graph is pushed
up against the left wall of the histogram box. In this image
there is plenty of highlight detail, demonstrated by the
graph on the right-hand side coming down into the corner.
Figures 1.15 and 1.15a show the histogram that represents
the lighter stairwell. Here you can see plenty of detail in the
shadows but not in the highlights, which are overexposed.
From the Library of Dena Selby
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TIP:
There are many terms in photography left over from film days that dont
always match exactly with current circumstances or technology. For example,
we would say our highlights were blown out when they were overexposed.
Overexposed highlights are pure white with no visible detail. We would
also say our shadows were blocked up when they were underexposed.
Underexposed shadows mean they are pure black with no visible detail.
When the graph touches the edge of the box, it is really finishing outside of the
box, which is out of our view. Figure 1.16 is a new histogram showing good
detail in both the blacks and whites. The graph is contained inside the box.
Figure 1.17 is an example of the same scene only with overexposed highlights.
You can see the graph actually finishing outside the box. This is sometimes
referred to as clipping the highlights. Figure 1.18 is an example of the same
scene except with underexposed blacks. Again, the graph finishes outside of the
box. Another term for this is clipping the shadows.
As you can see, the histogram is an invaluable tool for judging exposure. It should
be referenced after every shot to ensure that you are capturing detail when
necessary. Remember, there is no perfect shape for a histogram. The shape of the
graph is simply determined by the scene it represents. The histogram in Figure 1.19
represents the white building (Figure 1.19a). Clearly an unorthodox histogram, but
the scene it represents is properly exposed. Because most of the scene is highlights
and whites, the graph should be over to the right. There are no real shadows in
the scene, and the histogram represents that as well. The same could be said for
Figure 1.20, which represents the all-black train (Figure 1.20a). Here the graph is
stacked to the left, as is proper for a scene with an abundance of shadows.
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Figures 1.27
and 1.27a: The
image after the
shadows have
been lightened
in Adobe
Lightroom
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Figures 1.28
and 1.28a: The
image with two
more stops of
exposure given
in-camera
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The reason for this shadow noise lies in the way a digital
sensor captures information. The more light the pixels
receive, the more levels of tonality they can contain. This
means the midtones and highlights contain lots of valuable
tonalities, while the shadows contain far less. The more
tonalities, a pixel contains, the better it can withstand
post-processing edits, such as contrast and brightness
adjustments.
Figure 1.33 demonstrates this idea. Each pixel in the
right half of the histogram can contain up to 2,048 levels
of tone, while the midtones can contain up to 1,024
levels of tone. These pixels are very rich in information,
enabling them to withstand a considerable amount of
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The bottom line is that when the histogram contains all of the image information, most postprocessing edits will not damage the look of the image. If however, you begin adjusting the
tones that are buried deep in the shadows, youll likely be disappointed in the results. So
begin by making a correct exposure for your highlights. Now look at your shadows. Do they
occupy too much space in the scene? If so, its time to start thinking about taking multiple
exposures.
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are still clipped. Figure 2.01d was made at 2 seconds at f/16. The shadows almost
have enough exposure, but not quite. Figure 2.01e shows the final image made at 4
seconds at f/16. Here you can see a histogram that represents full shadow detail.
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Metering modes
Aperture Priority
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Manual mode
In Manual mode its necessary for you to set both the aperture and shutter. This
means you have to pay close attention to the exposure on every shot. With the
Automatic modes, such as Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority, the camera is
always set to give you a good exposuresomething we call being zeroed out. In
Manual, however, the camera will simply shoot at the current f-stop and shutter
speed, regardless of whether theyll produce a good exposure or not.
This means its up to you to adjust your f-stop and shutter until the camera is
zeroed out. When you put your camera into Manual mode and look through your
viewfinder, youll see the Indicated Exposure meter. Figure 2.02 is an illustration
of an Indicated Exposure meter for a Nikon camera. Figure 2.03 shows the same
display on a Canon camera. Both of these meters are currently zeroed out.
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The Indicated Exposure meter is usually only visible while you are in Manual
mode, although some cameras display the meter in other modes. This meter
informs you of over- and underexposure. When the hash mark is in the center,
its zeroed out, indicating a good exposure. If the hash mark is toward the plus,
it means the image will be brighter (Figure 2.04) and toward the minus indicates
a darker exposure. (Figure 2.05). Adjusting the f-stop or shutter speed, or both,
moves the hash mark along. For scenes that typically require HDR, Depth of Field
is your primary concern so its common to set that first.
1. Frame up your shot and set your aperture to f/11. Next, adjust your shutter
speed until you zero out the hash mark. Your camera now reads 1/60 at f/11.
After taking the shot, you view the histogram and decide your highlights are
exposed correctly.
2. Now you need to take another shot with one more stop of exposure. Adding
a stop of light is called opening up one stop. This can be done with either
the shutter or aperture, but with HDR photography we want to use the shutter.
Opening up one stop from 1/60 of a second is 1/30 of a second, so adjust your
shutter to read 1/30 of a second. Your Indicated Exposure meter will now display
a +1. Take the shot and check your histogram. If the shadows are still clipped, its
time for another shot.
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Manual mode you have to move both the aperture and the
shutter to get the indicated exposure meter to zero out. To
alter the exposure, you can then choose to adjust either
the f-stop or shutter speed.
Matrix metering
Your camera determines the proper exposure using an
internal light meter. By default your camera is set to a multisegment metering pattern, which gives excellent results
for most situations. Nikon calls this pattern the Matrix
meter, while Canon calls it an Evaluative meter. This meter
basically divides the frame up into multiple segments and
averages together the readings from each. While this meter
provides excellent results in common situations, it can
fail when faced with scenes that contain a wide array of
image brightness. Because this metering pattern is the most
commonly used, however, lets look at how its used.
The multi-segment meter generally tries to preserve
highlight detail in any given situation. This is good, because
when shooting for HDR you want to begin by making an
exposure thats good for your highlights. When this meter
is faced with a high dynamic range scene, however, its
likely to somewhat overexpose the highlights. This happens
because the meter is trying to preserve some detail in the
shadows. Remember, though, once your highlights are
overexposed, its nearly impossible to bring them back.
Spot metering
The Spot meter is another type of meter included on many
cameras. Instead of looking at the entire frame, it takes
a meter reading from only a very small portion of the
frame (1% to 2% of the viewfinder). This means it can be
extraordinarily accurate. If the Spot meter is used improperly,
however, the results are very unpredictable. In short, you
should only be using this type of meter if you are willing
to spend extra time on each and every shot. Its also worth
mentioning that using the Spot meter is more convenient
when in Manual mode as opposed to Aperture Priority.
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When your Spot meter is over a tone and you zero out
the meter, that tone will be rendered as an average tone
(middle gray). If you adjust your shutter speed and/or
aperture to set the hash mark at +2, the tone will be white
but still have detail (Figure 2.07).
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NOTE:
Determining which bright tones should retain detail takes
a little practice. In general, the brightest area in the scene
should be most important. Small areas of bright reflection,
for example, have no need to show detail. Typically, light
sources such as light bulbs and street lamps dont require
texture. You wouldnt want to try to get detail in the sun
either. Its just too bright. The areas where we want to
see detail are things such as skies, bright clouds, bright
buildings, window details in night scenes; in short, larger
areas of the frame that are naturally brighter.
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Camera Settings
Modern Digital SLRs have an abundance of controls and
settings. Some have migrated from film cameras, while
others are new to the digital format. Given the number of
controls, its incredible to realize just how few are actually
used with everyday photography.
Bracketing
Bracketing is a technique where different exposures are
made for one scene. Auto-Bracketing is a function on the
camera that will automatically shoot a series of exposures
for you. Auto-Bracketing can be set to shoot in 1/3, 2/3, or
1-stop increments, with some cameras having even more
options. A simple example would be for you to set the
camera to Aperture Priority. Then engage Auto-Bracketing
at a one-stop increment. When your camera is set to 1/125
of a second at f/16, the camera will shoot this exposure,
and then, it will shoot 1/160 at f/16 and 1/250 at f/16. This
will give you the first exposure and then another exposure
one stop darker, and then a third image one stop brighter.
In Aperture Priority, the aperture is the most important
setting, so the camera makes changes to the shutter to alter
the exposure. In Shutter Priority, the shutter stays set while
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5. Next, place your Spot meter over the darkest part of the
scene that needs to have detail. Adjust the shutter speed until
the hash mark is at -2. This exposure will render the darkest
areas black, but with detail. Note your exposure settings.
Lets say they are 1/8 at f/16. You now know that you need to
capture 1/30 for your highlights and 1/8 for your shadows.
6. When shooting exposures to be blended, use one-stop
increments with your brackets. So in this example you
would need to shoot 1/30, 1/15 and 1/8. Manually set your
camera to 1/15 at f/16.
7. Set your auto bracket to shoot 0, +1, and -1. Your camera
will now shoot 1/15, 1/8 and 1/30.
Heres one more example: You place the Spot meter over
a highlight, set the hash mark to +2, and it reads 1/15 at
f/11. Then you place the Spot meter over the important
shadow area, set the hash mark to -2, and it reads 1 (one
second). With this scene you need to capture five separate
exposures. 1/15, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 1. Set the camera to 1/4 at
f/11. Next set your Auto-Bracket to 0, +1, +2, -1, -2.
Because bringing home the correct exposures is an
important step in creating realistic HDR imagery you
always want to double-check your histograms before
leaving the scene. Remember, the darkest image should
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ISO
The ISO (International Standards Organization) setting on
your camera determines the sensitivity of your sensor.
Higher ISOs, such as 800 or 1600, are more sensitive to
light, meaning you can use faster shutter speeds and/or
smaller apertures.
Slower ISOs, such as 100 or 200, are less sensitive to light,
meaning you have to use slower shutter speeds and/
or larger apertures to capture the same scene. For the
highest quality imagery, use a slower ISO, such as 100 or
200. Higher ISOs will result in an excess of noise (a gritty,
sandpapery look) in your photos.
White Balance
Setting your White Balance correctly while shooting saves
time back on the computer. While you can adjust the
White Balance with most editing programs, its best to
get as close as possible in the field. Large shifts in White
Balance on the computer are unnecessary and can lead
to a posterization of color. When setting your cameras
White Balance, consider the main source of illumination.
If the sun is your main source, set your camera to
Direct Sun on Nikon or Daylight on Canon. If your are
shooting on an overcast day, simply set your cameras
From the Library of Dena Selby
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Manual focus
Using Auto focus while shooting images is common but can
cause problems. For this reason I often use the cameras
Auto-Focus initially but then turn it off when its time to
shoot. In a perfect world, using Auto-Focus shouldnt be
a problem, but it does have the potential to throw you off.
To ensure good focus throughout your series of exposures,
begin by auto-focusing on the desired subject in the scene.
Once focused, turn off your Auto-Focus button. Now, as you
continue to shoot your series of exposures, the camera will
not need to focus in between shots. Using this method also
saves on batteries and allows the camera to shoot faster.
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PrO TIPs
Here are a few tips that may help
field:
blowing out.
cess correctly.
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era shake.
between shots.
matically.
computer.
RAW.
Processing the
HDR Image
Once youve captured your images its time to perform magic
on the computer. Modern HDR programs shave hours off
the time it used to take the photographer to manually blend
images together in Photoshop, and days off the time it took
to achieve similar results in the darkroom. There are many
options in HDR programs out there, and they all operate a
little differently. All however can produce both surreal and
realistic results. As previously mentioned, the surreal look
is relatively easy to achieve without any coaching. Creating
a realistic image is somewhat more of a challenge. In
this section Ill show you how prepare and process your
images using the Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, and
Photomatix.
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Editing programs
A plug-in allows the HDR program to work in concert with
your base software. For example, you could download,
organize, and edit your images using Aperture. When you
want to blend a series together using HDR, you would
export the series into an HDR program such as Photomatix.
Photomatix would blend the images together and send the
final image back into Aperture.
Using these programs as plug-ins is a real time saver and
helps keep your photographs organized. When you purchase
HDR software, it will typically come with the program and
the plug-in module. Look for the directions on how to install
the plug-in for your particular computer and program. If you
missed this step or are unable to find the plug-in, a trip to
the manufacturers website will supply you with step-by-step
directions for the installation process.
Import settings
No matter which program you use, you will need to get
your images from your camera onto your computer. There
are many ways in which this can be accomplished, but
I prefer to use Lightrooms Import module. The Import
module allows you to rename, generate thumbnails, and
From the Library of Dena Selby
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1. Clarity
NOTE:
JPEG files are sharpened incamera, while RAW Files
are not. For this reason its unnecessary to apply input
sharpening to Jpegs.
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NOTE:
Not all HDR programs will recognize changes made to the
file in Lightroom. Because these edits are important to any
image, I apply them across all scenic shots regardless of
whether or not they will be processed in HDR. Photomatix
recognizes these edits, and thats one of the primary
reasons I use this software.
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Synchronizing settings
When youre working with Photomatix and Photoshop to create HDR images, the edits you
make in Lightroom can produce drastic or subtle changes to the final file. For example,
you many want to change the white balance or increase saturation. Changes can be made
to individual images within a series but typically, youll want to sync the change across all
images. To sync changes:
1. In the Develop module, make the desired changes to one of the series.
2. While holding the
key (Mac) or Ctrl key (PC), select the remaining images in the series.
3. Notice that, while all images are selected, the one you made the changes to is a little
brighter. This indicates that it is the active image and the changes from this image will be
applied across the others. Press the Sync button in the lower right corner of the screen.
4. The Synchronize Settings box will appear. Press the Check None button.
5. Check the boxes of the edits that you have made. Pressing the Synchronize button when
finished applies the edits to the selected images.
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The HSL panel allows you complete control over the color
in your photographs (Figure 3.14). While the White Balance
affects the overall color cast, HSL works on aspects of
individual colors. Across the top the panel you see the
words Hue, Saturation, Luminance, and All. Click on the
word Hue to reveal the Hue adjustments. Click on the
word Saturation to reveal the Saturation Adjustments, and
so on.
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for more intensity and left for less intensity of that individual
color.
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darkens the chosen color.
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great looking grayscale images. Click on B&W to create
a grayscale photograph. The sliders will now brighten or
darken the shade of gray that corresponds with each color.
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contain an astronomical amount of information, which allows all of the detail in the uploaded series
to be contained in a single file. This single 32-bit image, however, contains more information than
our eyes can see or the computer monitor can display. This is the only true HDR image. For this
reason, you have to translate all the information into viewable tonalities. This translation process is
commonly called Tone Mapping, and its the part of the process where you move the various sliders
to adjust the look of the image.
There are other processes that will translate the tones into a visible range. One of those processes is
called Exposure Fusion and is found in Photomatix. Although this is technically not an HDR process, its
the one that I find produces the most realistic results. Depending on the program you are using, you
may have the option save the file as a 32-bit file or change it back to a 16-bit file. Your decision here will
depend on the program you are using. More on that later.
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NOTE:
If you happen to select and export your images while in
the Previous Import section (Figure 3.20) of Lightrooms
Library module, you will not see your image when you
return. Both Photoshop and Photomatix will return the
finished image back to the folder from which it came.
The Previous Import section is simply showing you the
last images that were imported. It is not necessarily
showing you the contents of a folder. To locate the new
HDR image, right-click on one of the series that you just
exported. From the fly-out menu choose Go to Folder in
Library. You will be taken to the folder and will see your
HDR image among your series of images.
From the Library of Dena Selby
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Using Photomatix
Whether you are using Photoshop or Photomatix, the first
step to creating realistic HDR imagery is capturing the right
images. Keeping an eye on your histogram while shooting
is critical. Remember, it is better to return with more images
than necessary. Its easy to delete or not use a file, but
much harder to create an HDR with images that lack the
necessary detail.
Like Photoshop, Photomatix will align and merge
our images into a 32-bit file. Unlike Photoshop, it will
recognize tonal adjustments made in Lightroom, allowing
for an amazing amount of control over the final product.
Photomatix also allows us to effectively deghost an image
by choosing a specific exposure that contains the desired
action. Finally, through Exposure Fusion, Photomatix
provides a relatively simple set of controls for you to
translate the tones before heading back to Lightroom.
While the controls in Exposure Fusion are easier to
understand than those in Photoshop, we still have an
easier time understanding the intuitive tonal controls
inside of Lightroom. For this reason, my goal for working
in Photomatix is to do as little work as possible.
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Figure 3.32:
Removing
the brightest
image from
the series
results in
a more
realistic
blend
Exporting to Photomatix
1. In Lightrooms Library module, select the series of images
to be processed.
2. From the menu choose File>Plug-In Extras>Export to
Photomatix Pro. Photomatix automatically launches and
begins the process of merging the images together.
Photomatix settings
Once Photomatix launches you will be faced with a dialog
box that controls how the images will be merged and how
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Other times, youll need to adjust the other sliders first and
then return to strength to fine-tune the image.
2. Brightness This slider chooses which of the image(s)
will have more influence over the final merge. Moving
this slider to the right lets the brighter image(s) have more
influence, while moving to the left lets the darker image(s)
exert more influence.
3. Local Contrast This one controls contrast in between
very near tones. This is the slider that enhances texture
in your photos. Less is more. Too much, and your images
begin to look fake.
4. White Clip This controls the brightest tones in the
photograph. By raising this slider you will make your whites
brighter.
5. Black Clip On the other hand, this controls the darkest
parts of the photograph. By raising this slider you will make
your blacks blacker without too much influence over your
other tones.
6. Midtone This slider adjusts midtone brightness. Moving
right brightens the midtones and decreases contrast.
Moving left darkens the midtones and increases contrast.
7. Color Saturation This does just what you think it will
do. Increase color saturation. I prefer to leave this alone or
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series should make an easy blend. The left image shows good shadow detail. The
middle image shows the blue sky as a bright midtoneprecisely where it belongs.
If there were clouds in the sky, the histogram would be further to the right. The
right image (one stop between the two) shows the shadows clipped and the
highlights too bright.
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to 3.9. Figure 3.38 shows the final image. Note how the
increase in Strength and Midtones has pulled the histogram
away from the left edge without losing a deep black.
Neither adjustment has significantly altered the brighter
tones of the photo.
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easier to close out the image and adjust the RAW files back
in Lightroom.
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Figure 3.42: The final image after readjusting the RAW files back
in Lightroom and re-importing to Photomatix
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