HDR photography without the eerie look?

There is a first chapter of an HDR course on DPR.

I panned it rapidly, the first thing I noticed was none of that eerie /
surreal look that some HDR photos exhibit. (later chapters might go
there...TBD).

First chapter reviews dynamic range and "what fits". Pretty basic stuff
for most around here, but a good base.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guid..._part_1_01.htm

--
gmail originated posts filtered due to spam.

Alan Browne wrote:

There is a first chapter of an HDR course on DPR.

I panned it rapidly, the first thing I noticed was none of that eerie /
surreal look that some HDR photos exhibit. (later chapters might go
there...TBD).

First chapter reviews dynamic range and "what fits". Pretty basic stuff
for most around here, but a good base.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guid..._part_1_01.htm

It seems the way to avoid that look is manual masking, in my experience
anyways, a lot can be done that way, although the examples given with
hard lines are difficult.

On 2010-12-27 08:52:29 -0800, Paul Furman said:

Alan Browne wrote:

There is a first chapter of an HDR course on DPR.

I panned it rapidly, the first thing I noticed was none of that eerie /
surreal look that some HDR photos exhibit. (later chapters might go
there...TBD).

First chapter reviews dynamic range and "what fits". Pretty basic stuff
for most around here, but a good base.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guid..._part_1_01.htm

It seems the way to avoid that look is manual masking, in my experience
anyways, a lot can be done that way, although the examples given with
hard lines are difficult.

I think the big problem with the surreal effect is to propensity for
folks with new toys to over do things. Instead of making subtle
adjustments the tendency is to push the extremes, ending up with the
tone mapping with badly adjusted Gamma, saturation and fringe haloes.

HDR when done well and subtly with decent software such as NIK HDR Efex
Pro, or even HDR Pro in CS5 can produce good and undisturbing results.
http://www.niksoftware.com/hdrefexpro/usa/entry.php

This is a 5 exposure 1EV step HDR taken in Paso Robles, and processed
with NIK HDR Efex.
http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0141_HDRw.jpg

--
Regards,

Savageduck

Savageduck wrote:
On 2010-12-27 08:52:29 -0800, Paul Furman said:

Alan Browne wrote:

There is a first chapter of an HDR course on DPR.

I panned it rapidly, the first thing I noticed was none of that eerie /
surreal look that some HDR photos exhibit. (later chapters might go
there...TBD).

First chapter reviews dynamic range and "what fits". Pretty basic stuff
for most around here, but a good base.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guid..._part_1_01.htm


It seems the way to avoid that look is manual masking, in my
experience anyways, a lot can be done that way, although the examples
given with hard lines are difficult.

I think the big problem with the surreal effect is to propensity for
folks with new toys to over do things. Instead of making subtle
adjustments the tendency is to push the extremes, ending up with the
tone mapping with badly adjusted Gamma, saturation and fringe haloes.

HDR when done well and subtly with decent software such as NIK HDR Efex
Pro, or even HDR Pro in CS5 can produce good and undisturbing results.
http://www.niksoftware.com/hdrefexpro/usa/entry.php

This is a 5 exposure 1EV step HDR taken in Paso Robles, and processed
with NIK HDR Efex.
http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0141_HDRw.jpg

That's pretty reasonable. I wouldn't guess HDR unless I knew but
knowing, it does somehow look a bit unreal like a digital model or
something, but I like it.

On 2010-12-27 18:51:00 +0000, Paul Furman said:

Savageduck wrote:
On 2010-12-27 08:52:29 -0800, Paul Furman said:

Alan Browne wrote:

There is a first chapter of an HDR course on DPR.

I panned it rapidly, the first thing I noticed was none of that eerie /
surreal look that some HDR photos exhibit. (later chapters might go
there...TBD).

First chapter reviews dynamic range and "what fits". Pretty basic stuff
for most around here, but a good base.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guid..._part_1_01.htm


It seems the way to avoid that look is manual masking, in my
experience anyways, a lot can be done that way, although the examples
given with hard lines are difficult.

I think the big problem with the surreal effect is to propensity for
folks with new toys to over do things. Instead of making subtle
adjustments the tendency is to push the extremes, ending up with the
tone mapping with badly adjusted Gamma, saturation and fringe haloes.

HDR when done well and subtly with decent software such as NIK HDR Efex
Pro, or even HDR Pro in CS5 can produce good and undisturbing results.
http://www.niksoftware.com/hdrefexpro/usa/entry.php

This is a 5 exposure 1EV step HDR taken in Paso Robles, and processed
with NIK HDR Efex.
http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0141_HDRw.jpg

That's pretty reasonable. I wouldn't guess HDR unless I knew but
knowing, it does somehow look a bit unreal like a digital model or
something, but I like it.

I use HDR in most of my shots i.e reducing the wide dynamic range of
the scene to fit the limited range of the display medium. I am
therefore very sensitive to, and unsettled by, 99% of HDR with toning.
Many of the images in Alan's reference have the highlight areas in the
overall scene mapped to either a lower luminance than the highlights in
the artificially accentuated main subject or, when the luminance is
higher, the difference is laughably small. For goodness sake, a few
areas of blown highlights would make the images half believable.

It would be unfair to illustrate my point further by dissecting
specific images both posted and in previous SI's. It appears from the
feedback comments that I'm the only one who views HDR with toning as
nothing more than software vendors being very successful at conning
buyers. Notwithstanding, I'll use the technique when the software
matures enough to produce even semi-realistic images.

--
Pete

On 2010-12-27 10:51:00 -0800, Paul Furman said:

Savageduck wrote:
On 2010-12-27 08:52:29 -0800, Paul Furman said:

Alan Browne wrote:

There is a first chapter of an HDR course on DPR.

I panned it rapidly, the first thing I noticed was none of that eerie /
surreal look that some HDR photos exhibit. (later chapters might go
there...TBD).

First chapter reviews dynamic range and "what fits". Pretty basic stuff
for most around here, but a good base.

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guid..._part_1_01.htm


It seems the way to avoid that look is manual masking, in my
experience anyways, a lot can be done that way, although the examples
given with hard lines are difficult.

I think the big problem with the surreal effect is to propensity for
folks with new toys to over do things. Instead of making subtle
adjustments the tendency is to push the extremes, ending up with the
tone mapping with badly adjusted Gamma, saturation and fringe haloes.

HDR when done well and subtly with decent software such as NIK HDR Efex
Pro, or even HDR Pro in CS5 can produce good and undisturbing results.
http://www.niksoftware.com/hdrefexpro/usa/entry.php

This is a 5 exposure 1EV step HDR taken in Paso Robles, and processed
with NIK HDR Efex.
http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0141_HDRw.jpg

That's pretty reasonable. I wouldn't guess HDR unless I knew but
knowing, it does somehow look a bit unreal like a digital model or
something, but I like it.

Here are two more which I processed with the NIK software.
The first I think I have posted here before and I have also done a
pretty good B&W conversion of that one (I think that B&W conversion is
an area which can benefit from HDR.)
With the second I have also included the 0 EV unadjusted/processed
shot. You will note the HDR brings out the shadow detail of the
interior.
1: http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0348_HDRw.jpg
2A: http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0360Aw.jpg
2B: http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0358_HDRw.jpg

--
Regards,

Savageduck

Pete wrote:
Paul Furman said:
Savageduck wrote:
Paul Furman said:
Alan Browne wrote:

There is a first chapter of an HDR course on DPR.

I panned it rapidly, the first thing I noticed was none of that
eerie / surreal look that some HDR photos exhibit.
(later chapters might go there...TBD).

First chapter reviews dynamic range and "what fits". Pretty basic
stuff for most around here, but a good base.
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guid..._part_1_01.htm

It seems the way to avoid that look is manual masking, in my
experience anyways, a lot can be done that way, although the examples
given with hard lines are difficult.

I think the big problem with the surreal effect is to propensity for
folks with new toys to over do things. Instead of making subtle
adjustments the tendency is to push the extremes, ending up with the
tone mapping with badly adjusted Gamma, saturation and fringe haloes.

HDR when done well and subtly with decent software such as NIK HDR Efex
Pro, or even HDR Pro in CS5 can produce good and undisturbing results.
http://www.niksoftware.com/hdrefexpro/usa/entry.php

This is a 5 exposure 1EV step HDR taken in Paso Robles, and processed
with NIK HDR Efex.
http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0141_HDRw.jpg

That's pretty reasonable. I wouldn't guess HDR unless I knew but
knowing, it does somehow look a bit unreal like a digital model or
something, but I like it.

I use HDR in most of my shots i.e reducing the wide dynamic range of the
scene to fit the limited range of the display medium. I am therefore
very sensitive to, and unsettled by, 99% of HDR with toning. Many of the
images in Alan's reference have the highlight areas in the overall scene
mapped to either a lower luminance than the highlights in the
artificially accentuated main subject or, when the luminance is higher,
the difference is laughably small. For goodness sake, a few areas of
blown highlights would make the images half believable.

Agreed.

I do a lot of contrast reducing post-processing but either with manually
retouched masks or just highlight recovery/shadow fill sliders, which
also looks bad if you take it too far, and I've been known to take it
too far on occasion.


It would be unfair to illustrate my point further by dissecting specific
images both posted and in previous SI's. It appears from the feedback
comments that I'm the only one who views HDR with toning as nothing more
than software vendors being very successful at conning buyers.
Notwithstanding, I'll use the technique when the software matures enough
to produce even semi-realistic images.

Alan Browne wrote:

There is a first chapter of an HDR course on DPR.

I panned it rapidly, the first thing I noticed was none of that eerie /
surreal look that some HDR photos exhibit. (later chapters might go
there...TBD).

http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Guid...raphy_part_1_0
1.htm

Well - I thought some of those pictures had that eerieness you mention,
but I strongly dislike HDR photographs. To me they have an exaggerated,
hyperreal quality, which I find off-putting.

Daniele

On 2010-12-27 14:29:54 -0800, DaveS said:

On 12/27/2010 2:59 PM, Savageduck wrote:
Here are two more which I processed with the NIK software.
The first I think I have posted here before and I have also done a
pretty good B&W conversion of that one (I think that B&W conversion is
an area which can benefit from HDR.)
With the second I have also included the 0 EV unadjusted/processed shot.
You will note the HDR brings out the shadow detail of the interior.
1: http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0348_HDRw.jpg

With all that cloud in the sky, where did the sunshine on grass and
barn come from?

Dave S.

Who said that was Sunshine?

--
Regards,

Savageduck

On 2010-12-27 14:37:26 -0800, Savageduck said:

On 2010-12-27 14:29:54 -0800, DaveS said:

On 12/27/2010 2:59 PM, Savageduck wrote:
Here are two more which I processed with the NIK software.
The first I think I have posted here before and I have also done a
pretty good B&W conversion of that one (I think that B&W conversion is
an area which can benefit from HDR.)
With the second I have also included the 0 EV unadjusted/processed shot.
You will note the HDR brings out the shadow detail of the interior.
1: http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0348_HDRw.jpg

With all that cloud in the sky, where did the sunshine on grass and
barn come from?

Dave S.

Who said that was Sunshine?

BTW; Here is the unadjusted/processed 0 EV exposure for that HDR.
http://homepage.mac.com/lco/filechute/DNC_0350w.jpg

--
Regards,

Savageduck