Those of you who follow my work, know that I love HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. I’m especially fond of pushing the limits, with HDR portrait, wedding and other non standard uses. I started experimenting with HDR people shots in 2007. I also use it for nearly all of my nature work.
I have a bunch of favorites, and have finally compiled them onto one page on the Seim Photography site. If you’re intersted in HDR stop by and maybe you’ll get some ideas. I know I’m not the only one shooting HDR however. If you know of other great HDR, share them in the comments... Gavin Seim
I was a guest on this weeks Camera Dojo podcast with Kerry Garrison talking about all things HDR.
We chatted about the various techniques and tools, and I shared my techniques for HDR portraits. I just listened to myself this afternoon. It felt different being on the guest end, but it was relaxing. This won’t be in the PPS podcast feed, but If you’re interested head over the Camera Dojo and give a listen. While your at it you can drop by iTunes and subscribe to their show… Gavin
By Gavin Seim: Updated 05/13) – HDR (High Dynamic Range) is really powerful, but often misunderstood. People will throw images into the latest software only to mimic the easy, but often ugly and over processed “HDR look”. That HDR that has become the stigma of the technique. HDR and especially HDR portraits can be challenging, but they are not rocket science. It just takes some time to get the hang of the subtleties. Here’s a few tips that anyone can use for both pictorial and portrait work to mange dynamic range better.
1. Understanding HDR: It’s not a style in itself. A style is something that comes from you. HDR all about light. Sometimes it’s from a single file. Often it means getting various exposures at different lightness levels and then combining them in a way that looks good either manually, or using tone-mapping or fusing, with software like Photomatix and others.
But contrary to what overdone HDR suggests. It’s not about showing ALL the light in a scene. Without shadow, an image is usually flat, chaotic and without focus. HDR about gaining control over all the light in a scene. It’s almost like a bucket filled with light from an entire scene and you can use it however you want.
2. Tripods & Releases: While most HDR rendering software can attempt to line up images, you really want clear consistent frames because stability is key. If there’s no other option, you may have to hand hold and hope for the best. It can work, but a tripod is king and is always the safest route. Even with single image exposures, using a tripod will generally get you better quality. See The Six Keys To Image Quality.
Cable releases are also a great tool. Allowing you to avoid touching the camera while making frames. Good for sequences and long exposures. Besides that, it looks cool to stand there majestically and press the release button.
A PPS Loan award winner from 2010. 3 images blended in HDR software and finished in Photoshop.
3. Auto Bracketing: Most DSLR’s have an auto bracket function that allows you to have -2, 0 and +2 exposure compensation in one quick burst. AB allows you to expose things fast without handling the gear as much. In some cases you may want to manually get a wider exposure range, but I find that 3 images are usually all I need.
Auto bracketing is not only convenient, it’s especially valuable with HDR portraits or moving subjects because you need to capture your sequence as fast as possible without having to manually change settings. But remember that just because your bracketing is not an excuse for poor exposure. Keeping that middle frame dead on will give you a better final result.
A three image bracket blended in Photomatix and refined in Photoshop.
Updated 07/2009: Revamped & improved article. Added a new segment dealing with movement and blur (towards bottom).
by Gavin Seim: In 2007 I wrote an article about using true HDR techniques with people. Yep, portraits, fashion and wedding images can be utterly amazing using High Dynamic Range. HDR is not just reserved for nature and still life. We’ve been using it at Seim Studios for some time nowand it blows clients away.Heres some of my secret sauce to get you started with HDR portraits and a few of my own images.
What’s HDR All About?
First lets cover basics. If you’re already an HDR master you can skip this part. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. It’s better seen than described, so other than the images I’ve included in this article, you can see more on my website.
HDR is the combining of light and dark tones of multiple images taken at varied exposure levels and then blended using software like Photomatix, Photoshop, or another HDR program. Photomatix is the most popular among HDR fans and we have a deal worked out with them. You can save 15% with promo code PPS15. Basically this software blending allows the photographer to selectively choose how much light he wants in various parts of the image. You’ll have a light to dark range that’s much higher than that of a normal exposure, thus giving you much more control over the final image.
HDR Soft, the maker of the popular Photomatix Pro has just released version 3. For HDR junkies Photomatix is a great tool, giving much more function over Photoshops built in tools for merging images to HDR.
Version 3 is even a free update for version 2 owners, and from what we can tell so far, it’s a nice update. Improved interface and some cool new features shape up to be another solid offering from HDR Soft.
