Comments on: HDR How to Guide

By: John S

John S — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 18:45:58 +0000

Hi,
Real basic question: do you recommend saving the 3 or 5 images to be merged for the final HDR image as RAW or jpeg? I like the idea of using RAW to include all the data possible, but it seems the RAW images need to be converted to TIF files before software (Nik HDR Efex Pro) can process them into an HDR image. Would like to know what you recommend. Thanks!

By: Captain Kimo

Captain Kimo — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 04:31:05 +0000

You are correct… there is no universal setting that will work for every image. Trying to find one will only make you crazy. Knowing the proper settings for a specific image takes a lot of time and practice. Just keep HDRing and you’ll learn them all by heart.

By: Salvatore Pedi

Salvatore Pedi — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:54:02 +0000

I”m quite new to HDR and am still trying to locate the very best settings in order
to get stunning (I hope) HDR photos. I would imagine that there really is NO SET RULE for the proper settings. I also think you simply can’t use the SAME SETTINGS on ALL your hdr photos.
So, the problem for me is to know exactly WHAT EACH SETTING MEANS!..and, yes, I’ve read what some of the HDR authors recommend, but I still don’t know how to put a LABEL on what a certain setting does. And, I also suspect that surely don’t have to use ALL THE SETTINGS when configuring your settings. For instance: I created a pretty decent HDR photo with just only Three (3) settings. So, go figure!..but, I’ve already purchased about six books on HDR and still find it hard to UNDERSTAND WHAT THE SETTINGS REALLY MEAN. There’s gotta be an easier way to comprehend what want you to understand.

By: Captain Kimo

Captain Kimo — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 04:13:59 +0000

3 different exposure is definitely better! As long as it’s 2 stops up and down. I think trying to emulate this with a single file might only get you 1stop up and down without any problems.

By: Adrian

Adrian — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 19:44:11 +0000

Hi Captain
Do you think you get better results from taking 3 different exposures in field or simply taking 1 raw image and converting to 3 exposures in photoshop/raw?

I would like to thank you for your time and effort in helping guys like me. Truly outstanding!

By: Captain Kimo

Captain Kimo — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 21:19:49 +0000

Some of the photos that look more natural are experiments with different tone mapping processing and some might just be regular photos. Of course I’ve heard of Trey… I promote his DVD tutorials but I’ve never met the guy in person. I’m sure our paths will eventually cross. I believe that over using the effect is okay as long as it adds to the image. But I know what you mean, a lot of people do over use the look carelessly, or their eye hasn’t been trained yet to see that their over doing the process. I’m glad you enjoy the photos and thanks for commenting, I certainly appreciate it.

By: AC

AC — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 19:53:34 +0000

You’ve got some pretty cool photos. A lot of them look great…some though look almost normal…was that the look you were going for? Just curious. I stumbled upon HDR by mistake after reading a book published or at least featuring Trey Ratcliff and his website http://www.stuckincustoms.com have you ever heard of him? He goess all around the world and caputures great moments like you. So far, this is only the second site I’ve seen that’s got some nice HDR photos…although there are lots out there…but some people tend to overuse the effect. It’s probably gonna take me a while to go through your whole site but I’m looking forward to it!

By: Captain Kimo

Captain Kimo — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:53:23 +0000

April,

If you want to play around with HDR, I would recommend either Picturenaut (free HDR program) or Photomatix if you’re more serious. Here’s a post I did of the top ten HDR software available, with a brief review of each program.
http://captainkimo.com/hdr-sof.....comparison

I hope this helps. HDR photography is very addicting once you start! Have fun!

Best regards, Kimo

By: april

april — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 07:04:16 +0000

hi captain. i just heard of hdr from flickr right now. ive never heard of it before so im clueless about it. ive seen the after pictures so i am interested in it. all i have right now is photoshop 7.0, and im not sure if it has it and ive never noticed? or do i download it from online? or do i have to purchase a certain program and have it shipped and then upload it to my computer..? i would really like to start using it for my photography, im just clueless on how to get it for my computer. thanks for your help -april

By: Captain Kimo

Captain Kimo — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 12:35:16 +0000

@Richard – I just talked with Eric from Topaz Labs about it. He has advise Ashely to take care of the matter. He also wants you to check the spam filter to make sure your emails aren’t being trashed. Also check out this page for their phone number http://www.topazlabs.com/company