October 24, 2009

HDR_Workshop_001-2

by Gavin Seim: I just hosted the first “Incredible HDR” (high dynamic range) photo workshop in Central Washington. It was an intimate three day class of six, with attendees from as far as London, so we had plenty of one on one time. The images they made were amazing. I’m really proud of the students and the creative results they produced during the workshop. We covered everything from how to capture HDR portraits, to final edits, controlling light and presentation.

I believe one of the most important parts of good HDR is knowing how to edit it. There’s a lot of really ugly HDR because photographers don’t understand what their dealing with and how to make something magical from it. Going further however I want to remind those playing with HDR that the rules of photography do not go away because a photo is HDR. Interesting subject matter, composition and attention to detail are all very important factors in a great image. The students at this workshop were from varied experience levels but I think every one of them got it and took home something valuable.

I’ll post a few images from students below as well as a few of my own I took during excursions. It seems every time I teach something, I learn something new myself. If you’re interested in learning more about my HDR workshops you can find info here on Seim Effects.

HDR_Workshop_003

Read More

April 14, 2009

Click To Listen>>  Photography Podcast. PPS #57
Vote in iTunes
, or Vote on Podcast Alley
Subscribe in itunes

Times Square At Dusk HDR
Times Square At Dusk

On Todays Show: Gavin SeimTrey Ratcliff. This week I talk about attending workshops, the new Pocket Wizards and join HDR legend Trey Ratcliff for a great talk about the world of photography and HDR.

Read More

March 12, 2009

Gavin Seim: I write a lot about HDR photography here on Pro Photo Show. It’s an often misunderstood animal, that when used correctly is incredibly powerful.

This has been in the works for some time, but it’s finally official. My 3 day HDR workshop will be held in Fall of 2009 in Central WA, we’re going to cover everything from basic HDR landscapes to using HDR for amazing people pictures.

This is a small workshop limited to about 15 participants. Seats are first come first serve. You can learn more over on KungFu Photo.

Read More

February 26, 2009

NOTE: This article is a few years old. Most of the products mentioned here have newer refined versions. They arr all viable options. Look over our review. But also check out the latest offerings from each company and see what they offer.

by Gavin Seim. Updated 04/2010: Even with cameras getting amazing at high ISO, low noise images, there’s still room in our kits for good noise reduction software. It allows us to push the limits and keep our images clean and vivid. Nearly every serious photographer should have a good noise reduction tool in his arsenal. That said I don’t think we need to use NR all the time like we did in the past. A little noise is not always bad, especially the more appealing grain like noise coming from today’s cameras. I keep various NR tools on hand however so if I want to reduce, their ready to go.

Today the showdown has come. I see lots of talk about what’s the best noise reduction software, but mostly it’s all talk. Rather than just talk, I’ve made comparisons. Lots of comparisons. I’ll give you examples with various products, images, cameras and ISO settings, including some HDR. At the end I’ll give my final opinions of each product and let you decide for yourself. Let’s get started.

The Contenders:
Neat Image VS Noise Ninja VS Noiseware VS Dfine VS Lightroom VS Topaz Denoise VS Photoshop:

All tests were made using the Photoshop plugin versions of the products but some are available as standalone apps. Settings varied, but I used mostly default settings and automatic profiles, with occasional tweaks to get the results I felt looked best. This means these images represent the results you would get with a single pass and minimal hassle.

Often I found that one product maybe great on one image, while another product may work better on the next. Tweaking the settings would perhaps improve results a little depending on the image, however I wanted a real feel of the results we’ll get everyday. You can click any image for a large view, but some results are similar so you may want to download the large image bundle linked below.

Download all HR Images in bundle

1_4-5d2-3200-ninja

1_1-5d2-3200-none 1_2-5d2-3200-dfine 1_3-5d2-3200-neat 1_5-5d2-3200-topaz

1_6-5d2-3200-noiseware 1_7-5d2-3200-cs4 1_8-5d2-3200-lr

Read More

January 23, 2009

by Gavin Seim: A problem people often have with HDR pictures, is getting a bold but balanced look. Often their images end up too flat, too fake, or too fancy and the entire goal (which is a vivid High Dynamic Range image) is lost. Here’s a few tips that apply to HDR nature as well as HDR portrait images on how I get a bold but not overkill look.

Below I’ve combined two – three image sets as HDR’s in Photomatix, but I’m just getting started. To bring it out, I need to mold them a bit and coax out the details I need.

Read More