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
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.
This is a shot I took at sunrise overlooking Coulee City, WA. I like shooting photography that blends the awesome power of nature with man’s technological strides.
High tension power lines always fascinate me. Think of the sheer size and how many of these steel monsters stretch across the land bringing us energy. Yet for all the power we can produce, this steel beast still looks small against the amazing power of God’s creation!
Don’t start using HDR. I want to be the only one… This phrase is often pretty close to what goes thru my mind when I think about the potential of properly implemented HDR photography in today’s market. So much so that I have thought of refraining from the subject and keeping the ideas to myself. My thought is this… “If nobody else is using HDR, that will make my work that much more unique” But alas that’s not what PPS is all about, and we’re here both to learn, and to help others learn, so here I go again.
In recent months I have been working to become a sort of guru of HDR. Whether I have succeeded or not will be left up to you, however I do feel that I have a strong enough knowledge of HDR techniques, and its possibilities in the portrait & wedding world to ask other photographers, and organizations What are you waiting for?
Now don’t get me wrong! HDR will boom before long, and when it does you can bet that organizations that are supposed to be leading the industry like WPPI, and PPA will be all over it. Since it’s my job to talk about the latest ideas in the photo world however I will speak on about this topic right here and now. In fact you’ll see that PPS has a special link in the nav bar just for special HDR posts, articles, and news.
What is HDR all about anyways!
You mean you don’t know yet? Well at least after today you’ll have no excuse to avoid trying it out. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. It’s better seen that talked about, so other than the images I’ve included in this article you can see some of my latest HDR portrait implementation in my HDR portraits set on Flickr, as well as on my website of course . Essentially however it’s the combining of multiple images taken at varied exposure levels, and then blended using…
Microsoft HD Photo has been announced. Get yourself started with Photoshop actions by going to the Adobe Exchange. Download Gavin’s free production enhancer action Visual Razor.
HDR Part 1.
It’s time to learn HDR. Listen to the main topic in this weeks show starting at time index 17:50, and more to come in next weeks show. HDR Software besides Photoshop includes Photomatix from HDR Soft. You can use our promo code PPS15 to save 15%. There’s also another HDR app available called FDR tools.
Here is an example photo taken off of Highway 12 in WA of a worker in the Tulip fields. This was done using Photomatix Pro & Photoshop, with 3 raw images. Notice how the detail can be captures in not only the foreground, but also the sky which would normally be washed out. At the same time however it’d still has a natural look to it, with some shadows and depth. (click for a larger version)
