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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> I suck at HDR ...
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11/09/2015 01:07:12 PM · #1
So I bracketed some shots this weekend in hopes of getting some more dynamic shots. I use LR and Merge as HDR in Photoshop.
At that point I basically just tweaked until I got something that i could work with then applied curves etc in Photoshop. I've reached a point where I don't know where to go from here.
Any thoughts / input welcome.
This is a DPC-size version of the image which layerd is over 400MB at this point:


Message edited by author 2015-11-09 16:35:52.
11/09/2015 01:17:07 PM · #2
I find that LR's HDR Merge is much better than doing it in PS; LR does the merge, then you process the result in LR, where you have full RAW controls over the result. I'm generally liking this approach better than The Nik or Photomatix HDR programs; it's much more natural looking.
11/09/2015 01:21:27 PM · #3
It's a very tough skill. One that I feel I know well one day, then cannot get right the next day.

This one is difficult.
- There is a lot of high contrast. Do you have some sort of structure slider? If so, I suggest going WAY down on that from what you have it. Everything is unnaturally over sharp.
- Did you use some anti-ghosting? Looking at the leaves in the sky, that may be applied too much, or not enough
- I would use a gradient to lighten to bottom of the image, and slightly darken the top, so your eye moves to the subject easier
- The white balance seems off. Can you warm up the image a bit?
- Have you tried selectively blurring some of the trees in the background? I consistently feel like those are drawing my attention because they are half sharp.

Do you have the Nik bundle? HDR Efex Pro is powerful and elegant, if used right.
11/09/2015 01:31:33 PM · #4
You've actually picked a pretty tough spot to photograph. (uneven light) I've been using 3 exposures (-1/+1 stop) not changing my aperture, opening in Lr doing a lens correction (for the lens), syncing that then moving into Photomatix. I've/I'm really working on keeping things natural. I think I'm achieving that. I also watch 1/2 tutorials per week about it...and other related things....wink YouTube...best invention!!! Well, except for maybe google...
11/09/2015 01:59:51 PM · #5
I also suck at HDR but because I've come to realize that HDR sucks I'm no longer that bothered,
11/09/2015 02:12:27 PM · #6
Originally posted by jagar:

I also suck at HDR but because I've come to realize that HDR sucks I'm no longer that bothered,

Where's the like button? :)
11/09/2015 02:35:59 PM · #7
Thanks for the advice.
Bear, I didn't even realize LR did HDR without PS! LOL

My main reason for using HDR wasn't for an "effect" so to speak, but more because of the extreme contrasts in shadow vs highlights. I too am not a fan of most HDR images but there are always exceptions.

It's funny because I was acting kind of bummed at the fact that is was a cloudless day ; which was confusing to others in our party ... only a photographer or person with sensitive skin would be pissed at that ;)
11/09/2015 03:00:34 PM · #8
I'm not a huge fan of LR's HDR, though I will admit that it's easier to come up with a natural looking image with it than with Nik. Essentially merges the light information from all the images into a single image and then pulls the Highlight slider to -100 and boosts the shadows +70-ish. If you reset the develop settings post-merge it looks exactly like the 0 image in you bracket series but it has more light information at it's disposal - I think of it as a shot taken by a camera with 16 stops of dynamic range. If you're looking to work with an image like that then LR's merge works fine.
11/09/2015 03:07:25 PM · #9
For what it's worth, this was done with LR's HDR merge, and almost no effort was expended to create it, really...

11/09/2015 04:27:19 PM · #10
I tried taking some shots for HDR of the recent planetary conjunction when the Moon moved into the picture, but the only thing I have to do it with right now is PS CS2, and it looks pretty bad, and I haven't been able to do it manually either -- the difference in exposure really shifts the color of the dark sky ... :-(

OTOH the totally unadjusted shots without the Moon came out surprisingly good ...
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